Issue 5, April 2006 - Phoenixville Area School District

Pg 2: Rocket Science
Pg: 2: Rocky Mtn. Engineering
This spring softball has risen to new heights for Phoenixville, helped by the leadership of eight
seniors in their final attempt to capture
the PAC-10 title before moving on to
their own ―bigger and better things.‖
Though the reality of having eight
playing seniors doesn‘t seem to faze him,
Coach Bogus put it simply, saying ―These
are the most seniors I‘ve ever had.
Maybe six or seven seniors at the most,
but never this many.‖ Last year the softball team graduated only three players,
though they were played in key spots.
Lindsay Neal was a very important
outfielder and covered most of the grass.
Also a veteran player and four year starter,
Jennie Moore was the shortstop and had
one of the best hitting records in the league. Both continue their softball careers in college. Last, but not least,
three-year starter Kourtney Kelly was the first baseman
who was also significant in the batting order.
Making up for seniors like that is hard, but Bogus
states, ―Every year you have to reload, not rebuild the
team.‖ As always, the team‘s goals include winning the
PAC-10 or league title as well as moving on to districts. A
principle that the athletes also believe to be true is being a team, working together, and looking out for one
another. The Lady Phantoms also focus on improving as
athletes and staying focused academically.
Kim ―Bane‖ March stated, ―I couldn‘t ask for a more
mature and caring group of girls to play with, and it‘s
Pg 3: Dancin‘ in her River Slicks
Pg 3: Message In A Bottle:
KEO Satellite
been a privilege to
be on the team. I
love these girls like
they were my own
sisters, and it‘s going
to be hard playing
without them.‖ They
are all together on
the field, competing
in their final attempt
to fulfill goals they
weren‘t able to accomplish years before.
―After playing softball for eight years, and knowing my fellow seniors for a majority of that time,‖
Gloria ―Girdle‖ Alfonsi explains, ―it finally feels
complete and meaningful to play with them for
the last time ever.‖
This year‘s Phantoms infield consists of several
seniors, including Liz Newcomb behind the plate
and outfield, and Jamie Syrylo covering first as a
left-handed batter. Second and shortstop are
filled by four-year starters Jess Pierce and cleanup batter Kristyn Loughery. Gloria Alfonsi took
strongly to third base in place of another four
year starter, Alison Iacobucci, who is currently
recovering from a torn ACL and has returned for
the remainder of the season.
Pg 4: Big Changes in the
Science Curriculum!
Pg 5: Color your World
Pg: 6: Phantom Band in NYC
Pg: 6: Operation Agitation– Do
YOU have a Pet Peeve?
Pg 7: The Columbine Shooting
Pg 8: A Female‘s View of Prom
night
Pg 8: A Man‘s View of the Prom
Pg 9: Alana: Our Lost Angel
Pg 10: Point vs. Counterpoint
Pg 11: JUNIORITIS, Not Only Seniors Get The Itch.
Pg 12: Take Me Out to the
Ballgame: Phillies 2006
Pg 13: NFL Draft 2006
Pg 14: T.O. goes to Dallas
Pg 15: Book review — Perfect
Pg 15: Music review— The Fray
Pg 16: The Wise Wizard
Pg 1 7: Horoscopes
Pg 18: Easter Fun!
Pg 19: Speak Out!
To cover the outfield, Ashley
Do you like to walk, stay up all night, and be entertained with music and many fun
games? Well of course you do! Who wouldn‘t? And you can do all this while supporting
a good cause. It‘s time for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Phoenixville!!
This will be the third annual Relay for Life that Phoenixville will host. On May 12 th and 13th
from 6pm-6pm, Washington field will be filled to its capacity with people who are walking for a cause. As usual, this cause will be to raise money for cancer research and support programs. All money will be sent directly to the American Cancer Society. Last
year, the Phoenixville Relay raised approximately $370,000. The year before it was
about $290,000. Everyone is hoping to raise even more this year, so get out there and
make a team!
Teams can be made up of students, faculty, and any community member who wants
to take place in the event. All-student teams are encouraged but a chaperone must
be present at all times. To join a Relay for Life team the registration fee is $10. That $10
does not count toward your team fundraising goal. Teams can consist from anywhere
between 8-15 people. Your money goal should be an average of $100 per team member or $1,500 per team. Now how do you raise this money? There are many different
What would it be like to be a part of a space mission, blasting
through the earth‘s atmosphere into space, seeing the moon and
the stars closer than you ever have before? Alex Hackett, a junior
at the top of his class, went to the Advanced Space Academy in
Huntsville, Alabama for two weeks during the summer of 2005.
Since Alex was a child he‘s wanted to someday become an astronaut exploring space. Going to the Advanced Space Academy
helped to further his ambitions.
Alex has spent the past five years working his butt off to save up
enough money to attend two weeks at space camp. It was a lot of
hard work to save up $1800.00! He spent one dreadful summer
working at Water World as part of their maintenance crew. He did
not like the job much, but he kept his focus on his goal. He also
had jobs as a petsitter and a babysitter.
With best wishes from his parents, Alex packed up and left for
Alabama on July 24th. He brought with him a homemade rocket
ship two of his close friends made for him. He laughed when the
subject was brought up. ―It was made out of a juice box and red
paper. It had wings and flames and a person sticking his head out
of the window.‖ He brought the rocket ship to remind him of home,
and simply because the girls asked him to (What a sweetheart!).
The first week he spent at the Advanced Space Academy was
―national week,‖ when different teenagers from all over the country who are just as crazy about space came to be part of the
camp. Alex said that there were just as many girls as boys attending the camp. They want to pursue a career in aeronautics or other
rocket sciences, or just want to be an astronaut.
The second week was international week with attendants from
all over the world who won a writing contest to be able to go to
How would you like to get away for four days to the Rocky
Mountains, meet new people and study your future career? Junior
Andrew Eldridge escaped to the University of Colorado‘s High
School Honors Engineering Camp in Boulder, Colorado to see what
a career in chemical engineering would be like. The program was
run by professors and hosted in the dorms of the University of Colorado.
Engineering is typically the application of scientific and mathematical principles to practical uses like the design, manufacture,
and operation of buildings, machines, processes, and systems.
Chemical engineering explores the chemical transformation of raw
materials into useful, everyday products.
In this program, Andrew received hands-on experience
in emerging and exciting areas of chemical engineering: biotechnology, membrane synthesis and analysis, and polymerization. The
camp is open to high school juniors and seniors with strong academic records in math and science, and who are interested in using their creative imaginations to solve problems. Andrew had an
Page 2
camp. Alex said, ―There were people who
came during international week that were
from 25-30 different countries. Most of
them spoke English, and now I have
friends from countries all over the world:
Norway, Singapore, China, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and Australia.‖ Going to a camp that introduced
Alex to what his future might be like and
working with people his age who share his
passion for space was a very fulfilling adventure.
Throughout the camp Alex participated in really awesome
simulation, most of which helped him feel like he was in space. In
one model he was in a space shuttle, wearing the jumpsuits that
real astronauts wear when they enter space. He also imagined
he was flight commander at mission control, who is in charge of
checking that everything goes well on the trip. The simulations
were designed to instruct the participants about some of the professions offered at NASA, and to get an idea of what it is like to fill
those occupational roles. During a space walk, Alex had to wear
a helmet in order to protect him from the difference in pressure,
similar to the one astronauts experience in space. Alex said that
one of the coolest features of the camp was the pool they had
for scuba diving. Alex now knows what it will be like when his shuttle takes off into space, and he is anxiously awaiting the day he
can experience it for real.
If you are interested in a future in aeronautics, Alex Hackett is
the man to talk to. He‘ll tell you everything you need to know
about shooting for the moon.
opportunity to experience the life of a college student by attending sessions of two engineering majors, participating in curricular
and extra-curricular
activities, and exploring his career
options in engineering.
At camp there
were an equal number of teenage female and male engineering enthusiasts, eager to participate in fullfledged college
classes, demos,
and labs. Andrew‘s
two favorite labs
were the egg drop,
where the campers
designed structures
to support raw
eggs during a seven
story drop, and the
boating lab, where
they made working
boats out of milk
jugs. While reminiscing about the scenery he said, ―It was really
nice, even with the hot temperatures typical to Colorado. There
was a lake nearby that was really gorgeous to look at.‖
The Purple Press
The program has an entry fee of $325 and includes all expenses for the institute except transportation
to and from Boulder. Andrew sacrificed last year‘s birthday present in order to pay for the two-way plane
ticket. Limited scholarships are available to students with financial need. Attending the institute helped
to support Andrew‘s interest in the diverse field of chemical engineering.
If you‘re interested in any form of engineering, the High School Honors Engineering Camp in Boulder,
Colorado, is a great way to put your interests into practical use!
