Issue 8, May 2007 - Phoenixville Area School District

Congratulations
Class of 2007!
Pages 2-3: Top Ten Events
This School Year
Page 4: Retiring Teachers!
Mr. Bogus
Page 5: Mrs. Everett
Page 6: Teachers Quotes
About Our Retirees
Page 7: PEOPLE: Jay
Howson, Jiyoon Park
Pages 8-18: SENIORS!
Page 19: The Missing
Graduate: Alana MacNeil
Page 20: Final Exams!,
Future Business Leaders of
America
Page 21: Relay For Life,
Patriots of African Descent
Contest Winners
Page 22: Editorials: Gay
Marriage, Mother’s Day
Page 23: Father’s Day
Page 24: SPORTS: Softball,
Major League Baseball
Page 25: Boys’ Tennis
Team, Winning News From
the Sports Department
Page 26: State Tennis
Doubles Champs, Advice
Page 27: A Message to an
Athlete Moving On
Page 28: ENTERTAINMENT:
Disturbia movie review,
Student Fiction Continued
Page 29: Horoscopes
Pages 30-31: Speak Out!
Page 32: Meet the Press
As the 2006-2007 school year comes to
a close, we remember the good times
and the bad times. Whether good, bad,
annoying, or just plain bizarre, there have
been many topics our fellow students
could not stop talking about. These ‘Top
10 Events’ are just some of the most
talked-about matters that have been
buzzing around our school since September. Read on to find out what we at The
Purple Press considered the “Top 10 Most
Talked About Events for the 2006-2007
School Year!”
#10 Crowded Hallways
In the beginning of the year everyone
was shocked to see the amount of students in the school and how many more
people there seemed to be than last
year. The hallways were terrible
(especially the stairs) and it took about
two extra minutes to get to class. Nobody could make their way through the
sea of mostly freshman just so they could
get to their next class. Since then, mostly
everyone has found alternate routes to
get to their classes, or maybe we’ve just
gotten used to the larger amount of students in the seemingly smaller hallways.
In the end, we still made it to class…even
if we were a little late.
#9 The Prom Assembly
Although not all of you who are reading this went to the Prom Assembly, you
undoubtedly heard how Mr. Kaskey got
to “second base” with Mr. Parkinson.
While the students who were going to
Prom were being lectured about the
“acceptable” way to dance, Mr. Kaskey
demonstrated by using Mr. Parkinson as
an example of how not to dance and
put his hand on Mr. Parkinson’s chest and
butt! That is one thing that everybody
was talking about for awhile. At least
now we know what kind of dancing is
deemed to be “unacceptable!”
#8 The Absurd Weather
Springtime on Christmas?! Snow in
April?! This year’s weather has been
really crazy and unexpected. Just when
everyone thought that we would never
have a 2-hour delay, get out early, or
even get a day off…we got all three!
One day it was freezing…and the next
day it was warm. The weather was not
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going along with the seasons
at all and it seemed like everyone was getting sick because of it. Now that the
weather has pretty much stabilized…I think we’ll all be better off.
#7 Let’s Go to the Theatre!
This year there was a lot of
talk about all of the new theatre activities and great theatre productions. The fall play
this year, The Three Musketeers, was a big hit and attracted a nicesized audience. The sword-fighting took
an immense amount of practice, but
looked really cool! Another great production this year was West Side Story.
The singing and dancing was remarkable and was talked about for weeks!
Another great addition this year was the
start of the Theatre Guild. Now the students who enjoy acting have something
to do besides the main productions! The
Theatre Guild also hones students’ acting
skills and gives them the chance to do
improvisation. One recent event that
occurred
involving
the
school’s
productions was
the Cappies’
Awards.
(They’re
the high
school
version of
the Tony
awards).
Our
school was nominated for, “Featured Actor in a Play” (Joe Rogers), “Lead Actress
in a Play” (Carissa Gronski), “Lead Actor
in a Play” (Vince Tavani), “Comic Actor
in a Play” (Ross Peterson), “Best Play”
(The Three Musketeers), “Props and Effects” (Andrew Cappelli, Thomas Cappelli, and Catie Grzywacz), and we WON
for “Best Ensemble in a Play” (The Three
Musketeers — Ross Peterson, Cass Lowry
and Chuck Savoy).
#6 Dream
The anticipation was rising as the trailers
for “Dream” were played on Phantom TV in the morning. Everyone was
excited to see the film that seniors
Mike DiCocco and Tyler Schnabel
worked on so
intensely for most of
the time they were in high school.
The film, “Dream,” took a lot of hard
work and dedication in order for it to
be completed. This film is about a
boy who has a troubling dream involving a new girl at school. It has
special appearances from various
students and teachers. Most of the
students who got a chance to view
the film were
amazed at how
well it was filmed,
edited, and performed. This film is
one that Phoenixville High School will
remember for years
to come. In fact, if
you want to get a
copy of the DVD,
see Mike DiCocco!
Hoop, Boys!
#5 Take It to the
Phoenixville sports has a lot to be
proud of, especially with our boys’
basketball team. Boys’ basketball this
year has been especially memorable
because of their undefeated record
in the Pac-10 (16-0). The boys made it
all the way to states, but lost in the
second round. None of this would
have been possible without the entire
team, including Jon Crabtree, Kyle
MacLelland, Zach Wise, Jesse Daywalt, Tommy Beasley and Jon Hogga.
Jon
was
The Purple Press
especially impressive
when he made his
1,000th basket of his high
school career. That is
something Phoenixville is
very proud of and will
always remember. Way
to go, boys!
there
have
been
some
im-
#4 So, About that
Graduation Fee...
This year, all of the seniors were bracing for the
$30.00+ graduation fee that would have
to be paid in order to have a nice
graduation complete with everything
that the past graduation ceremonies had
the luxury of including (reception, balloon
arches, ice sculptures, roses for the girls,
and the commemorative gold medallions). This year, the only fee the seniors
had to pay was a $23.32 cap and gown
fee. Everyone was really shocked, since
this fee had been talked about since the
first day of school. Now, graduation this
year will still be
nice, even though
the budget was
cut down about
$14,000.00. There
will still be flowers
and balloons, there
will still be a senior
banquet (apart
from the academic
banquet at Westover Country
Club), but everything has been
modified to fit the
new budget. Some things needed to be
cut out of graduation, such as not having
the senior banquet at The Columbia Station (now in the cafeteria), not having
caps and gowns for the teachers, and
not having gold medallions for the seniors. I think that at this point it doesn’t
matter what this year’s graduation will be
like…just as long as there is one and we
get our diplomas!
#3 We Have Rules?
The rule enforcement this year, which
started after Winter Break, was implemented because the students were not
following the rules at all. There were supposed to be no cell phones out, no headphones on, no food being eaten, and no
drinks being gulped down in class. Now,
The Purple Press
about prom turned out to be more
stress than anybody needed. The
night came and went and everybody ended up having a great time!
This was supposedly the biggest prom
in Phoenixville Area High School’s
history, and in the end, it really didn’t
matter how we got there.
#1 The “Valid Grading Policy”
provements on the rules being enforced
since it all started back in January. However, many kids still get away with texting
in class, listening to music, eating their
lunch in class, and drinking everything
from water to Red Bull. Maybe it’s the
fact that the school year is winding down
or maybe no one really cares...either
way, some people are still getting away
with a lot!
#2 The Prom
“Fiasco”
“We have to get a
permission slip
signed for prom?!”
“We can’t drive ourselves?!” I’m not
taking a bus!” “This
is so stupid!” Those
were the questions
and comments buzzing around school, a
little more than a
month before Prom
2007. When the seniors went to the meeting about Graduation Projects, they were told the news
that the school district’s superintendent,
Dr. Noyes, and the high school’s administrators had come to the final decision
that the students attending Prom would
either take a bus (provided free of
charge), find and pay for a limo (bring
the receipt into school proving that a
professional driver will be taking you) or
get prior authorization from Dr. Noyes to
be driven by somebody’s parents, (which
was rumored to be impossible.) While
the buzz was going around school, so
were rumors that turned out to be very
false. You could wear your prom attire
on the bus, Dr. Noyes was more than willing to let students be driven by parents,
and it was much easier to find a limo
than previously thought. All the hype
10% homework, 30% formative
(classwork, quizzes), 60% summative
(tests, projects). What is going on?! I
don’t know about you, but that was
my first thought when I found out
about this new grading system. No
one really understood why this new
policy was put into effect. This year’s
new grading system is supposedly a
more “valid” way to grade. Before
this year, grading policies were
“invalid” according to more recent
educational research (not all teachers had the same way of grading;
one teacher could have homework
at 10%, while another teacher could
have homework at 25%). This new
system allows for fairer grades. All
teachers must have the same grading system now. One other thing that
everyone thought was weird was the
“no zero” rule. No one could get
lower than a 50% on formative and
summative assignments and for those
of us who actually work hard, that’s
not very fair.
What a great, but crazy year!
Page 3
Director of guidance, middle school and
high school teacher, head of the history
department, baseball coach, softball
coach, and football coach… that’s quite
a résumé! In this case, it is 35 years of accomplishments of our beloved Mr. Bogus,
who is retiring at the end of this school
year. About 39 years ago, Mr. Bogus began college at Kutztown University. Four
years later he started his teaching career
by student
teaching at Daniel
Boone and
Boyertown
High
Schools.
Mr. Bogus
earned his
graduate
degree
from Villanova
University
along
with taking postgraduate
courses
at
Penn State, East
Stroudsburg, and Wilkes.
Mr. Bogus began his career at Phoenixville Area School District at the junior high,
teaching World Geography, 7th grade
American History, 9th grade
Urban Affairs, and
even Earth
and Space
Science.
After
remaining at
the junior high
for five years,
Mr. Bogus
moved to the
high school. Mr.
Bogus at one
point was the
director of guidance. He thought
that being in the
guidance department was a very interesting experience,
because it was completely
different than teaching. He believes that,
“Every teacher has to be a good listener
on purpose or not; every teacher offers
guidance.” Also, when he was in the
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guidance
department he
saw the
students in a
whole different
light. Even
though he thoroughly enjoyed
his ten years in
guidance, Mr.
Bogus missed
the classroom
and in
1997
went
back to
teaching
American History, Sociology, Psychology, and
Economics and Government. Mr.
Bogus has enjoyed observing his
history department members, seeing what they do, and being involved in decisions and courses.
As I said before, Mr. Bogus is
retiring after 35 amazing years of
teaching, counseling, and coaching here at Phoenixville. He is going
to miss the interactions with
the students, teachers and ad-
ministrators
more than anything.
And we will miss the interaction
with him! After his retirement in June,
Mr. Bogus will keep coaching Great
Valley High School Football, and Phoenixville Area High School Softball. He
would love to travel with his wife and
read more.
Mr. Bogus has two kids, Matt and Stacey. They both went to Phoenixville,
and Mr. Bogus taught Stacey in Psychology, Honors Economics, coached
her in softball, and Matt in football. Mr.
Bogus coached baseball for 13 years
and is coaching softball for 18 years
running; he also has coached football
for about 30
years! Mr. Bogus
was once quoted
saying, “I bleed
purple!” Mr.
Bogus will miss
the relationships with his
students and
seeing them
grow. He
has
enjoyed
watching
them become
young
ladies
and
gentlemen. He says
that, “Sports teach you
a lot about life. You don’t always
win and you don’t always get your
way.”
We at Phoenixville Area High School
will miss Mr. Bogus, but we wish him
well! We hope he gets to travel, and
read as many books as possible. So
stop in and say hi before the year ends,
for Mr. Bogus is Phoenixville history!
The Purple Press
“It has always
been my goal to
be a ‘guide on the
side,’ not a ‘sage
on the stage,’” said
Mrs. Everett, speaking of her 33-year
teaching career at
Phoenixville. Any
student lucky
enough to have
had her at some
point in high school
has not only heard
this statement numerous times, but
has also benefited
from a teacher actually striving to do
just that. Speaking first hand, I can
confidently say that teachers with
such a philosophy help their students
learn without limiting their progress by
making it easy. “I know that if I don’t
demand excellence from my students, I’m not going to get it,” she
said assuredly.
Although it didn’t mean getting all
A’s all the time, I think I learned more
with Mrs. Everett as a teacher than in
most of my other classes combined.
With such positive experiences as a
student in her classroom, I wasn’t at
all surprised when she was chosen as
this spring’s Citadel Heart of Learning
winner. Subsequent news of her retirement, however, did come as a bit
of a shock to me, and it only seemed
appropriate to commend her before
she leaves Phoenixville High School.
placement, her goal has
been consistent. “I try to
teach as much science as
possible and have students become aware of
how important it is in their
lives,” said Mrs. Everett.
With each additional year
of experience, she has
been able to revise, finetune, and tweak her
teaching strategies to better accomplish this goal.
“I’ve learned to be more
patient and to have realistic expectations,” she
shared insightfully. Rather
than being the center of focus, her preference for hands on, interactive activities is
evident in the discussions, presentations,
projects, and labs composing her curriculum. “I encourage my students to be active learners,” said Mrs.
Everett, and she does
just that. In the two
years I spent in her
class, no two days of
class were exactly the
same. Mrs. Everett
was constantly engaging our class, giving us
room to think for ourselves and to help one
another learn. The
unpredictable lesson
plans were always
challenging, and usually fun. (I would be
lying to say organic
chemistry is fun!)
When we came to challenging units, we
were forced to be thinkers and problem
solvers. That’s not to say she
never answered our questions. In fact, one of the
things I’ll remember most
fondly about Mrs. Everett is
her brilliant responses to
even our most ridiculous questions.
Mrs. Cheryl Everett started her
teaching preparation as an undergrad bio major at
Millersville University.
She earned her masters at West Chester in
secondary education,
and has continually
expanded her knowledge in the sciences
through extensive
“Mrs. Everett, is it geneticoursework at Penn
cally
possible for a blonde
State and WCU. Here
couple
to have a redheaded
at the high school, she
baby?”
“Why does caffeine
has taught everything
dehydrate
you?” “Why do salt
from the new freshmen
water
fish
blow
up in fresh waIEE course, to Environter?”
