The Blazer

The Blazer
Daniel Boone news? HA. GOT EM!
May 2015 ~ Daniel Boone Area High School ~ Birdsboro, PA 19508
Relay for Life Braves the Storm
Lindsey MacGregor
Teams gathering around the track, luminaries being lit, money being raised. This is
what we have come to expect at Relay. Daniel
Boone's Relay for Life took place Saturday,
May 16th through the night into Sunday, the
17th. The event lasted for 16 hours in total, and
most students didn't sleep for a second of it.
Relay for Life has become a tradition at
Daniel Boone High School and is one of the
largest events the school hosts every single
year. It brings students, teachers, and the community together. It doesn't matter if one student
is in band, on the football team, or in debate
club, everyone is there. The community comes
together to fight cancer, remember the fallen,
and have hope for those in the midst of the battle.
Daniel Boone is now known for having
the largest student event in the country. This
means the event is entirely lead by students,
and the majority of the participants are also students. This year’s event brought in $94,000.
Once again Boone has outdone themselves.
In the middle of Relay a storm hit that
took the teams for a whirlwind, but only
brought them closer together as they gathered
to save their tents. When the pounding rain
stopped it appeared hope had won again, and
eventually everyone dried.
Relay sat a little closer to the hearts of
Daniel Boone students this year, as over the past
year many students have lost parents to the terrible diesis called cancer. The fight came into
our Daniel Boone home and was fought even
harder.
The Luminary hour was somber, but
hopeful as well. There were many tears and
hugs shared between teammates and friends.
Each candle represented a lost loved one or a
friend still fighting, but never alone.
Darby Frey, the head of all Relay
events this year, is just a senior here, but is
one of the most tremendous people you will
ever meet. She leads with passion and puts in
hard work. She led all Relay events to success this year, so if you see her thank her.
Daniel Boone proved once again they
aren't’ just “Boone,” they are Daniel Boone,
and a bunch of students can change the
world. It seems Daniel Boone has come to
represent hope for tomorrow and Relay was just
another example of this.
The RFL Committee, headed by Darby Frey, forms a team
huddle before the Opening Ceremonies.
Table of Contents:
Pgs. 2-3: Prom 2015
Pgs. 4-5: Recognition, Celebrating Jamie
Pgs. 6-7: Entertainment
Pg. 8: Choir in NYC
Going on at Daniel Boone...
The Mr. Boone boys and their consultants pose at Prom in the Crown Plaza. The boys had their show only weeks before
Prom and it is clear to see that their spirits are still high in anticipation of all of the last events they will experience as Daniel Boone students.
Prom 2K15:
A Night to Remember
Michael Nguyen
On May 8th, 2015, Daniel Boone
High School held its prom at Crowne Plaza
in Reading. Over 500 students and faculty
attended this Japanese-inspired prom.
Right as the attendees walked
through the doors, they were greeted by a
plethora of décor, which accentuated the
simplicity and beauty of Japanese culture.
Origami cranes danced along the tabletops,
paper lanterns hung above the dance floor,
and candles floated alongside lilacs in vases
in this year’s Daniel Boone prom. The theme
was very popular amongst the students; Rachel Lau, in regards to this year’s prom,
commented, “I really liked the pastel color
theme of this year’s prom, and the food was
really good too!”
As the night progressed, students visited the photo booth, sporting goofy hats and
costumes. The food trays were emptied as
quickly as they were filled, and the dance
floor was packed with hundreds of excited
attendees.
Near the end of the night, after all of
the students at prom had voted, a Prom King,
Queen, Prince, and Princess were chosen out
of Prom Court. All of the Court was escorted
to the center of the dance floor, where the
winners of Prom Court were announced:
Tom Clothier and Courtney Galanti won the
titles of Prom King and Queen, respectively;
Michael Nguyen and Sydney Hansford won
the title of Prom Prince and Princess.
This year’s prom had a fantastic turn
-out, and as prom attendee Sam Sjosten so
eloquently put it: “Prom was bae.”
Driving through the school district on Friday,
you could see many groups of friends taking
pre-prom pictures. Here are a few that were
shared on social media.
Green Team Recognized
for National Win
Emily Scheuring
In a school with an abundance of amazing
clubs and organizations, it’s easy to be overlooked. That is not the case when it comes to
Daniel Boone High School’s Green Team. Not
only were the students involved able to compete
at an advanced level, but they were also able to
win the National Grand Prize of $30,000 in Toyota USA’s Lexus Eco Final Challenge.
These students spent the entire year working on producing a Biogas Digester System, as
teachers equipped them with the skill sets necessary to tackle this phenomenal task. Without your
hard work and dedication to our students, this victory would never have occurred.”