For one week last summer Michelle, a junior, spent a week at
Muhlenberg College (near Allentown, PA) at an Environmental
Chemistry summer camp. She said that the professors were
―dorky, but nice,‖ as their enthusiasm for their teaching subjects
took hold of their imaginations. During the week, twenty high
school juniors and
seniors, eight girls
and twelve guys,
collected water
samples of nearby
lakes and streams
to test for pollution
which can affect
the organisms living
in the water. The
camp is free to attend, because the
supplies, room, and
board, are paid for
by sponsors (in Michelle‘s case, a
bank). However,
every desired attendee has to submit an application
to Muhlenberg to
be selected for the
program.
Michelle‘s favorite part of the academic portion of
the camp was taking water samples. The campers enter the chilly river water, set
up nets to collect critters, and kick the water into the nets to
catch them. She said that it was a lot of fun to splash around with
the other campers, especially because the water felt good when
it was hot outside. There were some disadvantages, too. Mi-
Earth, 50,000 years ago, was much different than it is now. Art
and other cultural aspects were developing. Cave drawings and
other forms of primitive art told the story of humans‘ daily lives.
Because of their efforts, intentional or not, we have an idea of
what Earth was like for people 50,000 years ago.
Now imagine the world in 50,000 years from now. We can only
speculate what it‘ll be like. However,
thanks to 21st century technology,
we can let people know what it was
like living in the year 2006 with far
greater accuracy than our ancestors. Would you like to send a message to someone who will be living
in 52007? Well, you can, via the KEO
satellite!!!! KEO is a remarkable project that is like a 21st century message in a bottle.
The KEO satellite is actually a space
time capsule. The KEO project began in
1994 and was started by French artistscientist Jean-Marc Philippe. It has grown
to be supported by NASA, UNESCO, and
the European Space Agency among
other institutions. The basic idea is simple.
The 80cm in diameter hollow sphere has enough capacity to
carry a four page message into the future from one of every six
The Purple Press
chelle hates worms, which were a common sight around the
banks of the river, and they also had to deal with unclean water.
Completing experiments is just the beginning of the fun at
Mulenberg‘s Environmental Chemistry camp. The campers get to
go to Dorney Park one night, go out for ice cream another, play
volleyball and go to movies, as well! There wasn‘t a curfew, either,
so they could stay awake as long as they pleased, as long as they
were still able to wake up early for breakfast.
Michelle‘s future ambitions are to be a doctor, and she feels
that this camp assisted in not only her college searches, by showing her what she would like in a dorm and what to expect from
future professors, but also because chemistry is a huge part of her
college curriculum.
If you want to see what it‘s like to stay in a really nice dorm,
splash around with a bunch of friends, and go to Dorney Park for
free, Muhlenberg‘s High School Honors Environmental Chemistry
Program could just be the thing for you to try this summer!
For more information visit:
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/chemistry/NEWS/chemca
mp/index.html
billion plus people on Earth. Along with the messages, a library of
information called the ―contemporary library of Alexandria‖ contains current human knowledge that is encoded in glass-made
radiation-resistant DVDs. Just in case people no longer have DVD
players in 50,000 years, instructions on how to build one will also be
on board KEO.
KEO will also have its bling. On board KEO, encased in a diamond, will be a drop of human blood, samples of air, sea water,
and earth. The DNA of the human genome will be engraved on
one of the faces of the diamonds. KEO is a work of art on its own,
but it will also be carrying with it pictures from people all over the
world which serves to pictorially represent what Earth was like at
the beginning of the 21st century.
KEO was originally scheduled to launch in 2001. Delays moved back the project‘s launch to 2007/2008.
When it does finally launch, it will spend 500 centuries in space. It has the ability to hang up there that
long because it is resistant to cosmic radiation and
any other problems like space junk that it should
encounter. Also, unlike a normal space craft, it
won‘t have any propulsion or communication systems. When launched into orbit, KEO will reach an
altitude of 1,800km and begin a gradual descending journey that will last 50,000 years. A lot can happen in that amount of time. The plan to signal re-entry is an inter-
Page 3
esting one. When KEO re-enters the atmosphere it will create an
artificial Aurora Borealis. Hopefully, people will notice and retrieve
the satellite to study its contents.
KEO is the ultimate time capsule, the ultimate message in a
bottle. And what‘s really neat about it is that it can represent you
and everyone around you. Everyone on earth is encouraged to
send a four page message. You can do this by going to
www.keo.org and simply click the link ―your message,‖ or a message can also be sent by mail. As the launch date is scheduled
for 2007/2008, as of right now the deadline to send in a message is
December 31, 2006. After KEO is launched, all of the names will be
removed and every message will be available to be read on the
internet.
KEO truly is a once in a life time opportunity that you should
take advantage of. So go ahead, send in your message. I know I
will. Maybe in the future someone will read it and say, ―wow what
an interesting person.‖ This is your opportunity to live on forever
and ever and ever and ever…
In today‘s society you can no longer only be good in math and writing to get by. Phoenixville is constantly raising its standards to better prepare students for the demands of society and to keep up with state requirements. The latest subject to get revamped is Science.
Incoming freshman will take a new course called ―Investigating the Earth and its Environment‖ (IEE) instead of taking Biology. This new
course will allow students to explore topics that are not heavily emphasized in any other science course and as a bonus to prepare for
the new Science PSSA test. The number of Science-related careers continues to grow and this course will provide the thinking skills and
laboratory experiences needed to enter these fields. Below is a comparison of the present and future:
ways that you can reach your goal. One way would be to go out
to Phoenixville stores and get them to sponsor you, or give you a
donation to your cause. If they sponsor you then they will give you
a certain amount of money for each lap that you walk. Another
way to earn money is to have a fundraiser. Make something and
go out and sell it! This was a very successful way to earn team
money last year. Remember, one of your team members should be
walking on the tack at all times. Non-team members are also encouraged to take place in the Relay.
There are many events planned for the Relay in 2006. Some of
these events include Phoenixville Relay Idol of the Year. This event
is a talent show. All ages can compete in it. The winner of the talent show will be crowned ―Phoenixville Relay Idol of the Year.‖
Other awards in the talent show will include, Funniest Talent, most
original, best effort, and worst dressed. Another annual event will
be the Luminaria ceremony. This is a ceremony that takes place at
Page 4
9 p.m. on Friday. In this event, we quietly remember those who lives
have been taken by cancer. Candles in white bags will line the
track, each bag holding the name of a loved one who lost his or
her life to the battle of cancer. Other events will include many
games, stands selling baked goods, and crafts, so there will be a
lot of things to check out.
Relay for Life is now the world‘s biggest international fundraising
event. It is held at over 4,200 locations and alone raising over $300
million for cancer research. So get out and help the cause! Relay
for Life 2006 kicks off May 12th on Washington field at 6pm. For
more information on the relay, contact Nan Odenthal at Odenthaln@pasd.com. Hope to see you there!
The Purple Press
The art kids. You‘ve seen them
walking inside the golden cement block
walls plastered with a mural of sketchy
portraits of men with wings on their backs
(also known as the art room). It‘s hard to
know what the art classes are like if you‘ve
never taken an art course at the high
school before. You‘ve seen paintings and
sculptures displayed in glass cases around
the halls, but maybe you‘d like to know
more about what kind of projects the students work on in different classes. With
course registration going on right now,
perhaps you are wondering if some of the
art classes here at the high school would
be something you might
be interested in taking as
an elective. I‘ve found
myself wondering these
exact thoughts during the
years as an underclassman. I also wanted to figure out what type of art
work I would be witnessing
in the art show which will
be held on May 23rd, so I
decided to investigate.
After perusing the art
room during a 7/8 period
class, I spotted senior Kyle
Nahrgang, a twelfth
grader here at the high
school. I observed him on
the pottery wheel in the
back of Ms. ―Sap‘s‖ art
room, and found that his
goal was to ―create a
cereal bowl.‖ The project was for Art Major. Kyle described how to make the bowl
and how important it is to center the clay
on the wheel to have the bowl come out
evenly. I watched as he pressed his
Salena showed me the outline of a woman
with a dress on and all the colorful glass
pieces that will eventually become the lady‘s
dress. After cutting out the glass pieces, the
glass has to be ―grinded‖ on a small machine
to make the edges smooth. After this is done,
Salena showed me how to foil all of the
pieces and then solder them in order for the
pieces to stick together. The other project she
was working on dealt with acrylic paints. The
painting is called ―The Bread of Life‖ and incorporates a man praying at a table with a
couplet of wine and loaf of bread by his side.
Other kids in the class were working on such
projects like self portraits.
thumbs inside the clay, curving his other
fingers to give the bowl a rounded look, all
the while dipping a small sponge in a cup
of water and squeezing the sponge here
and there over top the clay to keep it
moist. Although making the bowl seemed
as though it took a lot of concentration, it
still looked fun.
Next I observed tenth grader Casey Fogal at her desk, bent over her paper hard
at work on what looked like
block lettering. I decided to
ask about her artwork for
the Intro to Art class. From
what she said, I learned that
the project she is working on
now ―deals with two point
perspective.‖ The class is
learning all about how to
use the ―horizon line‖ and
two vanishing points to
make really cool looking
block letters on paper. It
looked as though the best
part about it was coloring in
the letters with colored pencil.