No
matter
how off topic
mental Science, Biolwe
seemed
to
get,
we were
ogy I, to AP Biology. In
always
learning
relevant
science,
applicaall of these classes, and at all levels of
ble to our daily lives. Miraculously, she
The Purple Press
never seemed to get sick of our questions,
and could somehow answer just about all of
them. Our incessant inquiries would have
annoyed most normal people, but to Mrs.
Everett, it is one of the best parts of being a
teacher. “When I look into (my students’)
faces, and see that they ‘get it,’ that is the
most satisfying part of my job,” she said. For
her, few things are more rewarding than seeing her students learn and mature. In such a
demanding, sometimes thankless profession,
Mrs. Everett especially loves hearing from old
students who are sincerely grateful for how
well they were taught at Phoenixville High
School.
“I’m going to miss my students a lot… and
friends on the faculty here,” said Mrs. Everett
sadly, probably unaware of just how much
SHE will be missed! Fortunately, her retirement plans to stay involved in the community
will help her keep in touch with old students
and coworkers. She plans to
stay active locally with volunteer activities, and will be
teaching courses to prospective science teachers at
Ursinus College. Consulting
work is another option down
the road, which would involve
offering programs on teaching
methods at different school
districts. As busy as she’ll inevitably be, Mrs. Everett finally
hopes to have time for leisurely reading, spending time
with family, regular walking
and exercising, and her favorite hobby, gardening.
Throughout my interview
with Mrs. Everett, it quickly became obvious
just how much all of her experiences at the
high school have meant to her. Ultimately,
the students here have benefited more than
anyone, and we should be thankful for how
well she has prepared us for higher level studies and coursework. Even with the welldeserved award like the Citadel Heart of
Learning, Mrs. Everett is careful to keep the
admiration of her students and peers in perspective. She is still incredibly modest, in spite
of her accomplishments, and was sincere in
her last words of our interview. “I’d like to say
thank you to all the students I’ve had,” she
said. “It has been a pleasure to know all of
you, and to watch you grow up.”
Thank YOU, Mrs. Everett-I think all of
Phoenixville would strongly agree that the
pleasure was all ours.
Page 5
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have you in our
building. Good luck
and enjoy your retirement. Peace out
Dawg!”
Mrs. Havrilla -- “Dave has had a tremendous impact on his students as well as his
colleagues. He is friendly, caring, and
positive and will be remembered as ‘one
of Phoenixville’s finest!’ Congratulations
on your retirement.”
Mr. Rodenbough -“You are a good guy
and people person.
It has been a pleasure knowing you.
Enjoy your etirement
after many years in
education.”
Mrs. Gentile -- “Dave is a true team
player whose enthusiasm and humor is
contagious and appreciated.”
Mr. Coyne -- “Herr Andrews is part of a
disappearing breed, the last of tie and
dress shirt teacher. I will continue to carry
the torch.”
Ms. Lachenmayer -Mr. Hughes -- “Dave…….it has been a
“I think the only compleasure working with you during your
time at PAHS. Our students were lucky to plaint I ever heard
Mrs. Gentile -- Cheryl is a dedicated professional who inspires the love of science
in her students and who has kept current
with educational technologies in her
classroom.
Mr. Rodenbough -- Cheryl Everett has
been an outstanding teacher over her
many years of service. It has been a
pleasure and honor to have her on our
faculty.
Mr. Coyne -- Cheryl taught me to laugh at Mr. Barron -- Cheryl is undoubtedly THE
BEST teacher that I have ever had the opmyself when I make mistakes.
portunity of working with in my 29 years in
Mrs. Sobel -- Cheryl - I am going to miss
education. She always is striving to make
our discussions. Your sincerity and dediher students be higher order thinkers
cation will not be forgotten.
whether it be in an AP or standards class.
Mrs. Havrilla -- Cheryl has earned the re- She constantly revises lessons, activities,
spect of her colleagues and administralabs, assignments and always moves fortors and she will surely be missed. Best
ward in the use of new technology tools
wishes are offered to her as she continues for her students. Cheryl’s strong work ethic
the next part of her life’s journey.
has benefited all her students and contin-
Mrs. Gentile - Joe is a talented educator our high school for many years and not
and coach who also has a great sense of only were you a role model while I was a
student here, you were a mentor for me
humor!
when I began teaching here and you
Mr. Coyne -- Coach Bogus was one of
continue to be a mentor for me. As a
my first friends in Phoenixville. He taught
teacher, I strive to be as effective as you
me the “5 p’s of life.”
are. Good luck Joe….enjoy your retireMrs. Sobel -- Joe - You have been a
ment. Go Wildcats!!
great mentor (even on the days when
Ms. Lachenmayer -- Joe has always been
the softball team didn't play well)
a very professional colleague. We will
Mrs. Havrilla -- Joe has brought many in- miss his input during faculty meetings.
teresting life experiences to make conMr. Winnick -- Thank you Joe for being a
nections to the kids in his classes. He offers realistic commentary in an interesting good coach, colleague, and friend --but you and I both know as a 13 year old
way and keeps you smiling on a daily
basis. Congratulations on your retirement. Babe Ruth Oriole I should’ve started because I was the best player you ever
Mr. Hughes -- Joe, you are going to be
drafted (#2 behind Creighton).
missed here at PAHS. You been a part of
Page 6
Mr. Andrews utter was about
the copier! He is such a positive man.”
Ms. Curry -- “I will always remember Herr Andrews as an
enthusiastic speaker and
continual learner of several
languages! Herr would speak
in Spanish and French to the
modern language teachers
and ask them for new phrases
to expand his repertoire. He
also asked me to teach him
some Latin conversational
lines such as “Quid novi,
canis?” (What’s up, dog?).”
ues to be an inspiration for all her
colleagues throughout the years.
Mrs. Cordingley -- Cheryl was the reason I
was hired to work here. If that’s a good
thing, you have her to thank!
Mr. Hughes -- Good luck Cheryl……enjoy
your retirement. We were fortunate to
have you in our district for many years.
We here at PAHS will miss you!
Ms. Lachenmayer -- I don’t know where
Cheryl gets the energy to do all she does.
Last June many of the top 20 graduates
recognized Cheryl as being their most
influential teacher.
Mr. Burns -- Mr. B helped me, in more
ways than I can express in words, to become a better educator and most importantly, a better person.
The Purple Press
I am sure that you all remember
Jay Howson and his talent for bridge
building, but for those of you who do
not, I will refresh your memory. Jay is a
uniquely talented physicist
who is getting his start
here in the walls of Phoenixville High School. He
swept our local bridge
building competitions with
ease, and then on April 28th
he went on to compete
with the rest of the nation.
After going 36 hours without sleep, because of his
time at prom the night before, Jay traveled to Chicago to
compete in the National
Physics Bridge Building Competition. Fighting exhaustion, Jay
duked it out with 54 other physics fanatics from all over the
country. Jay’s bridge earned
him 14th place in efficiency
and an astounding 4th place in
amount of weight held (about
108 pounds)! Congratulations
Jay, on your success! Thanks for
giving Phoenixville High recognition on the national scale!
and no kissing in public.” It’s a much more she was sure to convey how much she
conservative way of life versus how we live appreciates attending school here,
in America. Maybe
which may be partly due to
one of the best culture
the fact that she recalls a
shocks for Jiyoon was
much longer school day back
the food. Displaced
home that runs Monday
from her spicy hot Kothrough Friday, from 7:00 am
rean foods, Jiyoon
to 10:00 pm, and on Saturday,
commented with eafrom 7:00 am to 12:00 pm.
gerness about how
“We get about a one month
much she loves the
summer break, and the senvariety of food here. “I
iors do not get a summer
love the cheese, sushi,
break,” she said. Jiyoon also
and pizza here,” she
noticed that we don’t have
said. Not only does she
any class trips. “My entire
enjoy
the
food,
but
class went on a vacation toJiyoon came to America for her first
she
also
explained
gether to Jeju, an island near
time back in August 2006, giving all of
how
she
and
her
Korea… it was really fun.” She
us at Phoenixville Area High School the
friends
back
home
like
then went on to explain that
opportunity to welcome this exchange
the
music
here
as
well.
the focus of school in Korea is
student to our school and our country.
“I
like
rock
music.
We
on math and science. There is
After flying to Japan, then to Detroit,
listen
to
Maroon
5,”
she
said.
no
gym
class.
Even more important is the
then to Philadelphia where she met
learning
of
the
English language, which is
Once arriving in America, one of the first
with her host family, consisting of a
stressed
from
grade
school on. Jiyoon
things Jiyoon had the opportunity to do
mom, dad, sister, and brother, Jiyoon
also
clarified
how
even
though the Engwas to go to New York City and see the
began attending our school. “I love it
lish
language
is
taught
vigorously
at an
Statue of Liberty. “It was amazing,” Jiyoon
here, although I do miss my family,” Jiearly
age,
she
was
still
really
afraid
of how
yoon said about her stay in America. “It said about how it felt to be in South Korea,
difficult
it
would
be
to
communicate
with
looking at pictures of things such as the
can be lonely,” she also added in reand
understand
people
once
she
arrived
Statue of Liberty, and then finally getting to
gards to the fact that her host brother
see them in person for the first time. Jiyoon here.
and host sister are older and are no
also recalled the terroristic tragedy that
Considering the language barrier belonger living at home.
occurred
in
New
York
City
on
September
tween
Jiyoon and me, ironically, she
Stepping off her plane, many culture
th, 2001. It happened when it was night in communicated a great deal more than
11
shocks hit Jiyoon hard. I, personally,
many Americans I have spoken to. Aside
Korea, but the next morning when everyhave to agree with her that it is pretty
from giving me the most fascinating interone
woke
up
they
too
felt
some
of
the
“shocking” to see how the boys here
view I have ever done, Jiyoon Park also
devastation
that
we
experienced.
wear their pants. “Their pants hang
gave me a new perception on life, both
“Everyone
called
here
[America]
to
make
down really low. I can see their underin America and South Korea. She leaves
sure
their
family
members
were
okay,”
Jiwear!” she explained, adding that,
June 21st to return home to South Korea
yoon
said.
In
addition
to
visiting
New
York
“girls’ tops here are cut really low, [and
City, Jiyoon also got a chance to go to the for summer break, and will return to Amerthat] there aren’t any people with
ica next year to attend school in a differpiercings and tattoos all over in Korea.” King of Prussia mall for some American
fashion.
“My
friends
at
home
are
like,
‘bring
ent area. She is definitely worth speaking
Plainly, the ways we communicate and
me
back
clothes!’”
to before her return home, and it was our
show intimacy with each other are very
pleasure to have her here for her junior
different as well. “In Korea, there is no
Jiyoon also sees many differences beyear.
hugging your teachers or best friends
tween PAHS and school in Korea. First off,
In our school paper there have been
interviews with coaches, principals,
new teachers, retiring teachers, award
winning students, graduating students,
and many other people of interest. All
of us here at The Purple Press have
given time and effort to craft our articles to tell the story of the subject
whom we are writing about. I recently
had the most insightful interview of my
year working on our school paper and
perhaps of all I have ever done. It was
an interview with one of our juniors... an
exchange student from South Korea
named Jiyoon Park.
The Purple Press
Page 7
ness to serve others. “My parents have
supported me and encouraged me to
always do my best,” Katie explained as
one of the reasons she is willing to work
so hard. This year she boldly took on yet
another challenging schedule that put her
dedication to
the test. She
first chose to
be a member
of the Allied
Health program. Then she
added two AP
and one
Honors class on
top of working
15-20 hours a
week at the
local Rita’s Water Ice where
she has earned
the position of
Manager.
Since Ms. Katie Kline is one of
my favorite people in the world,
it is hard for me to find only a
few words to describe her to
you. I have known Katie since
about 3rd grade where we both
attended Schuylkill Elementary
School. Of course, we are still
friends today, and it is my pleasure to tell you a little bit about
her many accomplishments,
and about the amazing young
woman she has become since
those days on the playground back in grade
school.
Katie has been able to successfully
apply the word “discipline” to her life like
no other high school student. She has
always been a hardworking person with
a constant sense of integrity and willing-
She’s been to seven Rascal Flatts concerts, owns 18 Johnny Depp movies,
and still has a stuffed rabbit named
Bun-Bun from childhood. She calls her
older brother “Germ,” and shares her
trademark ‘cheesy grin’ with her beloved mom. Who is this girl? She’s Kayla
Kaminski, and come June, Phoenixville
will no longer be able to call her one of
its students. She’s graduating!
Kayla moved here from the other side
of Pennsylvania from Apollo, a tiny town
outside of Pittsburgh. Most of her family
still lives there, but she keeps in touch.
She fondly looks back on her three
years here at PAHS, and will never forget the three proms she attended, the
amazingly fun Journalism classes, or all
the time she was “reading or writing
stories in class when, really, I should
have been paying attention and studying.”
Page 8
In the
occasional
spare time
that she has, Katie enjoys traveling with
her mother to show her Saluki dogs in
dog shows across the country. She is
also involved in numerous school clubs
such as NHS and Younglife while at the
same time being an enthusiastic mem-
Kayla takes her bubbly personality
from her mom (one of, if not her biggest life influences), and greatly looks
up to her. Kayla takes her love of writ-
ber of the girls’ tennis team. “Tennis has
been fun, especially this year,” said
Katie. This year the Phantom girls had
an undefeated season, which made
Katie very proud. She and her doubles
partner Sam McAvoy were also named
2nd best third doubles team in the
league, leaving Katie with a very
memorable experience for her last year
as a Phantom tennis player.
Some other memorable times in
Katie’s past here at the high school
include the Choir trip to San Francisco,
The Powder Puff Football game, Junior
Prom, and her Anatomy and Physiology
class last year. “My advice to any
incoming freshman is to make sure that
you don’t change yourself just to fit in,
and to just get involved,” said Katie.