Pennsylvania State Senator Judith
Schwank was also in attendance, as well as other
local government representatives. Senator
Schwank expressed her pride in the students, as
well as her gratitude to have worked with such a
dedicated group of teenagers. While presenting
members of the team with awards, she also voice
her pride in other Daniel Boone achievements ,
including Relay For Life.
Following the ceremony, the team welcomed all in attendance to the courtyard where
they planted a tree which will be used by the
school for years to come.
We look forward to what the Green Team
has in store for us for years to come.
The Heart of Daniel Boone Lies
with Our Neighbors
This year’s Green Team discussing the science behind
their projects with state representatives and receiving
grants for their hard work (Pictures by Reading Eagle)
well as fighting to prevent the “110%” policy and
find alternate energy sources.
The members of the Green Team have
attributed much of their success to their teachers—both past and present. In order to recognize
their success, as well as thanks those teachers
who have aided them in their journey, the team
held a reception on Earth Day. Mr. Helzer, Green
Team advisor, said, “The Green Team Members
have readily stated that their past and present
Lindsey MacGregor
April 18th seemed like any other Saturday for us here in Boone and for those at our
neighbor school Exeter, except it wasn't a normal day. April 18th is the day we all lost senior
Jamie Kotas, a senior at Exeter high school. She
died in a car accident and was taken away right
before she graduated.
For most of us in Boone, we didn’t personally know this lacrosse player. Our family is
typically just the crazy kids that surround us in
our own halls. When we think of Exeter we
think of our rivals, the kids we try to beat cheering at football games, but on April 18th their
world stopped , and so did ours.
We could never feel the pain their
(The Heart...continued fr om p.4) school felt
in losing such a students, classmate, and friend,
but we could sympathies. For one week we put
our differences aside and we Daniel Boone had
dollar days for Jamie.
The day of Prom we delivered $1,254
to principal Bill Cain at Exeter High School. He
had tears in his eyes, and said "I can't believe a
rival school would do this... Yes, I can. It's
Daniel Boone..”
Recognition to those
Deserving Praise
The students of Daniel Boone have accomplished so much in the past year. Below are
students who have worked hard in their prospective areas and deserve recognition for all that
they do for our school.
ARTS:
PMEA All State Chorus
Sophia Gialloreto and Ryan Young
TIA Championships in Wildwood
Winter Guard – 1st Place in Finals
Indoor Drumline – 3rd Place in Finals
Annual BCIU Berks County Art Show
Brittany Dengler - BCIU Permanent Collection
Award
Mariah Elser - Goggleworks Summer Camp
Mikki Flanigan - 3rd Place Ink Pen Drawing
Kenzie Ochis-O'Neil - Honorable Mention Ink-Pen
Drawing
Tim Tran - Honorable Mention Computer Art
Jenna Piccarreta - Honorable Mention - Pencil
Brittany Long - Honorable Mention - Illustration
Matt Dugan - Honorable Mention Altered Image
Photography
Virginia Higgins - 2nd Place Sculpture
Zachary Dickinson - Honorable Mention Sculpture
Jessica Gramling - Honorable Mention 3D Open
Stephanie Sievers - Honorable Mention Fabric Design
SPORTS:
- Baseball qualified for the Berks County Playoffs
- Softball qualified for the Berks Country Playoffs
Track and Field
- Qualified for Country Championships
Devyn Glenn, Zak Reagan, Matt Glady, Jonathan
Charles, Branden Cody, Connor Ricci, Diondre
Hall, Robby Miller, Diego Santos, Ben Hofmanner,
Ethan Shane, Drew Kresge, Adam Carr, Nick
Hughes, Shayne Bookwalter, Jason Cremi
Lauren Reightneour, Alayna Roesener, Rachel Eidson
Abby Lodge, Jules Wanner, Emily Scott
Hannah Moyer, Abby Snyder. Gabby Krystopa,
Marissa Christiana, Kira Miller, Caitlin MacGregor,
Madison Spitko, Sophia Guglielmi, Bryanna Long,
Steph Sievers, Courtney Kohler
OTHER:
Key Club Honors
District 19 North Lieutenant Governor – Caitlin
MacGregor
Pennsylvania Key Club Governor – Lindsey MacGregor
Odyssey of the Mind
- 1st Place at the East Central Regionals
- Qualified for States
Carly Dietz, Justin Dietz, Gabby Dodson, Virginia
Higgins, Kim Purretta, Ella Sweet, Abbey Unger
Academic Challenge
- Finished the regular season undefeated and in 1st
place
- Competed for a chance to go to the State Championship
Kelsey Delozier, John Dugan, Brian Frampton, Megan Jolivette, Ben Linsey, Jordan McDonald, Jeremy Mysliwiec, Michael Nguyen, Quintin Reed,