The next class I decided to
look into was the AP Art
class held in Ms. Sap‘s room.
In this class, the students are
not limited to an assigned
project, but work on all different kinds of art
based on what they are interested in or
what they need to add to their portfolios
for college. Twelfth grader Salena Bozzelli
was actually working on two different projects. The first dealt with stained glass.
Not only does each art class work on fun
projects, but they get to go on field trips as
well! This year, on April 26th, students who
write an essay on painter Andrew Wyeth will
be admitted to attend a trip to the art museum to look at some of his paintings. Andrew
Wyeth was one of the best known American
realist painters of the 20th century, and was
actually from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.
One of his most famous paintings is called
―Christina‘s World,‖ which depicts a young
woman in a field somewhere in Pennsylvania.
He is also very well known for his ―Helga Pictures,‖ in which Wyeth painted several paintings of a local woman whom some believe
he had an affair with. The paintings were
kept a secret for a very long time.
Overall, the art classes here at the art school
are a great experience. Ms. Sapanaro and
Mr. Turley put a lot of effort into their students
and give them the best advice on their artwork. Their experiences and knowledge of
pastels, watercolor, clay, stain glass, wood
work, photography and much more gives
each class an opportunity to learn and try
something different, and every class is very
interesting. So if you‘re interested at all in any
kind of art, whether is be 3-D or just plain
sketching, taking one of these art classes
would definitely be worth your while. Or,
maybe if you‘re not the artistic type but still
like to look at art, or even if you‘re just looking
for something to do after school on May 23rd,
you should definitely check out the art show.
Not only will you get to see the work of Kyle,
Salena, and even me, but you will get to see
the work of students in elementary and middle school. It will be a blast!
FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), in conjunction with the marketing firm, Nontraditional Media, will be having a Dodge
ball tournament which will be held on May 4th, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. There will be two brackets, one for middle school and one for
high school. The middle school kids will play first and a half-time show will follow with live entertainment and a 50/50 raffle. Winners of
each bracket will go on to play in the next tournament, against teams from other area schools. The winners of the second tournament go on to play against the Philadelphia Eagles!
The Purple Press
Page 5
The next day was our performance day. We
got up early in the morning in order to be at
the Riverside Church for the Symphonic Band‘s
performance at 10:00. The Symphonic Band
and Wind Ensemble performed in the morning.
The Symphonic Band played ―The March from
1941‖ and ―Emparata Overture.‖ The Wind Ensemble played ―Overture to Candide‖ and ―A
Festival Overture.‖ While waiting for the Jazz
Band‘s performance time, we took a break
and ate pizza on the steps of the church. After
the break, we sat and listened to the Jazz
Band‘s performance of ―Caravan‖ and ―Count
Bubba.‖
After the Jazz Band performance, we got
changed into our normal clothes and went out
for a little shopping in the city. We were allowed to walk the streets of New York for a little
over an hour. Then, we met at the Brewery for
dinner. After dinner, we rushed off to the thea-
―Friday was my
favorite day,‖
said senior band
student Vy
Nguyen. ―It was
a lot of fun just
hanging out with
friends and walking around New
York City.‖
On Saturday we
went to see the Statue of Liberty, which
ended up taking a lot longer than we expected. After dinner that evening, we went
back to the Riverside church for the awards
ceremony. Each group was awarded a rating for how many points out of 100 they received. A bronze rating is from 65 – 79, a silver
rating is from 80 – 89, and a gold rating is from
90 – 100. All three groups from Phoenixville
received gold ratings! Symphonic Band won
third place in the AA division with a score of
90, the Wind Ensemble won second place in
the AAA division with a score of 92.3, and the
jazz band won first place in the jazz division
with a score of 92.6. The Wind Ensemble also
received the adjudicators‘ award, which is
one of the most prestigious awards in the
competition.
went down to the docks, loaded
three small boats and went on a celebration dinner cruise. The ride was
more of a dance than anything. We
all had a lot of fun hanging out with
fellow band geeks from all over the
country. Afterwards, we had a quiet
night back in the hotel and a three
hour bus ride home Sunday morning.
The band was extremely excited
about their awards on the trip. For
next year, the choir is considering going on another cruise. We are all looking forward to performing in our concerts in May. Come out and support
the Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and Jazz Band at our ensemble concert on May 8th or the Concert
Band and Symphonic Band on May
23rd. If you‘d also like to support the
singers in our school, the Choir Benefit
Concert will be held at the Colonial
Theater on June 2nd. We‘ll look forward to seeing you there!
1. he was a little chicken
The band left the morning of Thursday, March 23rd. It took about three
hours to get into the city. Once we
were there, we took a bus tour
around the city and saw things like
the Opera House and the Julliard
School of Music. The day ended with
a nice meal at a restaurant in the city
called La Mela and a quiet night at the Sheridan in New Jersey.
tre district of New York to see a show by none
other than the Blue Man Group. If
you don‘t know, the Blue Man
Group is a combined percussion
concert and comedy show. The
performers, who are three blue
men (hence the name), take normal everyday objects and turn
them into either musical instruments or comedy. We watched
as they turned two PVC pipes into
drums and catapulted jello into
the audience.
2. It's been nice gnawing you
Every year, either the band or the choir
goes on a trip to display their talents to
the rest of the country. Recently, the
choir has gone on a
cruise in the Bahamas and took a trip
to San Francisco,
California. The band
has also been to
Florida to visit Disney
World and Universal
Studios. This year, Phoenixville‘s band
took a short trip up to New York City
to compete against other schools
from all over the country.
―The bands played wonderfully,‖ said Mr.
Goslin, the band director. ―My goal was for
each of the bands to receive a superior rating, and that goal was achieved.‖
After the ceremony, all of the schools
Okay, so you‘re in a conversation with some friends and you make a bad joke or say something stupid and they either don‘t hear you
or just don‘t understand. You then respond by saying ‗Oh, never mind, or just forget it‘ but that‘s not good enough for them. They are
determined to find out what it is you had said and you are convinced to make them realize it was not that important, because now if
you tell them it‘s going to be even dumber and stupider than it was the first time. But they press the issue even further until you eventually end up telling them what it is that you said. Then, they give you that stare of absolute disappointment and now you‘re very angry
that you wasted all that time bickering about something that you told them wasn‘t important in the first place.
This is my BIGGEST pet peeve. A pet peeve is something that you find EXTREMELY annoying and frustrating. Now, we all have our
everyday annoyances but pet peeves are more than that. Everyday annoyances happen to everybody and usually people have the
same ones. Sitting in traffic for example is something that for the most part drives everyone absolutely insane. I also hate it when people
either do not put their turn signals on, or put them on at like the very last second. A pet peeve is something that affects you personally.
It‘s that one thing that after it happens you cringe in absolute disgust.
Now, turn to page 19 to catch some of your favorite teachers‘ and fellow students‘ on thing that makes them cringe!
Page 6
The Purple Press
Seven years ago, on this day, April 20,
1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris walked
into their high school in Littleton, Colorado,
and began a shooting spree. Known as
the Columbine Shooting or the Columbine
High School Massacre, the shooting will
forever be remembered by all who were
there, but also by everyone who watched
the news that day, read the newspaper,
or were informed by a parent or teacher.
The plan to kill was something that had
been in the works long before the massacre occurred. The popular video game
―Doom‖ became the inspiration for a
website that Harris created with assistance
of his friend Klebold. The
website first
hosted Doom
levels that the two
teenagers created, but as time
progressed, the
website was not
just a place to play
the violent game.
The violence started
to become very
real. Klebold and
Harris kept an online
journal expressing
their deep hatred for
students,
teachers, parents, and society in general. The website also contained pictures of weapons, instructions on how
to make bombs and a ―hit list‖ of people the boys wished to target. People
in the community, including students,
parents, and some police officers,
were well aware of the website created by the violent youths. However,
no measures were made by the
school to help Klebold or Harris with
their problems and little was done by
the community, except for attempts
at an investigation of the boys‘ motives and sending the boys to a psychiatric facility for a brief period of time.
Klebold‘s and Harris‘s plans developed
further after being released from psychiatric care as a way to punish society for the
trouble it had caused them. More specific
plans about the shooting were written in a
journal and kept secretive. At 11:10 am
on April 20, 1999, Klebold and Harris arrived at Columbine High School and their
plan went underway. Two duffel bags
filled will homemade bombs were placed
in the school cafeteria and were intended
to kill 500 people. As others would run to
safety, the boys planned to shoot those
people. When the bombs in the cafeteria
did not detonate, the boys changed their
plan to go on a shooting spree. They first
The Purple Press
began shooting classmates outside and
then entered the school where they continued their destruction. Inside the school, Klebold and Harris first walked up and down
the hallways, freely shooting whoever they
felt like. Students and teachers witnessing
the events quickly ran to warn others and to
call 9-1-1. One teacher, William ―Dave‖
Sanders, escorted students in the cafeteria
out of the building, and then returned to
help students who fled to the library, but was
shot in attempting to do so.
umbine Shooting, I think that it is important that everyone take some time to
reflect and remember that everyone has
feelings and deserves to feel important
and special. If people would just show
respect and learn to accept everyone
no matter how different they are, incidents like the Columbine Shooting could
be better prevented. You don‘t have to
be everyone‘s friend, but showing a little
common courtesy can really go a long
way.