She has certainly learned the meaning
of those words from her four busy but
fulfilling years here at Phoenixville. Her
future plans include attending Juniata
College in the Pre- Med program because she hopes to one day be a
pediatrician. She was also proud to tell
me that she has decided to play
Division III tennis in college as well. This
will certainly be a challenge, combined
with the work load that the pre-med
major entails, but if I know Katie, she will
pull it off with ease. If any girl deserves
to be happy and successful it is Katie
Kline. She has earned it!
dad, her best and life-long friend Jaci,
Mr. Zittel, all her English teachers throughout the years here, and even her little old
friend, me. Kayla has spent countless
hours working on the absolutely
marvy layouts for the school paper all year, and she’s done an
amazing job on it.
Kayla’s philosophy on life is simple: “I’m just me. I want to live, not
just exist.” After high school ends,
Kayla will be headed to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania to
major in Communications Media.
Hopefully, after she graduates,
she’ll be working for Country Music
Television. It’s her dream job.
ing from her freelance journalist
mother. She also has great admiration
for her siblings (all five of them), her
Good luck, Kayla, on your journey across state, and through life.
I know that I, at the very least, will
miss you and your love of Mr. Depp.
The Purple Press
“I’m just here. I’m not interesting.”
That’s what Nikki Zimmerman claims.
However, she’s just modest. There are
plenty of things that the school should
know about Nikki before she graduates.
For one thing, Nikki is a poetry fanatic!
She is constantly writing and
reading poetry on her favorite website of all time,
fictionpress.com. She writes
about life and the speed
bumps that come with it.
One speed bump that
was more like a mountain
was the tragic loss of Alana
MacNeil. Nikki’s memories
with Alana were a part of
Nikki’s favorite high school
moments. She said, “Alana
makes me more appreciative of being here. I am able
to tell people I love, that I love them.
[She] makes me appreciate life more.”
But not all of her memories come with
tragedy. Journalism class last year ranked
in the top 10 and so did prom last year.
“The music was better last year, but this
When confronted with accusations of
slacking off in school, or not caring
about academics, most students would
act offended, either making excuses or
professing outright denial. Daphne
Rogers, however, is comfortable with
the fact that, quite frankly, she could
have tried harder in high school. “I
would say I don’t always try as hard as I
should. I don’t always do the homework or study. Actually, I never used to
study. I’m doing better this year
though,” she stated. “I’ve had only 17
latenesses and last year I had 30+.”
That’s not to say that Daphne doesn’t
understand the importance of a good
education. Next year, this stylish senior
will be attending Johnson and Wales
University in Rhode Island for fashion
merchandising.
“I’m going to have to change in college,” she admitted, knowing her goals
will surely require some effort on her
part. In the work world, Daphne hopes
for an office setting where she can select the clothes that the store buys for
retail sale. She’s a perfect fit for the
profession. Daphne already picks her
own styles, and refrains from following
the fleeting teenage trends of high
The Purple Press
year was a happier prom,” she claimed.
This year she took her boyfriend from Lehighton, Dan Ritchie, who made her list
of her most influential people in her life.
Not only does her boyfriend influence
her, but so does her mom.
She has said many times
that she and her mom share
the same personality. Also,
two of Phoenixville’s most
interesting
teachers
have influenced her
as well, the
lovely Mr.
Wynne and
the fantabulous Mr. Zittel. Family
and friends
make the list from her
Gram to even me!
Soon, Nikki will be joining her Gram and her boyfriend in Lehighton when she attends Lehigh Carbon
school. “I make
my own
choices… I don’t
like to copy
someone else,”
she said confidently. Her
classy taste, as
evidenced by
her own colorful,
yet simple wardrobe, will certainly help her
succeed in this
unique career
path.
When she’s not
at the mall
(namely Nordstrom), Daphne keeps herself active in
sports like swimming and tennis. “I originally joined the tennis team because I
liked the cute white skirts,” she said candidly. “...But I ended up really liking
[tennis] and getting into it.” Daphne
played for four years, and made tremendous contributions to the growing team.
After a long week of school and tennis
matches, Daphne finds great satisfaction
in gluing herself to the TV screen at 9:00
Community College in the fall. “I’m
excited, but scared about college, ”
she admitted. I think most of the seniors feel the same way. After two
years there she plans to go to Penn
State to finish her degree in Elementary Education. She wants to have her
career and be married with kids by
the time she is thirty. Good luck Nikki!
Phoenixville will most definitely miss
your
quirky,
poetryloving self
when you
go off to
college
and high
school life
becomes
a series of
sweet
memories.
Sunday nights for Desperate Housewives.
This faithful viewer has
never missed an episode, even while on
vacations out of the
country. Unfortunately, the anticipation that builds until
Sunday night is not
always worth it for
Daphne. “I get so
mad when they don’t
tell me it’s a re-run!”
she said indignantly.
Besides Desperate
Housewives re-runs, it
isn’t especially easy to
upset Daphne Rogers.
And it doesn’t take much to make this
easy-going, contented senior happy,
either. Now as she graduates from
PAHS, she is determined to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. “I’ll
miss the people the most,” Daphne
said a little more seriously. And with the
exception of one or two frustrated
teachers, I can say on behalf of Phoenixville High School that we will certainly miss her too!
Page 9
Have you ever wondered what it
would be like if someone you knew
were to become famous? That ten
years from now you could turn on
your TV, drive past a billboard or pick
up a magazine and see his face?
Well, this is the dream of Harry Fosnocht, a very ambitious member of
the senior
class. He
wants no less
than to be
on MTV and
to become,
so to speak,
the next Jim
Morrison…
not just famous, but an
image that
people will
be remember forever.
High school for this “star on the rise”
was a pleasant experience. Most of his
time was spent practicing guitar and vocals to prepare himself for the future of
fame he so desperately wants: Many
teachers from Phoenixville inspired Harry,
such as Mr. Britcher, the ex-band
teacher. Harry stated, “he made me like
music.” Herr Andrews, “taught
me school can
be funny,” and
finally, Mrs. Nice
also helped him
develop his musical talent. Harry,
will, of course
miss lots about
Phoenixville, but
the thing that will
always stick out
just a little bit
more than any-
You may have seen her in the Fall Play,
twirling a sword, in your advanced academic classes or painting on the hallway
walls…who is this mysterious girl? Well,
she’s Kelsey Stanton. As a freshman, she
remembers being shy, but thanks to her
friends, she has become quite open, and
a little crazy. “Everyone knows me as the
quiet girl,” she said. Her friends, she
claims, have had the greatest influence
on her. Every single one of them has
helped to transform her into a fun-loving
girl!
In retrospect, she has
some great high school
memories. A fan of the
theatre, Kelsey was drawn
into the Fall Play, Spring
Musical and the Theatre
Guild by her friends. This
year she made her acting
debut in The Three
Musketeers, where she
learned how to handle a
sword for the first time.
Last year, she was known
as the “Prop Mistress” for
The Crucible. In addition to these
achievements in drama, she is quite the
artist. You may have noticed the freshly
painted mural on the walls of the science
wing. This was designed and painted by
Kelsey as her senior project. Even though
it was a pain, she counts working on
“that blasted wall” as one of her best
memories. In addition to these
Page10
10
Page
memories, she especially enjoyed this
year’s prom. In respect to academics,
she loved and misses Ms. Waltz’s tenth
grade Honors English class, from the
Tapped-In online discussions to the wild
activities for The Lord of the Flies.
To underclassmen, she advises you to
NEVER let
someone
else’s opinions affect
you.
“Take each day as it
comes,” she says. Listen to
yourself, she insists, and
become who you want to
be, but try not to cut yourself off from
people. “Give the arts a chance!” she
yells enthusiastically, and “Enjoy high
school …this time is so very short.” The
most important lesson that she’s
learned through her experiences in
high school are, “to not be afraid to be
absolutely crazy when I feel like it!” She
encourages us to remember to respect
each other, especially for our
thing else is, without doubt, the cafeteria
staff. Harry’s most memorable experience
at PAHS was, or so Harry said, “Mrs.
Dippell”.
As for his future, Harry was accepted to
Berklee College of Music where he will
study jazz guitar and lay a foundation for
his future jump to stardom. Harry is excited about the future and seems to want
to get there as soon as possible, but the
most exciting aspect to him is “trying to
actually make it in the real music world.”
His only fear at this point is the risk any
musician takes when he devotes himself
entirely to his passion, as Harry put it,
“Being the stereotypical poor musician.”
Nonetheless, with his talent in singing and
playing guitar, he is sure to make it big.
Harry urges all Phoenixville students to
remember, “What would you do if your
son was at home crying all alone on the
bedroom floor…”
differences.
When she’s not involved in a drama
production, or working at Gateway, she
enjoys hanging out with her friends,
reading great books, and going on the
computer. She has also been studying
the form of martial arts called Tang
Soodo for the
past 2 years. She
enjoys being
outdoors,
whether wandering through the
woods, or camping with her
friends.
Next year, she
will be attending
Temple University’s Ambler
campus, where
she wants to
study landscape
architecture. With this degree, she
wants to design private and public
gardens, but she would also love to
recreate historical gardens, especially
oriental and zen gardens. She is also
considering joining the Peace Corps.
Kelsey Stanton is one of our most
special seniors, as she is not only
incredibly artistic, intelligent and
theatrical, too. As you can see, she is
definitely more than just the quiet girl
you might see in your classes. She can
also kick your butt.
The Purple Press
Ever wonder about the real life behind your school king or queen? Well,
soon the “King” will be leaving the
building as Wanzell Flemming prepares
to graduate. As
a graduate of
the class of 2007,
Wanzell has had
so many experiences in this
school, but one
of the greatest
was when he was
pronounced King
at the prom.
When Wanzell
was named Prom
King of 2007, he
was surprised.
“When Dana Keller was announced as the queen, I assumed that Ross Peterson was going to
be king,” Wanzell explained. “But when
they called my name I was excited and
surprised at the same time!”
There are people who would say that
one of their parents or grandparents are
very influential to them, but Wanzell
believes his teachers are. His favorite
teacher is
Mrs. Heist,
who he
says “is a
loving and
helping
person.” His
teachers
push him to
do all of his
work and
succeed.
Wanzell has
accomplished so
much this
year, from getting many varsity letters to
improving his class ranking and his GPA.
Three words I’d choose to describe
Alex Bergstrom are outspoken, hilarious
and bold.
promenade alone, something brave, unheard of, and definitely admirable.
He also believes that he had the
chance of a lifetime to be able to play
The Purple Press
Wanzell has always been taught to
never give up and to be determined to
succeed. Wanzell will soon be a
graduate of Phoenixville High School
and will be attending Lackawanna
College, majoring in sports management. Since Wanzell is leaving he said,
“I will be missing all of my friends that I
made my whole school career. To all
those I leave behind, never give up on
your dreams.”
rock and roll,” and artists like the
Beatles and Bob Dylan.
In the near future, Alex will be attending Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, PA. Alex says that she may also
take part in City Year, a program that
“unites more than 1,200 young adults,
ages 17-24, from diverse backgrounds
for a demanding year of full-time
community service, leadership development, and civic engagement. These
young leaders put their idealism to
work as tutors and mentors to school
children, reclaiming public spaces, and
organizing after-school programs.” (For
more information see cityyear.org.) For
now, Alex works at the Phoenixville
YMCA in the childcare center, watching little kids.
She has a sense of
humor unparalleled by
any other student, male or
female. Although, yes, her
comments can be inappropriate for school, even
teachers have a hard time
keeping a straight face or
controlling their snickering.
Alex’s sarcasm is clear in
her prediction of her own
life. In five years, Alex sees
herself “in a double wide
and a moo-moo.”
Alex also possesses one
characteristic most girls don’t genuinely
find until college, or even later in life:
confidence. She’s not ashamed of her
gorgeous red hair and she says whatever she feels, whenever she wants to.
She even walked down the prom
on great sports teams. Wanzell was
praised as Athlete of the Week during
the month of April. This honor was given
to him for his achievements playing first
doubles for the tennis team with partner Pat Womer and winning the Pac10. He felt so appreciated by the
school. During his time as the kicker for
the football team he felt so pleased
that the town was behind him. “It
made me do much better,” he
claimed.
Alex’s biggest influence throughout
high school has been her mom, “mama
bear Bergstrom,” and one of her favorite
hobbies, like many high school seniors, is
sleeping. She likes music, including “old
All in all, I hope that Alex continues to
work with children, and make people
smile with her sense of humor, bold personality and confident disposition,
throughout the rest of her life.
Page 11
Arthur Lee is one of the anchors that
have become synonymous with Phantom TV news over the past few years. He
laughs and jokes casually off-camera,
but when the cameras begin to roll he
switches into “Art Lee mode.”
Art was born in Philadelphia, but
moved to Taiwan when he was five
months old, and attened school there for
five years. In Taiwan, Art learned Chinese,
and after ten years made his trek back to
the United States. Art Lee spent his first
two years at PAHS behind the scenes,
trying to identify himself. The defining
moments of his high school career came
in his junior year, when he “broke out of
the nutshell” and began to try new
things, such as helping out in the TV Studio and talking to more people. Art cites
Mr. Coyne and Chelsea Wright as his inspirations in high school, especially for
moving into TV Studio anchoring on television. Mr. Coyne emphasized the presentation aspect in his classes, and Art
wants to model himself after Chelsea
Wright because of her polished speaking
and the way she carried herself through
high school.
Art took on a variety of jobs in the TV
Studio, including control room technician, anchorman, and camera operator.
At first Art was confused, but slowly began to understand how the Television
She was voted bestdressed, she’s very involved in her own secret world of art, and
she still manages to
stay down-to-earth.
She’s none other than
awesome senior, Erin
Ambrose, and she has
a mission in life.
While Erin thoroughly
enjoys driving around,
blaring music in her
car, going to the city,
meeting new people,
and painting, she’s
clearly ready to
progress onwards from
seniordom to pursue a
life full of travels, fashion, the arts, and “me”
time. In mentioning her high school
days, Erin notes that she’s going to miss
her “favorite teachers and friends….the
[whole] routine,” and while she feels
Page 12
studio operated. He enjoys “putting
the puzzle pieces
together” to
make the TV
shows, attributing
his knowledge
and growth to
Mr. Carucci, Dr.