Frankie Regan, Liam Summers, Tim Tran, Robby
Yanos, Ryan Young
TSA State Finalists
Biotechnology Design—Place 6
Bhatt Trisha, Okkerse Madison, Reinhardt Josie
Career Preparation
Place 4—Sweet Ella
Place 5—Okkerse Madison
Extemporaneous Speech—Place 2
Kishbaugh Katarina (Qualifies for Nationals)
Manufacturing Prototype—Place 9
Millman Billy, Mueller Ty, Wright Chris
Video Game Design—Place 7
Holowko Joe , Lindahl Jacob, Okkerse Madison
PA - Logo Design—Place 8
Fox Amelia
Entertainment:
Terror in Resonance
TV Review
By DB Critic Brady Hayes
How often does excitement for something
actually get fulfilled? Most of the time it seems as if
every time a movie, show, or album is hyped up to
be something monumental or utterly breathtaking; it
never fully reaches the limits that are expected by
the end. Whether it is the wasted potential in a massive movie series such as The Hobbit due to prolonged amounts of filler or the overdramatic and
boring approaches at engaging the viewer in the
suspense of The Hunger Games, hype can lead a
viewer to be either dazzled or confused. However,
it seems the fans like to ignore the blemishes that
stain their favorite material the most. Terror in Resonance could be one of these instances, yet the
beautiful soundtrack, interesting
story, and incredible visuals
save what might have been an
average show at best.
Terror in Resonance is
a twelve episode TV show that
tells the story of two teenage
boys in Tokyo, Japan nicknamed Nine and Twelve. They
also happen to be the only two
members of a known terrorist
group named “Sphinx”, with
their goal being to cause as
much destruction to Tokyo as
possible until forces from all
around the globe have to contain
them. At first, it seems as if the
plot was doomed to fail from the
start as the two boys would most
likely come off as highly unlikable. However, they don’t kill. In fact throughout the
entirety of the show all of their plans are so intricate
that not a single death is caused from the blasts and
destruction. They like to post videos via the internet
for everyone to view with a challenging riddle for
the police to solve, even though all of the police
except for one detective are highly incompetent at
solving said riddles or even just doing their jobs
correctly. Other than the two main characters, one
other troubled girl named Lisa joins them. She
doesn’t really have a purpose other than driving a
few plot points later in the story, but she isn’t an
awful character as she does develop. As for the two
protagonists, Nine has the emotional capacity of a
brick wall while Twelve is much more likable for
his energetic and cheerful personality even with
how brutal their past is. Though the show hits a few
bumps in the road after the introduction of a new
main character named Five, whose absurd appearance and personality takes a toll on the realistic approach the plot was going for, the ending is incredibly satisfying and very uplifting.
The best aspects of the show by far are the
beautiful animation and visuals. There is no simpler
way to say it other than the fact that composer Yoko
Kanno is one of the best soundtrack composers in all
of television. Known for her songs in shows such as
the critically acclaimed jazz music for Cowboy Bebop and the fiery hip-hop styled soundtrack for
Samurai Champloo, Kanno takes a very unique and
progressive approach for Terror in Resonance. The
music is very repetitive and melodic. All of the music is extremely in place with the scenes they take
place in, and each song is composed with utter perfection. The beautiful piano playing courtesy of
Kanno is the centerpiece for many of the songs,
which is built upon either by other instruments or
vocals. Even if watching TV isn’t
really your cup of tea, I highly recommend you listen to this soundtrack if you are a fan of music.
Even though every song is really
well done, three in particular are
very moving by themselves and the
scenes they are in. Piano ballad
“Von” for its incredible lyrics and
beautiful vocal performance from
Icelandic virtuoso Anor Dan which
takes place in one of the most intense Ferris wheel rides of all time,
“Is” as its minimalistic yet gorgeous usage in the show during an
unforgettable motorcycle ride, and
“Bless” for being the last and most
uplifting song used in the entire
show. The visual style of the show
is also highly detailed and just a joy
to look at and the little flaws in the
animation are really unnoticeable.
Terror in Resonance is a drama that succeeds in carrying a message that must be heard.