Klebold and Harris then entered the library at 11:29pm,
where 55 students and five
Rob Mattson
faculty members
were hiding.
When the two
first walked into
the library, they
asked that all
of the jocks in
the room
stand up.
They were the
ones to be
killed. When
Bullying and after school fighting/
violence has always been an issue and
continues to be an issue. A ―hit list‖ was
recently found in the hallway of a South
Florida high school, and it contained the
names of over a dozen students and
teachers, and threats of violence towards
these people. Another incident like Columbine would have occurred, but administrators quickly addressed the problem and police were called to investigate. The author of the ―hit list‖ is unknown, but authorities are taking extra
precautions to provide a safer environment for the students and teachers. Our
local newspaper, the Phoenix, recently
published an article about violence occurring after school. The Phoenixville police department is now going to greater
lengths to provide a secure environment
at schools after school hours. Our own
high school takes measures to provide a
safe school environment. Surveillance
cameras are located at numerous places
throughout the building. The cafeteria
doors being the only option of entrance
into the school provide additional school
safety. In the event that a student makes
a threat or in some way endangers another student, the police are immediately
contacted to control the situation. It is
also to our advantage to have Officer
Marshall on duty at our school. Having
an officer on hand allows situations to be
dealt with immediately.
no one stood up,
they began
walking around
the room shooting. Some students they shot
they knew and
disliked, but others they shot because they just
felt like it. They
also threw pipe
bombs throughout the library. The details of what happened in the library are gruesome, disturbing, and very sick and twisted. After leaving
the library, Klebold and Harris turned their
guns on themselves. In the end, Klebold
and Harris had killed 12 students, one
teacher, and wounded another 23 people.
The Columbine Shooting was a devastating event and a sad way to learn an important lesson. Klebold and Harris were
lonely and distraught. Both were bullied by
fellow students, who excluded them and
made them feel less self-important. This is
the reason why Klebold and Harris attacked
specific types of students, certain cliques,
like the jocks in their school. With today,
April 20th, being the anniversary of the Col-
School violence and bullying are serious issues that need to be stopped in order to prevent accidents like the Columbine Shooting from reoccurring. It is not
easy to bring an end to bullying and violence, but steps can be taken to prevent
them. If you are aware of someone bullying or even suspect anyone about bring
harm to others, talk to a parent, a
teacher, a police officer, or someone in
authority, immediately. In order to prevent situations like Columbine from happening again, we have to address the
problem when we see one.
Page 7
Being of the feminine species I have
come to know the many reasons that we,
as females, get so excited about the upcoming prom. It is something many girls
dream about as a child, along with the
planning of their wedding. Why do we do
this? Well, I honestly don‘t know, but what I
do know is that prom is a day that many
girls look forward to dressing up and seeing
everyone at their best. I think most guys see
it as a day where they get out of school
early, get to eat really good food, and
dance like Spongebob‘s bubble dance
and, in the true nature of the season of
spring, we must come to the realization
that prom is right around the corner and
this girl has already got her dress!
For us females the most important part
of the pre-prom preparation is the dress.
You want a dress that will look good on
you, will be easy to dance in, and a dress
that no one else will
have. If you wear the
same dress as someone else it‘s like
committing the, like,
total like, fashion fiasco. Like, gag me
with a spoon! But in
all seriousness, you
want to be original
and creative without
looking like someone‘s clone all night.
Last year alone I saw
four people wearing the same dress in the
same color. I swear I have never seen that
many dirty looks circling around one room
in my entire life! Some great places to look
for unique dresses are vintage stores,
Macy‘s, JCPenny‘s, Nordstrom Rack, and if you
are daring enough, Joann Fabrics, for all of
your home dress making needs. Some stores will
even tell you if someone from your school
bought a certain dress so you don‘t show up
wearing the same one.
Another major controversy with the dress is
the date‘s tux. Should it match the dress or
should it be it‘s on its own? Now, there are
many different takes to the dress/tux match
theory. You can match the tie on the tux to the
dress for a classic and elegant effect, but if you
match more than just the tie it may come off as
cheesy and over done. Another way to handle
it is to let your date wear a tux that has nothing
to do with your dress. Then it looks like you two
came together, but you didn‘t go overboard
with the details. Also, related to the tux situation
is the corsage. Should you put it on for pictures
and then leave it at home so it doesn‘t break?
Or should you wear it all night and risk it breaking? Personally I think
you should leave it
at home so you can
save it for the memory or just not get
one at all.
Along with the dress
and corsage comes
the decision of what
to do with your hair?
Should you wear it
up, down, sideways,
long ways, short
ways, or cross ways?
You want a hair style that will look good with
your dress without making you look like a constipated poodle. I suggest buying a bunch of
bobby pins and trying a few hair styles out yourself a few days before the prom. Then, you can
You‘re approaching that girl to ask her to
prom. You primp and get up the courage to
come off like James Bond, all suave and confident. Then as you finally do approach her
your voice comes out like Mike Tyson because
you‘re a nervous wreck and your palms are
sweating like they‘re having their own monsoon. You eventually get those words out,
―Wou wou would you li li… like to go to prom
wi with me?‖ Then there is that moment of
silence that may last for less than a second.
Your heart beats at least a hundred times in
that one second. Then comes the answer…
―Yes!‖ Suddenly the sky breaks open and light
shines upon your face as angels sing down
from the heavens.
Now prom may seem like a bummer to
some guys but as long as you are going you
may as well make the best out of it. The one
complaint that most guys have is the money.
It‘s no secret, a prom is expensive. If you
Page 8
have money in
the bank you
could take
some out to
cover the expenses. Or… if
all else fails you
could ask your
parents. I
would only
recommend
that as a last
resort. Try to avoid it at all costs because
then they can hold it over your head.
Once you have the money then you
can buy the tickets for you and your date
for $110. Then comes the tux. Make sure
you know what color dress your date has. If
you‘re serious about prom then you should
match your tie and her dress. Buy or rent a
tux, it doesn‘t matter as long as you have it
save money and have your hair the way
you want it for the big dance. After
you‘ve decided on the style you want,
go to a floral shop or a craft store and
buy some baby‘s breath or glitter to put
in your hair to add a little flare and pizzazz to your new do. But, if you do not
want to do your hair yourself then you
probably should make an appointment
at least a week in advance, to ensure a
time to get your hair done.
One of the biggest misconceptions
we tell ourselves is that we need a date.
That is just not so. We need a date like
we need thirty six pairs of shoes. Or a
cheese cake in our freezer at all times.
It‘s nice, but certainly not necessary.
There are some advantages and disadvantages to having a date. You‘ll have
someone to dance with during slow
songs, you‘ll never be bored, and you
know you will have at least one person
to talk to at dinner if you have a date.
But, on the other hand, they could be
clingy, a bad dancer, someone who
doesn‘t like to dance, or a person whom
you just would rather not be with. I advise not worrying about having a date
unless you are asked. If you have a
date, great! If you don‘t, oh well.
The prom is about having fun and
dressing up nice and pretty. I hope my
little tips help you out in planning for the
big night out, dancing and dining. I
hope that constipated poodles do not
ruin your night and that your protective
layer of hairspray keeps the Spongebob
bubble dancers out of your hair…unless
you want them there. Stuff your face,
dance, and just have a grand ole time!
and don‘t wait until the
last minute. Tux prices
range, so shop around.
Try to get it a week or
two in advance.
There‘s no need to
make the prom more
complicated then it has
to be.
Then there is the whole
deal of transportation.
One way to go would
be to rent a limo. Get a group of friends
together so you can split the cost. Depending on how many friends share the
limo you could pay as little as $60 and
as much as $150. Make sure you know
what you‘re getting so you don‘t end up
with a short yellow bus. If you do go all
out and get the limo then there is no
holding back. You are going to need
The Purple Press
an icebox with a few bottles of the finest sparkling cider. You will need
glasses ready to pour and smooth jazz
playing in the background. If a limo is
out of your price range then you should
drive. If you have a crap car then ask
to borrow your parent‘s car.
date for the first time. You should compliment
her on how beautiful she looks since she probably spent hours getting ready. When you pick
up your date her parents may want to take pictures. Just go through it and smile. Take a
good picture because it‘ll last a lot longer than
that one night does.
need to be polite but you still need to be
relaxed. After dinner you just dance the
night away. If you don‘t dance or don‘t
know how to, just hang out with the other
kids that don‘t dance. You could still
dance to the slow songs because that‘s as
simple as it gets.