Harrington, and
Mr. Ramsey for
helping him and
teaching him
everything he
knows.
We may remember Art “for
the unique way
he enunciates his
words” but, he
has many other
interests as well.
Art has had standard training in
karate, but only
because it was
required in his
elementary
school. In his spare time he likes participating as an admin on gaming forums,
playing online games (especially first
person shooters), wandering in the
streets, and even doing yard work
around the house.
that this year’s
seniors lacked
freedom (because
of the rule enforcement), she is content with the
classes that she
chose to take,
naming Psychology as one of her
favorites.
Seemingly, senior
year has kept Erin
quite busy.
Between working at
Urban Outfitters at
the King of Prussia
Mall, and indulging
in artistic inspiration from musical
artists such as Elliott
Smith, her schedule has become quite
hectic. Fortunately, her strong and persistent demeanor allows her to take on
such challenges. See, Erin is a very intui-
After high school, Art will miss seeing
familiar faces and
roaming the halls,
talking to random
people. He will remember all the
great friends he
met during his four
year PAHS career,
including people
like Cass Lowry. Art
plans to attend
Brigham Young University to major in
communications,
with broadcasting
as his emphasis. In
the middle of his
college career Art
plans to embark on
a two year mission
for church, and
later wants to attend graduate
school to further his
studies. Ultimately,
Art Lee would like
to become some
kind of radio show anchor on a national
news program or a CEO of a broadcasting company. Art wants his fellow
students to know: “For a more foreseeable future my friends, I am the future.”
tive person, not allowing anybody’s influence to sway her personality,
whether it be positive or negative. She
remains completely true to herself, and
quite honestly, I strongly believe that
those qualities are what makes Erin so
likeable and unique amongst many
members of the student body.
In the near future, Erin plans to take a
year off of high school just to relax and
collect herself before moving on to
concentrate on fashion, at Columbia
College in Chicago, and possibly even
studying abroad in Australia. She also
sees herself living spontaneously, eventually settling down one day, so that
she can bask in her success and a
future-family.
As for underclassmen, Erin advises
that you make your high school career
worth remembering. “I know it sucks
and that it can get very frustrating, but
once you’re out…you’re out,” Erin
assures. “Hopefully I’ll be moving on to
bigger and better things.”
The Purple Press
Cass Lowry is known for being on the
Phantom T.V. News in the mornings, but
there’s more to him than that! He does
a lot more in the T.V. studio than just the
morning newscast. He writes scripts,
produces video pieces, films sports
events, films other
PAHS events, and
he also edits
pieces. He loves
the T.V. Studio because the teachers
(Mr. Ramsey, Mr.
Carucci, and Dr.
Harrington) have
taught him more
than just working
with cameras. They
have taught Cass
life skills.
Aside from T.V.
studio, Cass loved and enjoyed performing in the fall plays, especially these
past two years. His most influential
teacher was Mr. Tavani. Mr. Tavani has
helped him express himself. The 20 hour
Certain people in high school have
enormous personalies, chatting up all different sorts of kids, while managing to foster an extremely close group of friends.
Here at PAHS, one such person is Tabitha
“Tabbie” Ricks, and everyone knows her.
Outspoken and hilarious, nurturing, and
always willing to listen, Tabbie doesn’t
mess around. She’s always straight-andto-the-point, but most of all, she makes
for a one-of-a-kind friend.
While hanging out with her friends, yelling out of car windows, working, “hood
patrolling,” and stealing her brother’s
wheelchair, Tabbie’s personality has
evolved over the past four years, and she
owes much of it to her teachers. Naming
Mr. Wynne, Mr. Coyne, Ms. Burychka, and
(of course) Mr. Zittel, as some of the most
influential figures in her high school career, Tabbie says that “They’ve helped
me to see parts of myself that I didn’t
know existed,” during times when she was
unsure of who she was.
The Purple Press
a week practices for the fall play (The
Three Musketeers) paid off for Cass, making the fall play his proudest moment at
PAHS.
Cass said, “I’m excited for college
Phoenixville again. Sometimes when I
look around at people in the high
school I feel I could have done more,
and got to know others more, and had
more experiences.” Cass is sad that he
doesn’t have many more chances to
get to know more people in the high
school, but he looks forward to meeting
new people in college.
Cass has big plans ahead of him after
high school. The night after graduating
he plans to go to Argentina and spend
three weeks living there with a friend
and his family in order to learn more of
the Spanish language. Then he plans to
go to West Chester Honors College,
where he will major in elementary education.
because it’s a stimulated intellectual
change… the new environment, new
people, new ideas, and living on my
own. At the same time I’m sad because I
know I won’t see most people from
As for her favorite part of high school,
Tabbie enjoys
the fact that you
can “get away
with things that
you wouldn’t
normally be able
to get away with
in the ‘outside’
world.” She also
notes that she’s
reveled in learning about the
varying sides of
her friends’ personalities, and
although she’s
lost (and gained)
a few, she wants
people to know
that she absolutely intends on keeping the most important people close to her.
Currently, Tabbie takes part in the
Cass suggested some advice to all
the underclassmen: “Enjoy high school,
take advantage of what is left, do well
in classes because it really does affect
the rest of your life but at the same
time enjoy great people in high
school.” Good luck Cass. We will miss
your chipper self in the morning!
high school’s choir, Vocal Ensemble,
and FBLA, recently also completing an internship program at
Lockheed Martin. Following
graduation, Tabbie plans on majoring in both
English and
medical studies
at Delaware
County Community College and
Temple University.
To those she
leaves behind at
PAHS, Tabbie
says, “Thanks to
the teachers and good luck to the students…No matter how much I try, I’ll
never forget you.”
Page 13
regular guy, instead
of out of a book,”
says Johnny. Johnny
thinks of himself as
Jokester because he
is a slight goofball
and class clown. He
enjoys making
“weird” sounds in
the hallway with Troy
Tabb and Jordan
Thomas. Also, he
likes to play matball
way too much in
gym class.
Have you ever wondered, who is that
senior kid of Puerto Rican descent
who’s only 5’4’’ with long curly hair?
Well, he’s the infamous Johnny Gonzalez. He goes by rad nicknames like
Gonzo and Johnny Drop Kick. He is extremely athletic, intelligent and he is
fond of listening to music including
pop-rock, ska, and rap. Some of
Johnny’s favorite bands include Panic!
At the Disco, Fall Out Boy, Sean Paul,
Rise Against, Scary Kids Scaring Kids,
Lightning Bolt, Avril Lavigne, and
Ludacris. Lately, he is learning to play
the bass because he plans to be the
next Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy. He
can even spin and do 360’s like Pete
can, which takes real skill. He is a strong
advocate of gay marriage and promotes racial equality. Johnny also enjoys eating a bellyful of KFC crispy
chicken.
Johnny doesn’t
want to leave his
juvenile underclassman friends here,
but after graduating,
he will finally get
away from Phoenixville. He plans on going to Kutztown and
trying to establish a
pop-rock band. He
At PAHS, Johnny was inspired by Mr.
Wynne because he is creative, helped
him enjoy history and made it interesting and appealing. “He taught like a
Tyler Mittnacht is a fascinating senior here at Phoenixville. Although he is
currently an extremely gifted sandwich architect at Subway, he has
plans to someday work with nonedible mediums. To pursue this dream
Tyler is heading to Temple next year
to study architecture. Tyler stated,
“Someday maybe I’ll build a school.”
Tyler, like many other seniors, has
strong feelings about his time in high
school: “It went fast. I guess it was
pretty necessary.”
Tyler’s love for building things is not
just limited to architecture. During the
time he spent in art class he discovered he loves working with clay, and
also enjoys drawing; art, however,
was not the only thing that was inspirational to Tyler at Phoenixville. Mr.
Burns was a teacher who greatly inspired Tyler during his years here. He
said, “Mr. Burns got me into government and into being aware of what’s
going on. I now enjoy watching the
news.” Tyler will miss lots about Phoenixville, but nothing compares to, as
Tyler said, “Mr. McColl’s droll sense of
humor.”
Despite
Tyler’s
upstanding role
as a
dedicated
student,
he also is
a bit of a
rebel.
After
school,
Tyler enjoys terrorizing
the
streets of Phoenixville. These memories,
Tyler explained, will stay with him forever. One such memory Tyler mentioned was, “Getting arrested for stealing a flag and asking for a ransom for
said flag.” Another memory Tyler looks
back on with a smile is, “Playing ‘Low
Rider’ really loud during football
Page14
14
Page
regrets not paying attention in
school and in the
past hating people for stupid reasons (all of which
has changed).
For the underclassmen,
Johnny’s advice
is to pay attention, don’t take a
lot of study halls,
and don’t be
racist or homophobic. The famous quote
Johnny leaves us
is, “It’s much better to face these
kinds of things
with a sense of
poise and rationality.”
games.” At least Tyler enjoys having fun!
In ten years Tyler
has mildly high aspirations for himself. If,
for some reason, his
plan for being an
architect fails he sees
himself as, “A college
dropout, working
back at Subway.
Eventually I will own
my own store, but
until then I will live in
a van by the Schuylkill River.” As for advice for underclassmen, Tyler warns with
all seriousness and
from experience,
“Don’t underestimate how much time cops
have on their hands, and keep your friends
close and your enemies closer. Oh, and
don’t take bowling balls from Mr. Jennings.”
Okay, well, that pretty much sums up Tyler
Mittnacht, an extremely insightful member
of the senior class.
The Purple Press
“A risk-taker. Spontaneous. Very attractive.” These are words commonly used to
describe Tyler… by himself. Of course, Tyler’s sense of humor is just one of the
many things that he is known for. You
may have also seen the short film
“Dream,” or perhaps you came to see
the spring musicals West Side Story, or
Beauty and the Beast. Believe it or not,
there are other
things Tyler can
do aside from
stellar acting
and directing.
For example,
Tyler is an excellent percussionist who likes
to “jam out.”
He’s also an
exceptional
singer who is a
member of the
choir and vocal ensemble.
To showcase
one of Tyler’s many accomplishments, this
spring students had the privilege of viewing Tyler (and co-director Mike DiCocco)’s short film “Dream” in the high
Imagine this: you’re sitting in your house,
eating a snack, when suddenly you realize that you’ve just ingested a peanut,
and you’re incredibly allergic. BAM! Just
like that your entire body swells up, including your tongue, and you cannot
breathe. Now you’re going into cardiac
arrest, and you realize that you’re having
a heart attack. As soon as you hear the
siren of the fire truck, in rush the paramedics. One of the fearless EMTs rushing
around you grabbing the defibrillator and
poking needles into your arm is PAHS senior, Ryan O’Donnell.
Ryan has always desired to be in an
honorable profession. When a friend of
his got him involved in firefighting Ryan
fell in love with it. He said excitedly that
this form of helping people is something
that he has a passion for, and something
at which he is truly good. Ryan describes
his role in the life-saving process, as the
“messy stuff.” He has to handle all of the
difficult, initial precautionary and rescue
measures. Then the EMT crew works to
get person to the hospital, where the
doctor’s take over. The person who has
had the greatest influence on Ryan is the
The Purple Press
school auditorium. “I’m happy with the
final product,” Tyler said about the
movie. “I’m proud of myself for committing to one project for so long. [I’ll admit], I didn’t think we would ever get it
done. Watching people file in for the
DREAM premiere”, Tyler said is one of
his most proud moments in high school.
and/or filming. He plans to attend Kutztown with an acting major. He would
like to transfer to Temple if he doesn’t
like it there. “I like the city, and I see
myself being there. It was my first
choice,” he said. After college, he’s up
for anything, “Moving out to California… that’d be nice.”
Other memorable times at
PAHS include playing onstage with Buckets and Tap
Shoes, and Dave Frankenfield pulling the fire alarm.
Tyler also takes pleasure in
playing with Frankenstein
dolls on the top of the cupboards in Mr. Zittel’s room
on occasion. Tyler admits
that he didn’t get where he
his all by himself. Tyler’s biggest influences during high
school have been Dr. Harrington, Mr. Tavani and Mrs.
Nice. “They’ve all taught
me so many things that I
will be able to use, hopefully in my future career. Thank you for
the recommendations!”
Although there are some things that
Tyler is going to miss about high school,
he is looking forward to the college experience. He says he will be glad not to
have to wake up early anymore, and is
excited not to have the same schedule
every day. What he will miss, he says, is
“The place itself. I think it’ll be hard to
get used to a whole new environment.” With Tyler’s outgoing personality, he won’t have too much trouble.
What’s next for Tyler? College. Tyler is
very interested in acting, singing,
president of his fire company, Station 65,
David Meadows. “I love [firefighting],”
he said excitedly. “I hope to be doing
this for the rest of my life!”
Through his experiences in high
school, Ryan has learned the importance
of obeying his teachers and doing his
work. He advises that, “High school is
such a small part of life. Don’t blow it
now. Wait for your real life to begin.” As
for Ryan’s advice for underclassmen, he
says, “Don’t party too much,” as every
time he gets a call,
he worries that it’s
going to end up being someone that he
knows. But he always remains optimistic, living by the
phrase, “If there’s a
will, there’s a way.”
In his future, he
hopes to be a city
fire fighter in either
Baltimore or Los Angeles. Firefighting is,
as Ryan says, a
For those still attending PAHS, Tyler
gives this advice: “If you don’t try hard
enough, by the time you’re a senior
you’re going to regret it. High school
sets you up for such an important thing:
college.” Tyler is a great role model, in
a creative and unique way. I am sure
that he will continue to impress everyone he meets as he makes his way
through college. We wish him the best
of luck!
“young man’s game,” and he knows
that he won’t be able to do it forever, even though it is what he loves.
Therefore, he hopes to one day get a
degree in biology. Around the age
of forty, Ryan wants to have a relaxing job, perhaps as a biologist because he likes animals, especially
wolves.
In the little bit of spare time that
Ryan has in between his firefighting
and EMT responsibilities, he enjoys
playing soccer. Everyday Ryan
attends an internship for two
hours at the West End fire company, and then whenever he
gets a call he reports to Station
65 as a volunteer firefighter.