Throughout the short span of the show, there is an
incredible story that almost reaches a really high
status if it weren’t for a few mediocre episodes in
the middle. A show that thrives in the musical and
visual departments, Terror in Resonance is a remarkable show that deserves a strong viewing as the
plot never really holds the viewer’s hands, and explains its characters and plots through actions and
dialogue rather than silly exposition.
cluded:
- “ No Way to Stop it” as performed by seniors Ryan Young, Jake Bergy, and Jordan
Koury
- Most Memorable Small Group Number,
YNOT Awards:
“Do-Re-Mi” By Gialloreto and the von Trapp
children
The Sound of Music
The entire cast took the stage for their
nomination in Most Memorable Production
Lindsey MacGregor
Number, “So Long, Farewell.” The cast had
Wednesday, May 20th, the cast and
so much fun going in the performer's quarters
crew of Daniel Boone High School’s musical
of the theater and getting to perform on stage
The Sound of Music attended the YNOT
for all of the other high schools.
Awards at the Santander Center for Perform“It’s incredible to perform on a stage
ing Arts. The YNOTs is the awards show for
like the Santander stage and to know that the
Musicals in Berks County High Schools.
people in the audience and backstage love
YNOT cleverly spells TONY backbeing in such a space as much as you do.”
wards, which are the Broadway Musical
said senior Jordan Koury, who played The
awards broadcasted around the world. The
Baroness Schrader in the production.
YNOTs, are of course only broadcasted to
The YNOTs allow the high schools to
Berks county.
share in musical theater, and celebrate each
The cast of The Sound of Music perothers accomplishments. All of the students
formed their production back in December,
look forward to seeing each other every year.
and started brushing up for the YNOTs in
Some are friends from county chorus, others
April. In December, a judge came to the
from just seeing
show. After all of
each other around
the shows in Berks
the community, but
County had been
the YNOTs gives
judged, this spring,
everyone the chance
nominations for
to see old friends
certain numbers
and make new ones.
and leads came
In the weeks
out.
leading up to the
Daniel
performance, stuBoone had many
dents participate in a
nominations in
flap-jack breakfast
many categories,
and a workshop day
which made everywhere actors get to
one very excited.
know each other.
The nominations
When the
for individuals inSeniors
Ryan
Young
and
Sophie
Gialloreto
on
the
arts are always the first to
cluded:
red carpet at the YNOTs with Director of the
be looked over, the
- Senior Ryan Young:
DBHS production, Mrs. Sanders.
YNOTs give a reason to
Most Memorable Male
bring them to the front.
Solo for “Edelweiss”
“The YNOTs mean spreading love
- Senior Sophie Gialloreto for her role as Maand passion for the theater arts throughout
ria von Trapp
Berks County and showing the area what mu- Senior Jenn Smith: Most Memorable Feasic and theater really mean to the students
tured Female Solo, "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"
and members of the community,” said Jordan
The production was also nominated
Koury.
for various production numbers which in-
Choir Wins in NYC
Happy Summer Blazers!
Lindsey MacGregor
Over the weekend of April 16th to
19th, the Daniel Boone High School Choir
went to New York City to compete in a choir
festival and perform.
The choir arrived in New Jersey
where they were staying on Thursday, and
began their tour on Friday morning. They
sang in the festival and got constructive criticism from an Australian Judge. The group
then went into the city for a bus tour and saw
Ground Zero, where the Twin Tours used to
stand. The group enjoyed people watching on
the buses.
Saturday, the group went to breakfast
at the Hard Rock Café with all of the other
choirs for the awards ceremony. Boone was
awarded 1st place in their division and the
Overall Outstanding Choral Group Award for
the entire festival that included choirs from
Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Tennessee.
Nick Hunsicker was awarded the Outstanding Student Accompanist award for the
entire festival.
That night, the students saw the
Broadway production of Les Miserable. Sunday morning, the group sang in St. Paul the
Apostle, a church that has a seven second delay. When the choir stopped singing the
sound traveled to the back of the church for
seven more seconds, creating an angelic effect.
Congratulations to the Choir for their
success in New York!
With summer break right around the
corner, the Blazer staff would like to
wish everyone a happy and safe summer. Seniors congratulations, you
made it, and to everyone else relax and
rejuvenate because next year is coming
fast!
The seniors of the Daniel Boone Choir posing for a
picture in Time Square.
Lindsey MacGregor, Student Chief of
The Blazer Newspaper
(If you’re interested in joining The Blazer,
there will be a meeting at the beginning of
next year in September!)
The Blazer Staff
Reporters
Uma Bhatt, Mariah Elser, Aly Fries, Sydney
Hansford, Brady Hayes, Emma Kauffman, Hallie
Kearns, Jordyn Markle, Delaney McCleary, Margo McGeehan,
Mariah McKnight, Natalie Ross, Rachel Schucker, Sam Sjosten, Miranda Strock, Lynn Thompson, Sarah V. Thompson
Senior Editors
Juliet Mitchell and Britanni Schnable
Editor
Gianna Walker
Creative Editors
Diego Santos and Emily Scheuring
Student Chief
Lindsey MacGregor
Advisor
Rhea Shirk