The night before pick up a corsage.
Put it in the fridge until you are ready to
leave. When you are going to pick up
your date have your corsage ready in
hand and knock on the door or ring the
doorbell. At this point you will most likely
have to partake in small talk with your
date‘s parents. Avoid subjects like politics since they often spark arguments.
After the small talk then you see your
When you get to prom you can do the walk
in thing where they introduce you if you want.
Let your date decide on that because you
most likely will be good either way. During the
dinner you should act like a gentleman. Pull
your date‘s chair out for her and then take your
seat. Just relax and don‘t worry about making
a fool out of yourself. Focus on your date and
don‘t let your eyes wander. That‘s the easiest
way to upset your date without realizing it. You
After prom you could always go to Focus for post prom activities. Stay there until
the next day breaks and then take your
date your home. Prom is something that
people remember for years to come. Remember to be a good date and don‘t do
anything to offend her or her parents. Most
of all, remember to have a good time;
prom only comes but a few times in life!
I was wandering around St. Ann‘s Cemetery on October 8 th,
2005, looking for the grave of a friend of mine. The sky was crying. I remember thinking about how fitting it seemed, having the
sky scream and sob to the world on the birthday of our fallen angel. Her name was Alana MacNeil.
Alana, for those who don‘t know, died a tragic death on April
19th, 2005, when she was shot and killed in her home by her stepfather, who then turned the gun on himself. Alana‘s mother,
Caroline Conroy, and her younger sister, Faith, were not home.
I couldn‘t stop staring at the flowers in my arms. They were La
Vonda roses, and I had brought sixteen of the light purple, highly
fragrant blooms. Sixteen, for the years she almost had.
It took me over half an hour of meandering half desperately
through the different sections of the cemetery in the rain to find her
stone. It was a large Celtic cross, and stood out from the other
stones. Later on, I was told by Alana‘s grandmother that the stone
had only been put up a few days beforehand. It took me almost six
months since she had died to feel alright going there. On occasion, I told myself ―I should go see Alana sometime soon. I miss her.‖
But I knew I couldn‘t do it. I wasn‘t ready.
But October came, and I laid the roses at the foot of her stone,
crying and mumbling to the dearly departed. I was a soggy, desolate, red eyed lump of misery, standing there, with my jeans
soaked through from the mid thigh down, hoodie
equally saturated, and I didn‘t give a damn. The
world sort of melted away for a little while, leaving me, the pouring rain, the tombstone and
scattered purple roses.
―I miss you so much, Alana. I wish you were
here. I‘ll come back again, I promise. In…April. I‘ll
come back, and bring more roses. I‘ll come back
every year, today and April 19th. Come hell or
high water. I‘ll be here. I promise.‖ I had to shove
balled up hoodie sleeves in my mouth so I wouldn‘t sob.
That was one of the hardest days of my life,
and I‘m just thankful that it was a Saturday. In my
freshman year, Alana was my best friend, and
even a year later, it‘s sometimes really hard to think about her and
not cry. Really hard.
I think about her a lot. Probably more now than before she
died. But, I guess that‘s how it is; absence really does make the
heart grow fonder. I can‘t listen to John Mayer anymore; he was
The Purple Press
one of her favorite artists. Whenever one
of his songs comes on the radio, I have to
switch the station. One day at work
(before I quit my job at Eckerd), ―Bigger
than my Body‖ came on, and I remember
dashing from behind the front register to
the pharmacy.
―Chris!‖ I yelled, ―You have to distract me!
Talk to me about something, anything,
please. Just- talk to me.‖ He gave me a
quizzical look, but did as I asked, and distracted me so I wouldn‘t think about
Alana. I later explained why, and my very
tall, large, redheaded friend came out of the cage of Eckerd‘s
pharmacy department and gave me a hug. ―I‘m sorry kiddo, I
know that sucks. Just think of the happy stuff.‖
I took his advice. I remembered how Alana dissected the frog in
Biology because I thought it was gross, the jokes in Gym (I still have
her ode to her hatred of Gym, actually), all the study hall notes
that I never threw out, and her ever-present smile.
That smile. I actually don‘t think I ever saw Alana without a smile
plastered to her face. I never really quite understood how she
could be so incredibly happy all the time, but I loved her like that.
Sometimes, I would just sort of stare at her, in her sweatpants and
Raiders sweatshirt, looking comfortable, happy
and absolutely beautiful, and just smile back. It
was one of those infectious smiles, you know?
But, sadly, back to the present. My dear, lovely
Alana is gone. We can‘t change that, but we can
remember. That‘s why I‘m writing this article. I refuse to forget. Alana was a cherished addition to
my life, in the small amount of time I was lucky
enough to know her, and as long as I live I‘ll try my
damnedest to remember her as she was: beautiful, happy, smart, kind, sweet, plucky and downright amazing. If Faith ever asks me what her big
sister was like, I‘ll simply smile and say ―Everything
you could hope for in a best friend.‖
The second annual Alana MacNeil Bowl-A-Thon
will be held at Phoenix Lanes later this year. Last year the monetary
turnout was amazing, with the money going towards the Alana
MacNeil Scholarship Fund. Please plan on attending, to honor the
memory of an amazing friend.
Page 9
I thought I had it under control. Then, I started showing up late
to work, still with ―lol‖ and ―ttyl‖ on my fingertips. I missed my sister‘s birthday party for a MySpace account binge. Homework
became a second priority to compulsive in-box checks. It got to
the point where the police were picking me up weekly for refusing
to log off at the library after an hour.
I had hit rock bottom.
One night, in a Webshotsinduced daze, with my
head buried in the keyboard, I realized that if
something didn‘t change I
was going to waste away
there. That day I saw the
light. I realized the vile
underbelly of the social
internet, and since then
I‘ve been off the harddrive for five months. Now
I‘m on a crusade to help those afflicted with social internet addictions to realize the harm they‘re
doing to themselves, not because
I‘m a self-righteous preacher, but
because I know how it feels to not
get the help you need, and want.
Time. That‘s right folks, you‘re losing your minds. When you break
your leg, and have it put in a cast, your muscles are not used or exercised while you have that cast on. The muscles in the leg weaken
because they are idle. This phenomenon is called atrophying. Your
mind is also a muscle, so when you deprive it of the mental stimulation that comes from reading a book or pondering an idea, it too
weakens. Simply put—you‘re rotting your mind when you spend
an entire afternoon asking Jack, ―Wht u up 2?‖ thirty different
times, or reading Stacy‘s rant about how her parents are crazy
and ruining her life.
Second, you lose yourself. Originality makes our society beautiful, but when you spend all of your spare time on the social internet, rather than using that time to develop into a unique person,
you develop into the people around you. Slowly but surely, with
such constant interaction, we‘re all melting into the same person.
We have no time to ourselves; our time belongs to our buddy list,
and our friends list, and we lay open to their influences. I predict
that in 15 years, we‘ll all express ourselves with
Dashboard Confessional lyrics. In 20 years all our school
pictures will be from the same overhead, too-close, tilted
angle commonly referred to as the ―Emo‖ approach to
photography. And, in 30 years, we will all belong to a
religion that worships Chuck Taylor, whoever he is.
First, you must admit you have a
problem. If you get in the door after school, or sports, and the first
thing you do is log on, or sign in—you have a problem. If you
spend more than three hours everyday on the social internet—
you have a problem. If you work harder on your profile, blog, or
homepage, than you do on your homework—you have a problem. Finally, if you know someone‘s favorite band because you
found it online, and you‘ve never spoken to him or her before in
your life—you have a problem.
Right now you‘re probably wondering, ―Okay Rob, I do some
of these things, but why does that mean I have ‗a problem?‘‖
Well, you have a problem because you‘re losing what I like to call,
MYT (pronounced ‗might‘). MYT stands for Mind, Yourself, and
Myspace, Facebook, and AOL Instant Messenger—therein lies
something I like to call the ―triple threat.‖ Not only do millions of
teenagers across the globe have accounts to these internet
communities, they probably have all three opened on their computer desktop at the same time. I‘ll admit I‘ve committed the
crime myself, clicking back and forth among the four or five instant messages flashing at the bottom of my screen, checking
my wall for messages, and accepting new friend requests. Is this
some abnormal obsession that will follow me everywhere for the
rest of my life? Some people think so, but the way society is today, I truly believe knowing how to network on the internet is an
absolute necessary social tool. Familiarizing America with the social internet may not necessarily keep our old American values
intact, but it allows teens to keep up with the steady technological race of the world.
As we crept past the 20th century and into the new millennium, many people feared that our society would slowly evolve
into a fast-paced, multi-task community of internet dependency.