Although his occupation seems
menacing, Ryan is a fun-loving
guy at heart. Some of his best
memories from high school include prom and Relay for Life.
Ryan is one of our most invaluable seniors, as he is not only
compassionate and intelligent,
but he can also save your life!
Page 15
Kevin Foedinger is a well-rounded man
who goes to Phoenixville Area High
School. He does a little bit of everything
including (but not limited to,) softball,
bowling, basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer, football, street hockey, video
games, riding bikes, playing guitar, and
sometimes just “chillin’.” He is an “A” and
“B” student and writes a majority of the
sports articles for The Purple Press. He is
often hanging out with his friends who
are, he claims, “The most amazing people that I know.” Kevin also works in the
TV Studio in the control room. He does
many jobs there including working the
soundboard, video distribution, editing,
camera operation, and broadcasting.
10. Nasty School Water
9. The dress code
8. School parking lot
7. Dysfunctional ‘chillers’- never the right
temperatture
6. ‘Passports’- needing permission to go
EVERYWHERE
5. Stupid rules (no cell phones, water,
iPods, etc.)
4. Underclassmen
3. BESS (computer blocking)
2. Standardized testing
1. High School Drama & cliques
Felix Shi is someone who will be remembered by anyone who knew him
here at Phoenixville. He’s a unique
character who helped create
many humorous and exciting
experiences that will define
high school forever for many
of his friends and classmates.
Looking back on his time at
Phoenixville, Felix’s best
memories were hanging out
with friends, talking with
teachers, almost getting arrested, and just fooling
around in the hallways. Despite his love for fun, Felix does
take school seriously. He also
respects many teachers
greatly, for they have inspired
Felix to become who he is today and
to aspire towards the future. Felix
Page 16
Kevin has played for the PAHS Boys’
Tennis team for four years. He really
enjoys tennis because you can play it
your entire life, and he is good at it.
He enjoys playing for Phoenixville,
who has won the Pac-10 for 20 years
straight. He was playing varsity singles
but chose to move down to varsity
doubles. He has won “first team all
pac-10 doubles” for two years in a
row, and will probably play for Penn
State’s club team.
Kevin has had many influences, but
stated, “Mr. Graham inspired me greatly.
He makes me work fast.”
Felix is excited about the future, but he
feels that he
will also
greatly miss
his teachers
and friends
from the high
school in the
years to
come, not to
mention the
irreplaceable
experiences
he had during his high
school years.
Felix has
many hobbies when not in school. He
loves to work with computers and enjoys,
his parents are
his biggest influence. He lives
by the motto,
“Do not be
overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with
good.” He uses
this motto to
help him coach
the children on
his Phoenixville
Area Soccer
Club team. He
is probably going to stop
coaching while
in college, but
he loves to
work with children and will
probably continue coaching after he gets out of college.
Next year Kevin Foedinger is going to
be attending Penn State University to
study communications. He also wants
to take some kind of journalism class. His
favorite memories are of Young Life
Summer Camp, broadcasting basketball games, and playing tennis. He said
he will miss the friends he’s made, the
teachers, and playing sports here. He
leaves the students of PAHS with the
words, “It’s a hard knock life for us.”
“texting on my cell, Photoshop, and
eating pizza.” As for the future, Felix
said, “I am headed to Penn State to
major in business.” As for the rest of his
time in high school, Felix plans to party
and bike, as he has done for the last
three years. To accommodate his double life of studying and partying, Felix
feels, “We need more days off from
school.” So for now Felix will continue to
be Felix, having fun and somehow
managing to maintain a balance between his social and school life. Hopefully he can accomplish his dream in
ten years of, “Working in an office on a
computer.”
So, for those of you who know Felix,
and those who don’t, Phoenixville is losing a great character who brought excitement and memories that will last
forever for those who knew him.
The Purple Press
You may know a senior named Keith
Jones, and you may know
that he is great at Physics,
and you may even know
that he lives with his dad,
but do you know the real
story of Keith Jones?
Keith was born and raised
in Drexel Pennsylvania. After
his parents divorced, Keith
started to become a troublemaker. In middle school
he was a bully and he
would get in a fight at least
once a week. He would often get in serious trouble,
such as when he was suspended for ten days for
making terrorist threats, or
suspended for five days for
punching through a window. He was also a “big time slacker,”
and never did any of his work
One rainy morning during the week my
car had broken down, I was walking to
school, already a
little late. Cars kept
passing me, until one
friendly SUV slowed
down. “Hey, Vince,
do you need a
ride?” I was saved!
This was the first time I
truly realized the extent of the charismatic personality
that is Jenny Jee.
This is Jenny after
four years in what
she says is a nurturing, homey environment. She said, “I
was really nervous for
high school. I liked
middle school a lot,
because I was comfortable.” But even though PAHS seemed
colder and less protective, she feels that
she has become more responsible because of the way school pushed her. She
learned do the work on her own. This high
school, with all its quirks from Casey Chew
to Mr. Coyne, to Jenny was the perfect
The Purple Press
In eighth grade Keith decided it was
time to change his
life around so he
moved in with his
dad in Phoenixville. In Phoenixville he could
have a fresh start
in a new town. He
did indeed start
new and
changed himself.
He is no longer a
bully. He has
made honor roll
since his sophomore year and is
a great physicist.
He said he “was
just interested in
Physics,” and
started reading all
of the books and doing a lot of hard
environment to spend her teenage years
both for fun and education.
Jenny has always been
incredibly involved in the
school environment. She is
part of the Student Council
and Varsity Club and helps
out with other school
events. Athletics is a major
part of her life as well. The
soccer team, track team,
and softball team have all
had the honor of having her
on board, and she is often
seen training in the offseason. But the softball
team holds a special place
in her heart. “I love those
girls,” she laughs. “They
make me smile. I’ve never
been on a team where we
connected like that.” Even
though this was her first year
on the team, not only its players but also
its coach, Mr. Bogus, really made her feel
welcome. “Mr. Bogus has definitely
helped me have a great year,” she said
thankfully. “I went into softball really nervous because I had never played for the
school before.” But Jenny has been play-
work to become better at it. He also
said his worst class is English; he likes
his teacher, Mr. Zittel, but he does not
like the curriculum.
Keith Jones enjoys doing a lot of
other activities outside of school. He
still hangs out with his two best friends
that he’s known since elementary
school and he plays a lot of video
games on his Xbox 360 and PS3. He
also watches TV shows such as
MythBusters, Family Guy, Future
Weapons, and various cartoons.
Keith Jones is going to go to college after high school. He said he is
either going to Penn State or Drexel
University, leaving behind the place
where his life changed for the better.
He says he won’t miss Phoenixville,
and stated, “I’ll be glad to move on
with my life.” Who knows what Keith
will do in the future, but I’m sure he
will do it with success.
ing softball since she was seven, and
now plans to continue playing in college.
Of course, there is more to Jenny’s
life than school. “I have, in my opinion, awesome friends. I don’t think I
could have gotten through high
school without them.” A little cliché,
isn’t it? “Well,” she explained, “I know
that’s so cliché, but it’s true.” And
with the list of activities that Jenny
and her friends do together, it’s easy
to see why she has so much fun with
them. Disney movies (Beauty and the
Beast!), tubing on French Creek,
walking in Valley Forge Park, hanging
at the King House, going to the
beach, bike riding – the list goes on.
“I’m going to miss my friends a lot. A
lot,” she said wistfully.
While she’ll most definitely miss her
beloved hometown, Jenny Giannopoulos is quite to ready to move
on. “Graduation can not come soon
enough!” (Amen, sista!) She soon
plans to go to the University of Tampa
to study sports medicine. Good luck,
Jenny! We know you’ll do as well
there as you did here.
Page 17
He promised to create a utopia
and fulfill all of our dreams if elected
as student body president. Many
politicians lie, but we will never know
if he was lying because he wasn’t
elected. I am, of course, talking
about Corey Randolph Meyer.
Corey is a very familiar face at our
high school. You may have encountered him while he was yelling down
the hallway or randomly walking into
your class. You may also have seen
him in the Mr. Phoenixville contest
where he had peanut butter and jelly
poured all over him, with bread
added of course. If you happened
to be lucky enough to catch the
“presidential debate” then you
would have seen where Corey made
the bold move of asking his opponents for their vote. Corey’s unique
style and humor define who he is.
Looking back at high school, Corey
does not have one fondest memory.
He has many great but equal stories
in his past. Corey will miss high school
Sara Messing is video gaming chick
and plays Kingdom Hearts for hours
on end. That’s not all there is to her
though. Sara is a bundle of excitement and talent when it comes to
her hobbies. She
writes fanfictions,
draws anime
comics, and
plays guitar and
piano. Sara
Messing has a
torrent of talents.
For Sara,
Phoenixville has
many memories.
She’s met new
people since she
moved here
seven years ago,
and is still friends
with most of
them. Between
playing her instruments, going to school, work, and
getting creative with her imagination
for her hobbies, she still finds time to
spend with her friends Tabitha Ricks,
and Monika Lobbell, along with her
sister Marielle. Marielle and Sara may
not always get along, but one thing
just as the
high school
and its remaining
members will
miss him. For
those who
will miss
Corey’s antics in the
year to
come, you
can find him
at your local
Genaurdis
checking out
some customers at his
cashier job.
After this summer Corey will be attending Temple University. He hopes to study
dance and/or African American Studies.
Corey hopes to leave the same mark on
college as he did in high school. Just as
he took people by surprise in high school,
he hopes to do the same in college. He
said, “Well, in high school I would sneak
they do agree on is loving anime.
Sara travels to Otakon, an anime cosplay
fest, where you can dress as your
favorite anime character, located in Baltimore, every year in
July.
When
she’s
outside
of
school
she
works
at a
WAWA
store.
She
stated
that “it
isn’t
worth
working
there.
The
stress and people are just too annoying.”
Between her job and school, she works
hard to finish her senior year.
One of Sara’s main influences in Phoenixville High is Dr. Harrington because he’s
good with technology. One of her best
memories was when she worked the lights
Page 18
into classes I
wasn’t in all
the time. So, I
figure since
I'm going to
Temple and
it’s surrounded by
other campuses that
maybe I can
just go to
other classes
at, like,
Drexel.”
So next
time you are
walking
down the
hallway or sitting in class, never think
the silence is safe. At any moment
Corey could walk in, he could yell, or
he could dump peanut butter and jelly
all over himself and give you a snack.
It’s safe to say that when Mr. Meyer
leaves PAHS the high school will never
be the same.
for “Guys and Dolls” her sophomore
year. Her future involves getting into
technology herself. She says,
“I plan to go to college and
eventually work for Square
Enix, the company that created Kingdom Hearts.”
School isn’t fun for everyone, as many people know.
There are the hardships of
homework, the Senior Project needed for graduation,
and classes that can be boring. Through the hardships,
Sara Messing has never
given up hope. Sara quotes
from Sora of Kingdom
Hearts, “The heart may be
weak, and sometimes it may
even give in. But I've learned
that deep down, there's a
light that never goes out!”
Sara has a heart of gold, just
as Sora does from Kingdom
Hearts. She does not regret leaving
Phoenixville High this year, but she will
miss those that she has grown to know
for the few years she has been here.
Sara advises those that still have a few
years to go at Phoenixville High,
“Graduate! If you consider dropping
out, DON’T!”
The Purple Press
to get all these kids
through this. I have to
make sure they’re okay.”
And she has. I know that
she has always extended
her motherly warmth to
any person that wants to
talk about her daughter.
She always has to me, and
I’m thankful for it. It doesn’t
make me miss Alana any
less, but it makes her loss
easier to deal with.
Two years ago, the class of ’07 was
robbed of one of its members. Her
name was Alana MacNeil. In another
two weeks, she would have graduated
with the 228 others that make up our
PAHS senior class.
Alana, who was killed in her home in
April of 2005, was cheerful, optimistic,
and always had a beautiful smile
pasted on her face. That’s something I
will never forget about her, ever. That
gorgeous smile.
She loved the music of John Mayer,
and had she lived, I bet she would
have written in her own choice on the
Prom song ballot, and voted for
‘Waiting on the World to Change.’
Alana never made it to
16. She never got to learn
how to drive. She never
went to her Junior or Senior
Proms. She never had a
boyfriend, and she never
had her first kiss. There’s so
much my fallen friend didn’t get to do. She never
got the chance to freak
out over SAT’s and college
applications, and she isn’t
one of the 228 that are
graduating Phoenixville
High School on June 14th.
I have had the pleasure of being in
contact with Alana’s mother, Caroline,
for the past two years, and I’m pleased
to report that she and her four-year-old
daughter Faith are doing well. They
have moved to Norristown with
Caroline’s fiancée.
That doesn’t mean that Caroline
doesn’t think about what happened to
her oldest daughter everyday, but she’s
my life to help me get though it… I made
more at peace with it. She said, “Things
it through, I’ve learned and I’m
happen in this life for a reason, and this
stronger…. I hope that everyone else
happened to teach somebody someexposed to this
tragedy learned
thing. It wasn’t [a lesson for] me,
something as well.”
because God knew what was
re us for
a
p
re
p
coming and He
helps
Those words
r
in our life Alana’s mothe
s
n
e
p
p
brought tears to my
,
ha
Conroy
ing that
aroline
C
eyes.
“Everyth
—
.”
re
the futu
Throughout the tragedy, Caroline has
made sure I
always
lived with the mindset of “I have
had a lot of wonderful people in
Even though she won’t be accepting
her cap and gown in a few weeks,
Alana will be with me and all the other
members of the class of 2007. She’ll be
in our hearts and minds, and I know
that I, at least, will never, ever forget
her.
Angel
By Alana MacNeil
He squeezed her hand gently as she woke and saw his face.
“Where am I?”
He smiled warmly at her and held her hand tighter. “I am your angel. God wants you with
us now…”
She gazed into those familiar blue eyes. “Alright, I’m ready.”