Teenagers, now more than ever, are using the internet to network and communicate with each other. But is this necessarily a
bad thing? As older generations claim children are losing oncePage 10
Lastly, you lose time on the social internet. I know you‘ve
heard the lecture from your parents about time management and how, ―You need to get off that thing and
get on your homework,‖ but I mean a different kind of
time. When you‘re old, what will you reminisce about
when you spent such a considerable chunk of your
youth in a room, staring at a screen? It would be a tragedy if one day we curse ourselves for opting to check our email,
when we could‘ve been learning something about our world, or
enjoying the outdoors, or playing a sport. The social internet takes
up too much of our already too short lives.
If you have a social internet problem, you need to know that it‘s
not too late. You can stop losing MYT today! Don‘t read this article,
and when you see me in class say, ―Rob, that was funny, I‘m so addicted to that stuff.‖ Read this article, go home, and resist the call
of your AIM screen name, your MySpace account, your email inbox,
your FaceBook, your Webshots. Look them square in their gigabits
and say ―To hell with you! I‘m taking back my life, damn it!‖
common knowledge, such as addressing an envelope and politely
introducing themselves before they ask to speak to their friends
over the telephone, today‘s youth uses their brain space to become computer savvy. Nowadays, kids volunteer to set up the
internet connection that has their parents baffled and create a
Webshots account to share the family‘s shore-vacation with relatives across the country. Change is brought by society‘s search for
something new and exciting. Thus, there comes a time when
change is inevitable. Once, teenagers played stickball and marbles in the town square, but that too was short lived after television
brought them inside. Just as kids adapted from the outdoors to TV,
they are just now simply switching screens.
The internet also allows us to connect with people advantageously, meaning it gives us the luxury of communicating with people that may not live right down the street or cannot be connected
through a phone-line. Networks, such as Myspace and Facebook,
allow teens to search for one another to rekindle friendships. Formerly a Myspace fanatic, I have been able to keep in touch with,
and even re-establish a connection with, old elementary and middle school friends. It‘s fun to see where they are now, what they are
doing, and what they plan on doing in the future! Facebook, a
The Purple Press
popular social networking site created by a Harvard student looking to mingle with other college students, has branched out to
include high school teens as well. The site allows members to
search people from the same cities, high schools, and the same
colleges. Many members have testified to using Facebook as a
way to find a combination of college and interest similarities in
order to choose their prospective college-roommates.
The social internet is today‘s means of communication. It‘s up
to speed, date, and is always busting at the seams with newer
and more accurate information. AOL Instant Messenger is yet
another way to keep in touch. What normal, but active, human
being has the time anymore to sit and wait for a letter to hear
from an old friend? Between school, school and club sports, activities, volunteerism, and a job, few have the time,
patience or energy to sit down and handwrite a letter. AOL Instant Messenger, commonly referred to as AIM, is perfect, in
that it instantly and efficiently allows
individuals and groups to communicate. The fact that you have the ability to contact such a massive number
of people with a computer screen isn‘t
rotting your mind, it‘s just convenient! You
would be lying if you said you were never
stuck on what to do on a Friday night and
hopped online to read away messages.
You would also be lying if you said you never signed online when
Now, we have all heard about the disease that high school seniors across the
world get as the end of their 4-year term
approaches. This sickness is formally know
as seniorities. However, I, Jennifer Giannopoulos, am a junior here at Phoenixville
and have the summer itch, which I like to
call Junioritis.
The end of March is approaching, the
days are lasting longer, the weather is
getting nicer, and my homework load just
keeps adding up. I NEED SUMMER! As the
end of my junior year comes nearer, I find
myself not caring as much. Instead of
coming home right school and getting
my homework done right away, I procrastinate.
Procrastinating has become something that I have mastered over the years,
because every year at about this same
time I seem to just doze off. I know it is
bad when I decide to do chores over my
homework. Just the other day I had a
paper due; as I sat in school I kept saying
to myself ‗Okay Jen, you‘re going to go
home and get the paper done‘. Did I?
Of course not! Instead, I came home,
grabbed a snack and headed to my
room. It was at this point that I decided
that there was no way I could write this
paper at the moment, so I began to
clean my room. This was not just any
cleaning either. I went through all my
clothes and decided which ones I did not
want anymore. I even mopped my floor.
it was too late to call someone and you needed help with your
homework. In no way am I condoning the ever famous ―Away
Message‖ browsing hobby, which has swept our nation in a frightening manner. Countless hours have been wasted Away Message
browsing, or looking at others‘ posted messages while the member
is logged online but is not directly in front of the computer. However, Instant Messenger can be a lifeline and is an easy and handy
free service.
It goes without saying that these websites and instant messengers are where old scary men prey on middle school girls. However, members can, and should, privatize their accounts and only
allow accepted ―friends‖ to view their personal information. It is
each user‘s responsibility to post only what he or she feels is safe for
public knowledge. Obviously, if you post your phone number,
home address, or any other means of contacting you personally, you need to understand that you are first, really stupid,
and second, risking your privacy. Yes, it would be a waste of a
childhood to sit in front of a computer screen from the moment you come home from school until the time you go to
bed. Then there‘s always that quick Myspace fix before
school (oh, and don‘t even act like you don‘t know what I‘m
talking about)… However, to say that all social internet is deteriorating our time management is just an excuse to stay in the
dark ages.
So with all-do-respect Mr. Kirkner, the social internet will never
hurt anyone and ignoring it will only keep you in the dark!
This cleaning was serious! As 8:00pm rolled
around and my bedroom was IMMACULATE. I said to myself ―Oh, crap, my paper!‖ To cope, I did something to get my
mind off all the work I had to do. Then I
forgot about it again before remembering
it again hours later. Because of my procrastination skills, I was up until about midnight doing that paper. I wanted to kill myself. In addition, no, I did not learn my lesson because I guarantee this same exact
thing will happen again at least twice before the end of the year rolls around.
Kayla, also a junior, agrees with this theory
of Junioritis as well. She said ―I have a feeling of angst and boredom.‖ See, it‘s not
only me. But there is one thing that may be
even worse than the need to procrastinate...
Mondays! They are always bad, even in
September when the school year is still
fresh, so imagine how bad they are in
March, April, May, and June. They are
HORRIBLE. I despise Mondays. Nothing
good ever happens on this day. You wake
up still exhausted from the weekend and
you realize that you still have another five
full days of school before your two-day
break. The countdown for the weekend
begins. As pathetic as that sounds, it‘s true.
I spend every day of the week just waiting
for the weekend when I can hang out in
the nice weather with my friends.
That‘s another thing that gets me, the
weather and my friends. There is nothing
more depressing than sitting in a brick
building for seven hours a day when the
sun is shining. I find myself sitting in class all
day dreaming about my day trips to the
beach with my friends. Luckily, my grades
have stayed pretty consistent. Granted,
they have not improved either, which they
probably would have if I hadn‘t been so
focused on not doing my work. When I‘m
really desperate to force myself to do work,
I sit in my dining room, at the table and set
a timer for 45 minutes. Once the timer goes
off, I‘m free. The work that isn‘t completed
in those 45 minutes will be finished in homeroom on the following day. Yes, I know,
great work ethic Jen, but hey, the truth
hurts.
In conclusion, I think it is fair to say that
not only seniors get the itch for summer and
freedom. Everyone gets this itch, including
teachers. Mr. Zittel agrees and stated ―It‘s
really hard to get motivated to grade papers, but you gotta do what you gotta do.‖
We start the beginning of the year, for the
most part, ready to learn, and the teachers
are ready to teach. Then, come spring, this
ends. People start to get cranky, kids are
not handing in their work and being sent to
ISS more often, and the teachers seem to
get angry a lot easier than before. In the
end, Phoenixville Area School District needs
to start summer vacation 3 months earlier
because I don‘t know if I‘m going to make
it till June 9th!
Page 11
The Purple Press
Wikipedia
Don‘t you remember the first time you went to a Phillies game? You were so excited to watch the
first pitch and for the game to get underway. And now you‘re in high school, still watching the same
team. The Phillies haven‘t made the playoffs for many years, but with a new General Manager,
they‘re looking to turn that around. Can the Phillies finally make the playoffs? Things are changing,
including the attitude of the team, so this could be the year.
On November 2nd, Pat Gillick signed a three year contract as the Phillies‘ new General Manager
and Vice President. He replaced the former General Manager, Ed Wade. Ever since Pat Gillick joined
the team, he has been making many deals with other teams and acquiring new players. He traded
some key players of the Phillies including Jim Thome, pitcher Vicente Padilla, and outfielder Jason
Michaels. Jim Thome went to the White Sox in exchange for Aaron Rowand, Daniel Haigwood, and
Gio Gonzalez. Vicente Padilla was traded to the Rangers for Ricardo Rodriguez. In January, the Phillies
traded Jason Michaels for the Indian‘s reliever Arthur Rhodes and Rob Tejeda went to Texas for outfielder David Dellucci.