She grabbed her father’s hand and they floated away…
The Purple Press
Page 19
•
Finals. Just the word can send some
high schoolers into seizures. And what
kids in their right mind would not be
anxious about such a decisive test in
every class over a period of four days? By
senior year, you get to like finals week,
because usually you only have a couple
classes where there’s really tests (which
all usually end up, by sad fate, on the
same day). And then, you have the rest
of the day off! You meet up with your
friends at school in the morning, spend a
couple hours sweating over whatever
exam, and then once you leave to some
exciting destination together to hang
out, this feeling of “hey, whatever
happens happens” comes about the test
and about life.
Regardless of what people may say,
they’re important, but they’re not hard. If
you slacked off during the year, you deserve the grade you’re bound to get. If
you tried but still didn’t get it, talk to the
teacher. (They don’t bite!) But now let’s
look at it realistically. The marking period
is over, and even though you might be
kicking yourself because you thought
Myspace or malls were more important,
you still want to do well on the tests. Here
are some tips from an experienced testeating and not to mention ridiculously
handsome senior for how to succeed on
final exams.
STUDY. Sounds obvious, right? Well,
do it. Look over the notes. Try to read
important parts of the text book (which
is actually incredibly helpful). Be smart
about it; don’t waste time trying to
thoroughly go over everything. All you
need is a general idea of the material
and how it connects, and a little creativity. Skim end-of-chapter outlines,
SparkNotes, and tests just so you can
see everything you (were supposed to)
have learned. Maybe spend a little extra time on a certain forgotten topics or
refresh yourself on the concrete facts
like dates and formulas, but try to at
least look at all you did in that class
during the semester.
•
Do it ahead of time. Don’t stay up
late cramming. Look over the weekend
before, if not earlier, so you have time
to ask the teacher. Plus, you then have
more time to study again, which you
should do the night before the test (so
it’s all fresh, baby). It may sound tedious to study twice, but shut up and do
it. It’s for your own good! You don’t
have to spend more than two hours on
it either of the two sessions, seriously.
•
Treat yourself nice. Get a decent
night’s sleep, take a hot shower, get a
nice bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats,
and then look in the mirror and tell
yourself that you look stunning. The finals are trying times. It is --not worth
having you hate yourself or let them
screw with your mind. As with everything else in life, confidence determines how well you’ll do. Go in feeling
positive and confident, and you’ll do
better than if you go in afraid and
doubting yourself.
•
Eat milk chocolate. Seriously. I don’t
know how they found this out, but
ployment opportunities
and prospective colleges.
Five Phoenixville Area High
School Students had a
strong showing at a state
leadership conference in
Hershey, PA. They competed in business events
against other top members
in the state and attended
workshops as well. They
listened to motivational
speakers and visited informational booths on fundraising opportunities,
em-
The five students included Senior Kevin
Kray, who placed 7th in
the Mr. Future Business
Leader of America competition. Junior Jade
Wright placed 12th in
Public Speaking II. Senior
Carissa Gronski placed
13th in Accounting I
Page 20
some study showed that those who ate
milk chocolate before a test scored significantly better than those who didn’t.
Now, I’m not sure how true it is, but it
wouldn’t hurt to try (a lot).
•
Write out whatever you think will be
pretty vital. Formulas, dates and their
significance, literary terms, declensions,
and so on all stick better if you write
them out. Watching the pencil being
dragged across the paper and leaving
those weird lines that mean the ideas
that you are funneling out of your head
onto the page solidifies the ideas and
makes them easier to recall.
•
Wear comfortable, clean, and
classy clothing. It helps to look good
while doing stuff like this. You’ll feel
more put-together and organized but
at the same time relaxed. No pajamas,
but no worrying about being a fashion
diva. Just jeans and a button-down.
TRY. Even though you can be lighthearted about it, you’re messing yourself up if you give a half-hearted attempt. Be harsh with yourself to sit down
and study the dang stuff. Confidence is
the performance, but discipline gets
you there. If you choose the couch instead of the desk, the next morning
you’ll be looking at number five and
thinking, “Boy, oh boy, am I a stupid
halfwit.” So save yourself the torture
and try. Let go of feeling good for one
half-hour and study. You’ll feel great
about it the next day.
Hey, finals are stressful, but they don’t
have to be. And just think, once that
tenth-period exam is over and you go
to the ice cream place with all your
friends, you can feel good about yourself for having finished another year of
high school with your best effort.
while Junior Gail Dooley placed 12th in
Accounting I. Lastly, Junior Adeoulu
Fasanmade placed 13th in Technology Concepts.
Congratulations is due to these five
students who excelled in their
individual areas. They represented
our school well, with over 3500
students competing for a chance to
go to nationals and for scholarship
money. These FBLA students are well
deserved of their awards.
The Purple Press
The month of May came rolling
around quickly and so did one exciting
event that we all look forward to in
Phoenixville, The Relay for Life. Since the
tradition was started three years ago
back in 2004, our community has affectionately clung to the tradition of
holding a Relay annually to show our
support for the American Cancer
Society in the fight to defeat cancer.
Phoenixville received state recognition
back in 2006 for raising over one million
dollars in three years. This year the community united yet again to “Maintain
the Momentum” of past years.
In case you are not familiar with this
popular event, the Relay For Life is a
fun-filled overnight event designed to
celebrate survivorship and raise money
for
research
and programs of
the
American
Cancer
Society.
During
the
event,
teams of
people
Back in January 2007, The
Valley Forge
Alumnae
Chapter of
Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority
hosted a writing contest. This
group is responsible for a number of commemorations to
the contributions made by
African Americans during the
American Revolution. On June 19, 1993,
the sorority sponsored the unveiling of
the Patriots of African Descent Monument at the Valley Forge Historical Park.
The writing contest was conducted as
an extension of this memorializing of
African Americans during the American
Revolutionary War period. Troy Tabb
The Purple Press
gather at schools, fairgrounds,
or parks and take turns walking or running laps. Each
team tries to keep at least
one team member on the
track at all times.
This year the Relay took
place on May 11-12 from 6pm
to 6pm. There were over 100
teams, 240 survivors and caretakers registered. The amount
of money raised for this year
alone totaled $223,679.09 dollars with the top supporters
being Ron Allen from Centennial Lutheran Church with a
donation of $11,120.00, whose
team was also the top fund
raiser in their category, and
Thomas
Ruggieri
from Miles
for Martha team, with
a donation of
$4,335.00. Under the
new leadership of
Nicole Delson, Fox
Rothschild LLP, and
Maureen Troutman,
Freedoms Foundation
at Valley Forge, the
Relay was an enjoyable event for all.
[10th Grade] and James Lolli [9th
Grade] both received awards for
their essays.
James Lolli honored Crispus Attucks, a slave who gained his freedom only to die defending freedom at the Boston Massacre.
James placed first in the contest,
while Troy Tabb
placed second. Troy honored William
Lee, George
Washington’s
first hand slave
who stood by
his side before,
through, and after
the Revolutionary
War. The awards
will be presented
June 2, 2007 at
10:00 A.M. in front
of the Patriots of
African Decent
“The Relay for
Life has had a
huge impact
on our community and has
brought the
community
together over
the past three
years. This
event affords
many members of the
community the
ability to contribute time
and effort to
raise awareness about
cancer and
raise money to
help in the research…” said Mrs. Delson. This year’s
Team awards went to The Phoenixville
Hospital won for Best Site and The Most
Spirited Team award went to Loppy Leprechauns (Diane Ritter’s team). The Relay
proved to be as fun, enjoyable and successful this year as the years past, thanks
to hard work and dedication of the sponsors, teams and staff.
Monument at Valley Forge Park. Here
are excerpts from these students’ winning writings:
Troy Tabb [2nd place]
[“William Lee was the only slave that
Washington gave freedom to in his will.
He became one of the most publicized
African Americans during his time period. The reason was simply because he served by Washington’s
side during the Revolutionary War,
and all the photos that had been
taken of Washington had Lee present in them.”]
James Lolli [1st place]
[“After some time, Attucks found
himself as a dockworker right at the
sight of the Boston Massacre… He
commanded about 50 citizens
against the British, cursing them all
the while… Crispus Attucks helped
strike the flint that would set off the
burning desire for freedom a he
once had inside of him.”]
Page 21
trait…and just like other traits, you can’t
simply “change” them. It’s something
homosexuals deal with their whole life,
whether they want to or not.
For the past five or so
years, gay marriage has
been a topic on many people’s minds. Whether it’s a
heated discussion about
whether gay marriage
should be allowed, or
whether someone just calls someone
“gay,” the topic of homosexuality
arises.
So you say you don’t know any
homosexual people at all? Even
though you may not think you know
any gay people personally, studies
show that 10% of the population is gay.
This means that 1-3 people in each of
YOUR classes are gay. Basically, just
watch what you say. What you say
may not offend you, but saying “that’s
so gay” or “faggot” could offend
someone else around you. Just as you
wouldn’t use negative racial terms
around people, there isn’t a reason to
use derogatory homosexual terms.
Being gay is just one unique trait, just
like athleticism and intelligence. Homosexuals can’t just simply “change” how
they feel. It’s part of one’s DNA…just
like the color of your hair. It’s a
It’s no secret that card companies
take every excuse for a card and
make it into a big deal. Nowadays,
there’s a card for everything. They’ve
turned Valentines Day into a national
day of panic, (for people both single
and taken), and you can even buy
birthday cards labeled “From the Cat.”
But fear not: Mother’s Day is no original
Hallmark idea.
According to holidays.net, the ancient Greeks were among the first to
celebrate mothers, worshipping Rhea,
the mother of gods and goddesses. As
early as 250 BC, the Romans celebrated Cybele, the mother goddess.
This celebration was known as Hilaria,
Page 22
One common idea of why
people oppose gay
marriage is that if they
have someone gay
around them, that person will try to pursue a
relationship with them.
This is ludicrous. Just like
with heterosexual people, homosexual people
have likes and dislikes for
certain people, “turnons and turn-offs.” Just
as how heterosexual
people aren’t attracted to everyone of
the opposite sex, homosexual people
aren’t attracted to everyone of the
same sex. They also don’t try to turn
straight people gay.
Another reason why people “dislike”
gays is because homosexuality is
immoral, according to the Bible. To me,
this simply isn’t politically correct. Our
society is supposed to have a separation of church and state. It just doesn’t
make sense to me to judge human life
that way.
Thankfully, some steps have been
taken to achieve equality for homosexuals. Massachusetts has allowed
same-sex marriage throughout the
whole state, but is the only state to do
this. There is also a thing called civil
union, which is essentially a way to ensure that same-sex couples can have
certain protective rights together, with-
and was a three
day celebration
held during the
Ides of March
(March 15-18).
They celebrated
by making offerings in the temple of Cybele
and also held
parades, games
and masquerades. The three
day celebration
became so infamous that the
followers of Cybele were banished
out calling it marriage. These rights are
mainly medical and death-related. For
example, if one person is in a coma after
an accident, the other partner would
have power of attorney, which is the
ability to make important life or death
decisions for the loved one who is
incapacitated. The three states to make
civil unions legal are Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey, which actually just
made civil unions legal in December of
2006. The downside to all of this is that
the federal government doesn’t
recognize any of these unions.
Put yourself in this situation. What if a
person you thought you knew everything
about for years all of a sudden “came
out of the closet?” Would your feelings
towards gay marriage/ homosexuals
change if your best friend was gay?
Would you all of a sudden stop talking to
him/her? Would you treat him/her
negatively because of something they
are and cannot change? I would hope
not. That wouldn’t be fair to the friend at
all. It wouldn’t be fair that one trait could
completely ruin a friendship because of
your biased state of mind.
Although it’s nearly impossible to get
everyone to completely agree on gay
marriage, everyone could easily be
accepting of the homosexual community. That’s all I really ask. You don’t have
to preach about homosexual equality, or
become a full advocate of gay
marriage…just don’t discriminate people
who have a different lifestyle. They don’t
look down on you, so there is no reason
to look down on them.
from Rome.
her
Mother’s Day started
in America in 1907,
with a woman by the
name of Anna Jarvis.
Anna’s mother, Anna
Marie Reeves Jarvis,
had always wanted a
national day for mothers to be honored, and
her daughter never
forgot. On the two
year anniversary of her
mother’s death in
1905, Anna invited a
friend over to honor
The Purple Press
mother, but she’d go on to involve more
than one person in her quest for a national Mother’s Day.
Over the next few years Anna gained
support from other women, and wrote
persuading letters to people in positions
of power, lobbying for a national
Mother’s Day. In just six short years,
Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost
every state in the Union, and on May 8,
1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a
Joint Resolution designating the second
Sunday in May as Mother's Day.
It’s been 100 years since Anna Jarvis
started campaigning for a national day
to honor mothers, and too often we turn it
into another meaningless holiday. You go
to the store, buy a $2 or $3 card, and sign
One Sunday, Cheza grabs her father
by the hand and drags him to the car.
They get in and she starts to drive
downtown. He doesn’t know where his
daughter is
taking him. As
they arrive at
the Café de la
Lune, Cheza
motions her
father towards
the front door,
and just as he
walks in, she
and a group of
people shout,
“Happy
Father’s Day!”
Cheza knows
the difficulties
he experienced while
raising her. So as a surprise to him, she
and a group of her friends are treating
him to dinner for his special day.
Father’s Day is a day to appreciate
fathers around the world. According to
www.wikipedia.org, it was started on
June 19, 1910. Father’s Day originally
derived from Mother’s Day, though in
Roman Catholic tradition, it is celebrated on Saint Joseph’s Day on March
19. This day was meant to remember
the fathers that died in a mining explosion in Monongah on December 6,
1907.
Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd started Fa-
The Purple Press
it, ‘Love, (your
name).’ However, just getting
a card isn’t always a warm
fuzzy way to
honor someone
that made your
life possible.
This year,
Mother’s Day
was on May 13,
and instead of
buying your
mom another
boring, sappy,
cliché card, I
hope that you
did something
ther’s Day, grasping inspiration to remember her father’s passing and his
birthday in June to show him how special he was to her. Sonora Dodd was
that shows you
appreciate the
time she spends
with you. If you
forgot to celebrate Mother’s
Day, it’s never
too late to make
a belated
mother’s day
card, make her
favorite food, or
do something
special for her.