Newcomers also include pitcher Ryan Franklin, infielders Abraham Nunez and Alex Gonzalez,
catcher Sal Fasano, and outfielder Josh Kroeger. The lost free agents include pitcher Billy Wagner, out-
fielders Kenny Lofton and
Endy Chavez. Catcher A.J.
Hinch, infielder Ramon Martinez, and Ugueth Urbina, and
Amaury Telemaco were unsigned.
done much on offense. In the end of the 2005 season, he switched
to a lighter bat and did a little better. His backup, Sal Fasano, may
get a lot of playing time if Lieberthal does not do well.
Gillick seems to be building a winning team this year.
In the past twenty four seasons as a working General
Manager, he has been to
the playoffs nine times with
three different teams. When he was with Toronto, he led them to a
division title five times and won the World Series twice in 1992 and
1993.
One major thing that Gillick has failed to is get any good starting
pitchers. Jon Lieber and Brett Meyers, both starting pitchers, had
good seasons in the past. Late last season Lieber played well and
won seventeen games, the most of any pitcher in the winter‘s free
agent class. Myers is a good pitcher also, but he needs to work a
little more on conditioning.
Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley are two of the best infielders on
the team. Rollins, who plays shortstop, played in three All Star
Games. He‘s really good at bat, as seen by his 38 game hitting
streak. Utley, a crowd favorite, finished in the top ten for total bases
and extra base hits last year. When Manager Charlie Manuel congratulated Utley on a great season last year, he shrugged and said,
―There‘s more there.‖ Utley is certainly not far from his first All Star
appearance.
With Jim Thome gone at first base, Ryan Howard is stepping it up.
It‘s going to be his first whole season as a starter after winning the NL
Rookie of the Year Award. Howard went to the plate 90 times last
year and 22 of them were home runs. He‘s going to definitely be a
big contributor to the Phillies this season. He is replacing Jim Thome,
who was traded to the White Sox for Aaron Rowand in the offseason. Thome was glad to go to Chicago because he grew up there
and it is a chance for him to be with his family, especially because
of his mother dying of cancer last January.
Mike Lieberthal is starting his tenth season as the Phillies‘ catcher,
and it may be his last as a starter. In the past two seasons, he hasn‘t
Page 12
The bench players are also not that bad this year. Abraham
Nunez would be a good option for Manuel when David Bell is not
doing well at third base. He can also play most positions in the infield. Shane Victorino and David Dellucci will be the people on the
bench I think will contribute the most. Shane Victorino is a young
player that can really play. You‘ll see a lot of him this year. Dellucci
is a good left handed batter and a good fourth outfielder.
Last year, the Phillies were going for a wild card, but their pitching let them down, which it made it hard to win games. The Phillies
have a chance of coming back to the playoffs, but the competition in the NL East Division will be tough.
The Braves look like the strongest in the division, and I think
they‘re going to take first in the NL East again if the Phillies don‘t
make huge improvements. The Braves have won 14 straight division
titles, and I don‘t think it‘s going to stop this year.
The Mets are the other team the Phillies have to worry about.
They picked up very good players including the Phillies‘ Billy Wagner as well as, Carlos Delgado, and Paul LoDuca. The Mets
‘offense isn‘t as good as the Braves‘ and that may be the only reason they would lose the title of NL East Champion.
Over in Florida, the Marlins are not having much luck. They‘re a
last place team and that‘s not going to change. They had good
players but to save money their good players were traded or released for new prospects. Without Todd Jones, Mike Lowell, Josh
Beckett, A.J. Burnett, Luis Castillo, and Alex Gonzalez, they‘re just
going to get worse.
The last of the teams in the NL East is the Washington Nationals.
They‘re not much better than the Marlins, mainly because of their
horrible offensive play. I don‘t think that the Phillies will have any
trouble with them. The best off season move they made was acquiring Alfonso Soriano, who is not happy playing in the outfield.
As of now, the Phillies‘ record is 5-7, and they are in third place
in the NL East. So now that you caught up on the Phillies‘ new
season and are getting back into the baseball spirit, go out and
support our home team!
The Purple Press
The NFL season is over but the draft
is coming up, and with free agent signings
there are new faces in new places. Teams
are trying to improve their rosters to make
a run for Super bowl 41. Who will go
where? Here are some of my picks for the
2006 NFL Draft.
Houston Texans: Pick #1
Needs: Everything
Since the Houston
Texans came into the
league in 2002 they haven‘t
been that big of a threat to
anyone. The Texans are
lacking that superstar
player. In 2002 with the first
pick in the draft they selected David Carr, but he really hasn‘t
made that much of an impact in the
league yet. Since they‘re missing that superstar player, I believe they will select
running back Reggie Bush from USC.
Bush is an all-around athlete; he
can pretty much do anything. You can
line him up in the backfield and as a wide
out and he will still make an impact. Bush is
also an excellent return man. That‘s why I
think Reggie Bush will be the first overall
pick in the draft. He can improve the Texans a little, but I‘m not saying that they will
make the Super bowl.
New Orleans Saints: Pick #2
Needs: Offensive Line, Defense
Last season the Saints did not get to
play one home game because Hurricane
Katrina, and their record showed it with a
3-13 record, but in the off season the
Saints picked up some good talent off the
free-agent pool. The Saints signed quarterback Drew Brees to a six year deal, and
running back Michael Bennett to a two
year deal.
Before signing Drew Brees I thought
the Saints were going to
take quarterback Matt
Leinart, but now I believe
they will either trade their
second pick to the Jets for
the fourth pick or select defensive end Mario Williams
from North Carolina State.
The Saints need a replacement for DE Darren Howard
and Williams is the perfect
guy to fill his shoes. The
Saints still have pro-bowl wide receiver Joe
Horn, and very talented running back
Deuce McAllister. I believe if they stay
healthy they can be a wild-card playoff
The Purple Press
team next season.
Tennessee Titans: Pick #3
Needs: Quarterback
After coming off a 4-12 season, the
Titans are looking for that franchise player
since Steve McNair is coming to the end
of his career. The Titans just got done signing wide receiver David Givens, safety
Chris Hope, center Kevin Mawae, and
line backer David Thornton, and they are
looking for a quarterback to run the offense.
With the third pick in the 2006
NFL draft, I think that the Titans
will take Matt Leinart if he is
not already selected. The
Titans already are showing
interest in Leinart by setting up individual workouts with him. If Leinart
isn‘t already taken, look for the Titans to take quarterback Vince
Young from Texas. Young
was the runner up in the
Heisman trophy for 2005, and is looking
pretty impressive in workouts this spring. Look
for the Titans to take a quarterback in the
draft, and either of these will do.
New York Jets: Pick #4
Needs: HELP!
In the 2004-05 season the Jets struggled to find a starting quarterback. Chad
Pennington went down with an
injury, Vinny Testaverde is just too
old, and Brooks Bollinger lacks experience and is terrible. Since Curtis Martin retired, the Jets are looking for a new franchise player, a
player who can turn around their
losing ways.
Look for the Jets to trade
picks with the New Orleans Saints.
If the Saints accept this trade I believe the Jets will take Matt Leinart.
Leinart is the 2004 Heisman trophy winner and is looking for a team to
spend the rest of his career with. Despite adding Leinart to the squad,
don‘t look for the Jets to make an impact in the AFC East. They still need a
running back, offensive line, and a
consistent defense.
Green Bay Packers: Pick #5
going to return is if he thinks the Packers
have a legitimate shot at a Superbowl. The
Packers are also trying to get their pro bowl
wide receiver Javon Walker to remain with
the team.
The Packers‘ offense isn‘t the only
part of their team facing problems. The
Packers‘ defense has struggled over the
past couple of years and is needing that
defensive leader, a guy like Ray Lewis or a
Brian Dawkins. That is why I think with the fifth
pick in the 2006 NFL Draft the Packers will
select outside linebacker A.J. Hawk from
Ohio State University. Hawk is a ferocious
linebacker, has great speed, and is a
great addition for any team. So look
for the Packers to upgrade their defense in this years‘ draft. After improving their defense I still can‘t see the
Packers making the playoffs, but they
will win more games than they did
last season.
Philadelphia Eagles: Pick #14
Needs: Wide Receiver, Consistency
After reaching the Super bowl in the
2004-05 season, and the Terrell Owens
drama, the Eagles placed last in the NFC
East last season with a 6-10 record. The Eagles have great experience on defense and
offense but lack talent at the wide receiver
position.
Look for the Eagles to take wide receiver Chad Jackson from Florida if he is still
in the draft. Jackson has great speed
and great hands. If Jackson is already
taken, watch for the Eagles to take
Santonio Holmes, a wide receiver from
Ohio State University. Holmes brings a
lot of speed and play making to the
table and is always a threat if a team
wants to throw the long ball. But with
the addition of Holmes I still think the
Eagles will finish in last place again
next season, because they are the
only team not signing any good
free agents.
Dallas Cowboys: Pick #18
Needs: NOTHING
The Cowboys need NO help. They
have everything they need and they are
going to win Super bowl 41! Well, I mean
they got Terrell Owens and they were already good. So I think they will win the Super
bowl this year.