There’s only one
mom in the
world like yours,
so show her you
love her!
during your life. Sure they’re strict, pain
in the necks about your boyfriends, and
overprotective of their daughters and
sons, but they do this because they
love you! Please show them some love
and appreciate them, if even for just
one day.
This year Father’s Day falls on the 17th
of June. Take off of work and take your
father out for the day. Go golfing,
bowling, take him to that movie he
really wants to see, or just stay home
and spend time with him playing board
games. You can always celebrate with
his favorite cake or buy him a gift that
he has always wanted. Show him you
appreciate him and what he’s done
for you. Most importantly, tell him you
love him!
originally introduced to the idea when
she attended a Mother’s Day celebration in 1909. After the celebration, she
realized she wanted to show how appreciative of her father she was. Her
father passed away after raising six children on his own as a Civil War veteran.
It took many years, but Sonora finally
achieved what she wanted. In 1966
President Lyndon Johnson declared
that Father’s Day should be every third
Sunday in June. In 1972 President Richard Nixon established Father’s Day as a
national holiday.
Father’s Day is the day to appreciate
all fathers who have supported you
Page 23
seed Marple-Newtown 3-2 on Kacie
Nemeth’s game-winning hit. Finally, in
the semi-finals, the girls faced #4 seed
Sun Valley and fell by a score of 3-1.
Congratulations girls on an awesome
season!
This year’s team was
led by junior pitcher
and second baseman
Courtney Heming,
sophomore catcher
Kacie Nemeth, and
freshman pitcher Molly
Ferguson, although Mr.
Bogus said that “Every
player has a role, everyone’s important.” The
team retired five seniors
this season: first year
player Jenny Giannopolous, second year
players Julie March
and Thea Koons, and
four year players
Amanda “six penny”
Naile, and Kaitlin
Gephart. Upcoming
underclassmen Molly
Ferguson, Kelly Foedinger, Kacie Nemeth,
Miranda Peto, Gail Dooley, Becca
Bottom of the seventh, two
outs. Freshman pitcher Kelly
Foedinger winds up and
pitches a perfect strike. Another one follows. As everyone is on the edge of their
seats Kelly hurls another perfect pitch and the batter
grounds out to second, completing a no hitter! This was a
very exciting moment of a
great season for our high
school’s softball team.
The Varsity Girls Softball
Team finished this season 8-10
in the Pac-10 and 10-10 overall, a record that got them to
districts as the #9 seed! In the
first round of district play, the
girls beat #8 seed Villa Maria
by a score of 2-0. In a thrilling upset
in 12 innings, the girls then beat #1
Controversy fuels the media and controversial individuals do so even more.
Major League Baseball has endured
much controversy and it doesn’t seem
to be letting up. Barry Bonds has
caused as much stir in the media as the
war has at times. He is now approaching a record that less than one in a
billion will have to opportunity to get as
close as he is now. This record is, of
course, Hank Aaron’s all time home run
record of 755.
Baseball’s image has been tarnished
due to the steroid controversy and no
matter how much another player attracts attention, Barry Bonds is the
poster child for this controversy. If he
does break the home run record many
people will be angry, many people will
be happy, but most people won’t care.
There is little harm done by Bonds
breaking this record because another
ten years from now Alex Rodriguez
could be the record holder and then
Bonds will only be second best.
While Barry Bonds goes through much
scrutiny from the media, I believe he
has no one but himself to blame. He
rarely speaks to the media and when he
does he is rarely a likeable guy. He attacks the media and
then expects to be left
alone. If he were more
of a people-person then I
would assume he would
have more support.
Whether he took steroids
or not, when he breaks
this record it will attract a
lot of media attention, be
it positive or negative.
Barry Bonds will be
infamous in the minds of
many. Commissioner
Bud Selig hasn’t decided
if he will be present when Bonds breaks
the record, which shows that he isn’t
convinced of Bonds’ innocence. If
baseball wants to clean up its act then
Selig shouldn’t make it so obvious of
how much he doubts Bonds’ innocence
in this steroid scandal.
Barry Bonds isn’t the only person causing controversy in his sport. Roger Clemens has come back to New York over a
month after the season has started. He
has been awarded a contract with a
Page 24
Clayton, Courtney Heming, Kerri Kelly, and
Ruth Jasienski will hopefully be returning to
what should be a good, hard working team
next year.
As for this year, Mr. Bogus is ecstatic
about their wins against Springford, and
Great Valley. The coaches are also proud
of pitcher Kelly Foedinger’s no hitter.
Coach Bogus stated, “It was really, really
awesome to see anyone at any level [pitch
a no hitter].” He is also proud of captain
Courtney Heming. She likes being captain
because she can fulfill the role well. She
says that, “[As a team] we work together,
and when we need individual talent it’s
there.” She also explained, “[Mr. Bogus]
knows a lot about the game…and he
knows what to do in certain situations.”
Mr. Bogus and Mr. McLaughlin worked
hard this season to coach the Varsity and
JV teams. Mr. Bogus explained that, “I enjoy the kids. We’ve had some interesting
games [and I] never had to question their
desire!” Mr. Bogus also praises Assistant
Coach Mr. McLaughlin for his determination and hard work. Mr. Bogus stated, “Mr.
McLaughlin is a great assistant coach and
the girls like him, and overall he is a tremendous coach.” So, good luck to the seniors
and the returning team next year!
ludicrous pay of 4.5 million per month.
Roger Clemens came on the big screen
during the 7th inning stretch at a
home Yankees game. He received
a warm welcome and all the talk
was about how he is going to take
the Yankees back to promised land,
the World Series. For the time being,
Roger Clemens is starting a few minor league games in order to prepare for his big Yankees debut.
There is no doubt that Clemens is
one of the greatest pitchers of all
time, but the treatment he gets isn’t
deserving of any player. Included in
his contract is the freedom to leave
the team when he is not pitching.
Also during a road series he does not have
to travel with them if he is not starting one
of those games. In other words, the
Yankees are so desperate that they basically became Roger Clemens’ female dog.
Major League Baseball is fueled by
controversy and has turned into a business
more so than a sport for the fans. They
allow for certain people to be above the
game. MLB has much cleaning up to do
before fans no longer care about this great
game.
The Purple Press
Womer put forth a solid effort at first
doubles, winning the doubles title at
the Kiwanis tournament and placing
third in Pac-10 doubles. All of the
seniors stepped up during the toughest of times against the fiercest
opponents and helped pull out key
victories. Boyertown coach Dave
Burket described Phoenixville tennis in
a statement to The Phoenix after the
Bears’ 6-1 loss to the Phantoms:
"When you play Phoenixville, you play
the best. I like playing them. They
(Phantoms) play the right way and
act the right way as gentlemen. It is
really always a fun match."
Few teams have the
privilege of attaching
the “undefeated” tag
to their resume. The
Phoenixville boys’ tennis program has accomplished something
no one saw coming
twenty years ago
when the Pioneer Athletic Conference first
took shape. Winning 186 straight league
matches without a single loss is no easy
feat. The Phantoms finished the 2007 season at 8-0 in the Pac-10 (13-2 overall),
claiming yet another league championship.
2006
season
(teaming
with
junior
Colin
Small).
This move
sent
sophomore
John Reading up to the third spot, and
freshman Steve Tassone moved into
fourth singles. Furthermore, freshman
Mike Potts and junior Brian Tassone
eventually claimed the third doubles
spot, which finally stabilized the line-up.
This tennis season was all about the
experience and leadership of the seniors
on the team. At the beginning of the
year, the Phantoms were searching for an
identity, struggling at doubles, and wondering whether or not the Pac-10 win
streak would end in the upcoming season. Phoenixville teams have historically
had good doubles and sufficient depth.
However, the Phantoms were unable to
find a set line-up in the doubles department throughout the early matches of
2007. After a non-league loss at the
hands of Conestoga, senior Kevin Foedinger volunteered to step down from 3rd
singles in order to help out the doubles
with his experience in doubles from the
The Phantoms continued their dominance in the Pac-10, blowing by strong
teams such as Owen J. Roberts (6-1) and
Boyertown (6-1), and silencing all doubters. Phoenixville also defended its Kiwanis and Sea Colony tournament titles
with superior play in both tournaments.
Individually, Kyle MacLelland led this
years’ senior class at singles, winning a
second straight Pac-10 singles title, and
teaming up with fellow senior Tom
McAvoy (who finished fourth in the Pac10 singles tourney) to win Pac-10 doubles.
Tom and Kyle went on to claim the AA
District Doubles title, and eventually the
state competition.
Boys’ Tennis
Boys’ Track
Girls’ Track
21st league title in a row, undefeated.
Boys track became the first team in the
history of the league to win four titles in a
row.
The girls track team also won its
second consecutive league
championship. The team effort was
highlighted by freshman Courtney
Kedra winning the 100 and 200 meter
dash.
Kyle MacLelland, PAC-10 singles champ
two years in a row.
Kyle MacLelland and Tom McAvoy, Pac10, District 1 and state doubles champs.
In district competition, the Phantoms fell 5-0 to eventual state
champion Lower Moreland, a team
with a lot of experience and talent,
especially in the singles line-up.
Afterwards, Coach Leo Scoda was
extremely sad to see his graduating
senior class leave. An emotional
Scoda told his seniors how much he
enjoyed coaching them throughout
their tennis careers. Kyle MacLelland,
Tom McAvoy, Wanzell Flemming, Pat
Womer, Kevin Foedinger, Andy
Klotzbach, and Elvis Hua will be sorely
missed going into 2008. Can the
Phantoms continue the streak? Let’s
hope so.
Seniors Wanzell Flemming and Pat
Individual winners include:
Boys’ Basketball
Tony Shirk: Pole Vault, league record 14'
7".
Jon Hogga earned a full athletic scholar-
Kyriq Williams: High Jump
Rachel Schaffer won the pole vault &
Devon Fraker was an individual winner in the girls discus.
Also, in the PIAA state
track championships;
Junior, Tony Shirk
finished 5th in the pole
vault.
Freshman, Lauren
Terstappen finished 9th in
the 100 hurdles.
ship to Division 1 St. Peter's College worth
$34,001 per year.
The Purple Press
Rob Lohr: Javelin
Junior, Rob Lohr placed
10th in the javelin.
Kyriq Williams placed 14th in the high
jump.
Page 25
Way back in 1974, before any current
students (and some teachers) of PAHS
were even born, Leo Scoda was in his
eleventh year of
coaching Phoenixville
Boys’ Tennis. That
year, sophomores Rob
Vance and Tim McAvoy shocked all of
Pennsylvania by winning the state doubles
championship for
Phoenixville High
School.
Fast forward to 2007.
Coach Scoda is now
in his 44th year of coaching the tennis
team and this spring he won yet another Pac-10 league championship,
notching his 186th league win in a row.
Nothing new there. However, in that
long span of years since 1974, Coach
Scoda’s teams or individual players
never won another state title...until this
year. Tim McAvoy’s son Tom has repeated his father’s accomplishment
from 33 years ago. Teaming with fellow
senior Kyle MacLelland, Tom McAvoy
traveled to Hershey Racquet Club over
Memorial Day Weekend and swept all
four doubles matches in straight sets en
route to the 2007 state doubles championship.
Reflecting on the huge win, Tom said, “I
have always looked up to my Dad for
being such a great tennis player and the
1974 state doubles
champion… I’m really
proud to now share this
huge accomplishment
with him…father and
son. It is really cool how
he has stayed in touch
with his partner Rob
Vance all these years
and I hope that Kyle
and I will share that
same bond. It has been
fun getting to spend all
this time with Kyle,
Coach Scoda and
our families. It is a
great way to end
our senior year of
high school.”
Kyle, Phoenixville’s #1 player
and two time Pac10 singles champion, also had his
family in Hershey to
celebrate the accomplishment.
After the match a triumphant Kyle
stated, “It wouldn’t have been possible
without the hard work and dedication of
Coach Scoda and my doubles partner
Tom.”
Both Kyle and Tom share a close
bond with Coach Scoda. “The great
thing about Coach Scoda is that he
cares about you, not just how good you
are. He really cares about the person
you are,” Tom said.
Never at a loss for words, Coach
Scoda complemented the grit and determination of his two remarkable seniors. He witnessed Kyle and Tom come
back from behind numerous times on
their way to winning the title (including
being a match point down in the district final). “True champions play better
when they are down…which is exactly
what they did…they
are the definition of
true champions,”
Coach Scoda said
with a huge smile.
Phoenixville Boys’
Tennis is losing two
remarkable seniors
this year. Who
knows… maybe
sometime in the future one of Tom’s
children will be a
state champion tennis player too.
Knowing Coach Scoda, he’ll be around
to see it happen.
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Senior
Terrified
It sounds to me like it’s time you grew up a little. When
you go off to college, sign up for a few clubs and extracurricular activities that interest you instead of getting
right on myspace after class and messaging your old
friends. This way you can meet new people you instantly
have things in common with. Some things to keep in
mind: go to summer orientation; go to any dorm activities; get to know your dorm’s RA; talk to people in your
classes; and stay at school on the weekends for the first
month of school. A lot of activities are on the weekends
and if you go crawling home to see your old friends,
you’ll miss out on a lot of new opportunities to meet
people. Also, try playing poker with real people instead
of the computer!
Good Luck!
Raul
Page 26
The Purple Press
The career of a high school athlete; brief, yet exhilarating; fun, yet demanding. In the end, memories are
all that remain. Many athletes will leave high school and go on to compete in college athletics. Sure, most
high schools have some Division I athletes, but what about those athletes who decide to further their education at a large institution instead of a school at the Division III level? For these men and women, graduation marks an end to many great experiences, including the unforgettable memories of playing high school
sports. The game will always exist even after an athlete’s career is finished, yet unfortunately, many must
face the sadness of leaving youth competition behind. We were all freshmen once, with lots of high school
competition ahead of us, but now we must step aside as a new class of brimming hopefuls ushers in. Someday they too will have to face the end. Shakespeare said it best when he wrote: “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”
The great thing about sports is that they will exist forever, whether recreationally or competitively. That last
high school game does not mark the true
conclusion to an athlete’s career, but instead proclaims a new beginning. An athlete’s final moments of
competition will stand out the most in his or her mind. Sure, everyone wants to go out on top, but in the
end, all that matters is whether or not one goes out fighting. Those who put forth the most effort are the
true winners. If high school sports have taught us anything, it is that to win honorably, one must also lose
graciously. Grantland Rice once said, “It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.” That
statement holds especially true to a high school athlete. Grace, respect, and honor all contribute to the
legacy of a sportsman. Your parents were right when they told you to have fun playing sports. One day
you might utter these very same words to your own children.
Believe it or not, high school graduates need sportsmanship, teamwork, and confidence as they move
into the future. This school year has come and gone, and a few years from now no one will put much
weight behind what a
particular athlete accomplished in high school sports. High school accomplishments won’t matter all that
much anymore, but what you learned about life will. Do not dwell on the glory days of your youth, for it’s
time to progress. Continue to give consistent effort to every task that life throws your way. Remember the
lessons learned from high school athletics, and push further, advancing your
legacy. It’s time to take the pen off the paper and put the closing punctuation mark on a great chapter of
life. So, here’s to you senior athlete, and to life after high school!
The Purple Press
Page 27
learns that a serial killer is on the loose.
When he sees a car that matches the
The plot is complex and exciting. The
killer’s description in his neighbor’s drivemovie begins with a nice fishing trip beway, he becomes suspicious. The man
tween Kale and his father. As they fish
who owns the car is Robert Turner, and
they joke around in a nice, father-son
bonding way. Things are so wonderful; it’s with the help of Ashley and Ronnie, Kale
is determined to figure out if Mr. Turner is
not hard to predict that something terrible is going to happen. Sure enough, on a murderer.
I won’t give away the ending of the
the way home from the trip, with Kale
movie, but I can say that it will keep you
driving and his father in the passenger
seat, they are hit by another car, causing at the edge of your seat. In the packed
them to flip over, and Kale’s father to die. theater, I was one of many people who
The next time we see Kale he is in Span- screamed aloud numerous times
ish class at school, and hardly paying at- throughout the film. Disturbia wasn’t just
tention. When the teacher asks him if his ‘okay’. It wasn’t only ‘pretty good’. It
father would be proud of him for his be- was amazing! Disturbia is rated PG-13, so
havior, Kale becomes violent and hits the you don’t have to worry about making
your parents buy the tickets or wait until
teacher. He is then put on house arrest.
it comes out at Blockbuster.
While on house arrest, Kale becomes
series House or in The Green Mile)
A couple of weeks ago, my boyfriend took
me to go see Disturbia and afterwards, I was
devastated. I can no longer make fun of
him for picking out awful movies; he finally
chose a great one. I can’t say I didn’t see it
coming; the reviews of Disturbia, about a
teenager with a serial killer for a next door
neighbor, intrigued me.
The acting is phenomenal. Shia LaBeouf
plays Kale Brecht, a 17 year old who loses his
father and is put on house arrest for hitting a
teacher in school. We all know him from
Even Stevens (a television show on Disney
Channel). Sarah Roemer is his co-star, playing Ashley, Kale’s new, cute next-door
neighbor. Aaron Yoo plays Kale’s hilarious
best friend Ronnie. Carrie-Anne Moss plays
Kale’s mom. (You may recognize her from
Chocolat or The Matrix) David Morse plays
the suspected serial killer neighbor, Robert
Turner. (You may have seen him on the TV
I have to confess that this was one of
the best movies I’ve seen in a long time.
No longer can I tease my boyfriend
about the awful movies he’s picked in
the past without being reminded that I
One day while watching the news, Kale loved Disturbia.
creative with ways to keep from being
bored. He builds a tower of Twinkies, and
begins spying on his neighbors. Especially
his new neighbor, Ashley, a pretty girl his
age right next door.
screaming from behind her and it was
getting closer. She ran faster with the
“Yes…I do.” He then brought his hand out feeling as if she was flying. She almost
of this pocket quickly and surprised Sophia reached the park gate when a huge
when she saw what he had in his hand. She gust of wind hit her from behind, causing her to stumble and fall. It was Rob!
let out a blood-curdling scream.
She tried to get up but the wind hit her
Rob pulled a thick rope type cord out of again, pinning her to the ground.
his pocket and wrapped it around Sophia’s
“STOP!” she screamed with frustration.
neck tightly. Sophia kicked and when she
The
chuckling she heard was evil and
did her foot went through his leg, but he
full
of
spite. Sophia rolled through the
didn’t collapse! He just laughed.
grass and tried to get up. It didn’t work.
"Kicking me is not going to do you any
She was stuck. She was going to die.
good,” Rob chuckled. She began to feel
“Please God NO!” she screamed,
faint and each kick became weaker and
tears
forming in her eyes. But when she
weaker.
closed her eyes the wind whooshed and
Sophia soon felt a gentle breeze blow her chuckling stopped. She opened them
hair and the cord suddenly jerked loose
slowly and saw Jane’s friendly face starfrom her neck. She collapsed to the
ing back at her.
ground, gasping for air. Sophia looked up
“Where did he go?” Sophia asked,
and saw Jane, the ghost from her dorm
sitting
up and looking at the ghost beroom, floating in front of Rob.
fore her.
“I must kill her!” Rob bellowed.
“Back to where he belongs,” Jane
“No, you do not! You do not need her
said. “He has been summoned.”
life!” Jane fired back with a voice so loud it
“Summoned where?”
seemed to have come out of nowhere.
“Hell.”
“You will not do the same thing to her as
you did to me!”
“Why?” Sophia asked confused.
“Yes, Robert? So, you have something for
me?”
Sophia looked up from the ground and
“It is midnight and his time is up. The
she watched the two ghosts arguing and
curse is lifted and he has gone back to
tried to stand. She turned away from the
where he came from.”
ghosts and sprinted as fast as she could
“Is…umm…is that… where you came
towards the park gate. She heard a terrible
from?”
Page28
28
Page
“No, I came from unachieved dreams,
and the want of helping people.” Jane
smiled at Sophia as she slowly got up. And
while getting up Sophia noticed a set of
small wings on Jane’s back.
“How did…how did you know about
Rob? You know, wanting to kill me?”
Jane lowered her head, let out a sigh,
then finally said, “I… was his first victim, but
thanks to you, Rob is gone forever and I
can go now.” Jane’s eyes looked up
towards the sky as a small smile appeared
on her face.
“Go where?”
“Wherever these wings take me,” Jane
said. Instead of flying she disappeared.
Sophia then found herself walking home
and thinking about the night that just occurred. When she went home exhausted
and walked through the door Melody saw
Sophia and her mouth fell open.
“Umm…should I ask how your date
was?” she said, staring at her mud caked
hair and face.
“It was a trip from hell.”
“I’m sorry it was that bad. If it helps any,
Lance came back and left his number for
you.”
Sophia smiled, nodded at her and
crawled into bed, thinking about how tomorrow she would give him a call…but not
go out right away.
The Purple Press
A rapid-fire inspiration of ideas approaches you. Prepare yourself so you can take the full advantage of
each. Your mental stimulation will be helpfully aided by Ceres’ comforting alignment with the western horizon. In fact,
the extremely surprising sudden immobility of Polaris indicates
that you’ve changed birthmonths and become a Pisces. See
the appropriate prediction.
THIS MONTH: Go to open-mic night at Steel City.
The celestial sparring of Obamarix and Ahilaree
bodes unwell, and the threat of other star systems has arisen
as well. The protective Saturn is nowhere in sight. You may be
swindled in the near future. Be aware of everything people
tell you and don’t take truth for granted.
THIS MONTH: Using Wikipedia, become an expert on some
topic.
Leo reaches his zenith soon, and the approach inspires
everyone around you to be marvelously attracted to your
powerful nature. More personally, you will have a relaxing period of the time. Maybe lie on your roof, settle with a nice
drink on the couch, find an old jazz CD, or go on a walk with a
friend; it doesn’t matter, just set aside some time from all the
stress and schoolwork and social internet, and chill.
THIS MONTH: Try to define your personal philosophy.
Due to the eventual explosion of one of the stars
somewhere in Taurus in the next couple of trillion
years, this month will bear some sort of sickness for you, either
physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, psychological, technical, transcendental, or ecumenical. The only possible way
to avoid this is to stay healthy. Try eating fruit. Love is certain
in the next hundred years.
THIS MONTH: See a movie at The Colonial.
The moon’s strong opening angle between the protecting stars of Cassiopeia combines with Mercury’s
early dawn cresting at precisely 5:43:09 EST in the house of Hydra. The approach of two unnamed comets signals that everyone around you will be awed and specifically attracted to
your works and drive. And the lateral positioning of Castor
and Pollex only confirms that the workings of the entire cosmos exist only to inform and please you, and you alone, regardless of all the other yous addressed by a newspaper.
THIS MONTH: Question reality.
Much highnightlight turning left. Moon hit trishape,
four hours after rise to show doubleplusungood. Colleagues
goodthink you. Gooddo your work for plusgood life. Never
ungoodthink authority. 345BM highnightlight show good day.
624V show more good war. Never ungoodthink authority.
THIS MONTH: Read 1984.
Jupiter’s doing something, and Mars is still up
there, and Cassiopeia blah blah. You know that you have
taken your destiny in your own hands. From now on, you always have a choice, including to ignore this self-invalidating
horoscope about your fate and to resign yourself to fate anyway. But then, you’ve chosen a fate, so was it fate? But was it
fate to choose? Now you see why some people read horoscopes, while others give up worrying and just live their life.
THIS MONTH: Look at old pictures and take some new ones.
Your ascendant has pulled back, indicating you will
be doing much travel soon. The position of Sagittarius as the rising sign promises that the world is your oyster. Just
reach out and grab the sights and dreams you have. Life will
be coming fast at you, and the best way to cope is to dive in.
Hesitation means you will be swept away in a sea of other
people’s decisions. Don’t stop to think until you’re finished …
which you’ll never be.
THIS MONTH: Sleep outside.
Mars has begun his retrograde just in front of
Gemini. A time of troubles is ahead, and
compassion is for weaklings. Go in with a heart of stone and
you will come out with yourself protected. You are the most
important and no one ever ever ever is in a similar or worse
situation, and understanding them or fighting beside them will
not help anything. Just look out for yourself. You’ll get really far
that way. A magical fairy will give you 19 wishes and a poptart.
THIS MONTH: Take some time and get to know Phoenixville.
A parallax of Virgo through the plane of the equator lends extra magnetism to temptation. Be wary of any decision you feel is weighted by emotion. Try holding back for a
little, because if you do go ahead, it could spell disaster! D-I-SA-S-T-E-R!!! Emotion warps your sense of consequence, and
you won’t see the metaphorical truck down the road until it
hits you and splatters your reckless insides all over the road of
life. And force yourself to be nice for a bit, no matter what.
THIS MONTH: Find a new café that serves real macchiati.
Well, at the least, it doesn’t look good. A mysterious comet has appeared on your horizon, boding
quite unwell. An exotic disease will strike you and cause a tremendous amount of pain happy while eating away at your insides giving you candy, driving you insane happy , and ultimately
ending in a embarrassing accident happy . If you have any
money in the stock market, don’t expect to see it again. By
the way, if you hadn’t read this you would have won the local
lottery. Who needs money? Your fish will croak get candy, too. Love,
the happy fairy.
THIS MONTH: Tomorrow you will have an impulse.
Follow it.
If you’re a senior, you’re entering a fresh new era of your life.
Confidence in yourself and connection with others will keep
you going. And if you ever have a moment of doubt, go to an
Asian restaurant and follow the fortune cookie’s instructions to
the letter. All non-seniors, you have at least another year of
the same old immaturity.
THIS MONTH: Know where your towel is.
The Purple Press
Page 29
“Elvis has left the building.”
- Elvis Hua
“I am slain.”
- Asher Condit
“Adios [Expletive].”
– Liz Nyce
“Good Luck next year to everyone.”
- Sara Farley & Kelsey Brennan
“Goodbye my
lover.”
“I’m not coming back next
weekend.”
- Mike Jennings
- Joe Ciaverelli
“My mission is complete.”
“It is a far, far better thing I do,
than I have ever done, it is a far,
far better rest I go than I have
ever known.”
-Wanzell Flemming
- Dave Frankenfield
“Graduation was too
expensive.”
“Two fingers...yup...peace
out.”
- Nicole Thompson
- Krystle Shibilski & Maria
Twarogowski
Page 30
The Purple Press
“Amen.”
-Erin Ambrose & Amanda Brown
“It’s always the same, it’s just
a shame, that’s all ”
- Peter Sankus
“Have fun in prison.”
- Ut Dinh
“Chuck a duce.”
- Danielle Gant & Charnai
Jones
“Life is what you make it.”
- Krystal Lewandowski
“Peace.” - Monika Lobbell
“God Bless Phoenixville.”
“Don’t worry, you always
come back into Phoenixville.”
- Mike DiCocco
- Megan Doepping & Julie
Klinger
“Donde esta la fiesta?” – Kelsey Stanton
“Burn all the Ugg boots.”
- Sam Wilensky
“Don’t forget any of your friends.”
- Johnny Gonzalez
The Purple Press
Page 31
June 2: Benefit Concert at PAHS auditorium, 7:30 pm
10) Have a picnic
June 5: Senior exams begin (period 1 exam)
9) Try alternative air conditioning
June 6: Senior exams (periods 2, 6-7 or 7-8)
8) Drag Racing
High school sports physicals! 4-6 pm depending on grade
7) Do your Summer Reading
June 7: Senior exams (periods 3, 9)
6) Get a job
June 8: Senior exams (periods 4-5 or 5-6, 10)
5) Watch Daytime Television
June 11: Honor Roll breakfast, Graduation practice
4) Skydiving!
Senior cook out, 6:30 pm outside cafeteria
3) Set off Chinese fireworks
June 12-14: Underclassmen finals, half days
2) Do some volunteer work
June 13: Baccalaureate, 6:30 pm, Washington Field
1) Road trip to Colorado!
June 14: Graduation, 6:30 pm, Washington Field
The Purple Press