Needs: Defense, Offensive Line
The Packers are still waiting from a
decision from Brett Farve on whether or not
he is going to return for the upcoming season or retire. Farve says the only way he is
Page 13
New York Giants: Pick #25
Needs: Offensive Line
This year the New York Gimany threats on the offensive side
the offensive line isn‘t that great.
think if he had a good line.
ants are going to try and defend their 2005 NFC East title. The Giants have
of the ball with wide receiver Plaxico Burress, and running back Tiki Barber, but
Barber rushed for 1,860 yards last season with a terrible offensive line, but just
So with the 25th picked in
lineman I know in the draft is
Ferguson will already be taken
the draft I have no idea who they are going to take because the only good
D'Brickashaw Ferguson, an offensive tackle from Virginia. But I believe that
before the Giants get their pick. So they are out of luck, and who cares.
So there are my picks. There are a lot good, talented players in this year‘s draft. All the teams are trying to improve their roster for
the 2006-07 season. So if you‘re interested to see who is going to go where, watch the 2006 NFL Draft on April 29th and 30th on ESPN.
T.O. went to Dallas and it is a match made in heaven. Being the Eagles fan that I
am, it doesn‘t bother me that much that he went to Dallas. If Terrell Owens can‘t last
two years with Donovan McNabb then I really don‘t know if he could last two weeks
with Drew Bledsoe, the human punching bag. Then what are the Cowboys going to
do… NOTHING. They are going to be stuck with him. I honestly don‘t think T.O. will become the head case he was with the 49ers and the Eagles, but controversy follows a
controversial player. The Cowboys got arguably the best wide out in the league, but
he only has two or three more years in his prime. T.O. most likely will torch the Eagles
once or twice, but those two games between the Eagles and Cowboys will be battles.
The first game is in Philly on October 8th and the second one is on Christmas Day in Dallas where the Eagles will give the Cowboys a nice holiday present.
Bearden has come out for softball for the first
year as a
senior. Also
a major part
of the outfield is Kim
March,
who has another important part
on the
field when
pitching.
Though
these seniors have
their last
year to make
an impact,
there are
other girls
who have
more time
to help in the
Lady Phantoms‘ successes.
Juniors Kaitlyn Gephart (Outfield), Amanda
Naile (2nd Base), and Emily Norris (1st Base) play
the game well behind some very well-rounded
seniors. The girls who are upperclassmen do
their best to lead the underclassmen in their
attempts to grow as strong softball players.
Still, sophomores Gail Dooley at third base
and Courtney Heming who does a majority of
the pitching, have both ‗wowed‘ coaches
with their early talent and will be key players
on the varsity team for the next few years.
Becca Clayton, also a sophomore, joined the
varsity team late because of surgery to her
shoulder.
Bogus in their first year of high school in
hopes to become strong players next year
when many of the current seniors‘ spots will
need to be filled. Peto, who is used for her
quick feet, commonly plays outfield.
Nemeth and Jasienski are placed behind
the plate and in outfield, and often used
for their bat.
Coach Joe Bogus has instructed the
Lady Phantoms‘ softball team for 17
years, and enjoys teaching the girls.
Thanks to Bogus we have improving
softball fields, a junior varsity, and
numerous other benefits for the
team. Bogus coached boy‘s baseball for school and Babe Ruth for
many years before
he
switched to
head coach for
softball. A perk
to his job includes being able to
teach different generations of girls. Every
few years he is able
to coach the daughters of girls he
coached years ago. His prized former
players include his own son and daughter
and Mike Piazza, all who‘ve gone to Phoenixville Area High School.
So far the season has started off with
few errors, and quick plays. Once the
Phantoms‘ bats get going they‘ll be
able to crush the competition. With hope
of improving their current
record With hope of improving their current record of 2-6, (3-6) the Lady
Phantoms are well on their
way to an exciting year of
softball. Future competition includes Boyertown,
Owen J. Roberts, and a
return engagement with
rivals St. Pius X and SpringFord.
NOTE: Junior Varsity
is headed by co-captains
Kerri Kelly and Melissa Quici. Their record
currently stands at 8-1 (6-1). Coach
McLaughlin has helped the JV girls improve their record by defeating arch-rival
Lansdale Catholic.
Freshmen Miranda Peto, Kacie Nemeth
and Ruth Jasienski are working with Coach
Page 14
The Purple Press
When you lose someone really close to you, what do you do to cope with the loss?
Some people cry themselves to sleep, some talk to a person that they trust, and others
just pretend that it never happened. In the book Perfect by Natasha Friend, Isabelle
Lee copes with her father‘s death in a very scary and dangerous way.
In this book, Isabelle Lee loses her father and no one wants to talk about it. Her way
of dealing with it is not the best way. For example, she is caught by her little sister
April (a.k.a. Ape Face) in the bathroom forcing herself to throw up everything she
had just eaten. She begs her sister not to tell her mother because ―it isn‘t a big
deal‖; she is only sick and does not want to worry her. Even though they had a sisterly bond, April tells her mother about Isabelle Lee so she is forced to go to an Eating Disorder and Body ImapyGroup.
age Ther-
On the first day of
group, Isabelle Lee is stunned when
Ashley Barnum, the prettiest and
most popular girl in her school, walks through the door. During
group they are asked to write some things on an index card
about themselves. These things include full name, what they
would like to be called, their age, what grade they are in, why
they are there, and their personal goals. They are told that these
cards are private, along with anything said inside that room. At
the end of the first day of group Ashley asks Isabelle Lee to not tell
anyone about her being there. Isabelle Lee agrees. You will have
to read the book to find out if she keeps her word.
Whether it is a personal battle or a friend‘s
battle, many people have to deal with this
fast growing eating disorder. Bulimia, ac-
Your band has just signed a record deal
after struggling for two years and it‘s the
night of your first concert. You walk out on
stage and to your surprise the venue is filled
with people. You‘re astonished
because you thought that only
about twenty people would be
there and you were sure that
they would all have the same
last name as someone in the
band. That‘s how The Fray felt
when they played their first
show.
This great new band from
Denver came together in 2002.
After pianist Isaac Slade ran into
guitarist Joe King at a local music store, they started to have
jam sessions which began The
Fray. It was only vocals, guitar and piano
but they made it work. The inspiring, melody-driven songs were appealing enough
to draw two of Slade‘s former band mates,
drummer Ben Wysocki and guitarist Dave
The Purple Press
cording to www.mamashealth.com, ―is episodes of binge-eating
followed by inappropriate methods of weight control (purging). Inappropriate methods of weight control include vomiting, fasting,
enemas, excessive use of laxatives and diuretics, or compulsive exercising.‖ Bulimia hurts you in more ways than one. It causes throat
damage, extreme weight loss, dehydration, along with other types
of damage to your mouth. This eating disorder can also be fatal.
―Perfect‖ is a great book for any high school girl. It shows how
one girl deals with losing a father, tries to fit into a mold for girls without hurting herself, and attempts to figure out who her real friends
are. High school girls can relate to this challenge of finding what is
needed most in high school, true friends.
So if you are looking for a great book that you can relate to, you
should pick up a copy of Perfect.
Welsh. Now that the band had the lineup
secure, all they needed was a name. The
Fray was decided because of the boys‘
tendency to battle it out over song composition.
In January
2004
The
Fray
were
n o - na m er s
trying to find
gigs
but
then
they
signed with
Epic
Records and
by December
they
were
getting
radio
pick-ups and playing sold-out shows. They
opened for the legendary rockers Weezer
for a series of concerts in July. The Fray had
an opportunity to make many more fans by
the time their debut album came out in
September of 2005.
The band won ―Best New Band‖ honors
from Denver‘s Westword Magazine and
had substantial airplay on two of Denver‘s
top rock stations. In just four months the
band‘s first single ―Over My Head (Cable
Car)‖ became KTCL‘s top thirty most
played song of 2005. The song opens up
with the lyrics, ―I never knew/ I never knew
that everything was falling through/ that
everyone I knew was waiting on a queue/
to turn and run when all I needed was the
truth.‖ The song I currently #26 on Billboards
Hot 100.
To listen to The Fray you can visit
www.myspace.com/thefray, or you can go
to www.thefray.net, where you can join the
mailing list or look at tour dates and album
releases. You can also buy their CD ―How
To Save A Life‖ from any store that sells
CD‘s. This CD will blow your mind with all of
the great vocals, piano, guitar and drum
playing.
Page 15
Dear Wise Wizard,
Freshman year my group of friends shifted from the smart kids to the jokers. You know, the ―popular
crowd.‖ Every weekend and vacation is loaded with parties that shift from house to house. We get
smashed…every single time. Somehow we got it into our heads that the stupor we fall into when we‘re
drunk is worth the trouble we get into and the sickness we feel the next day. It used to be so fun to lose
control and do whatever felt right at the time…whether it was hooking up with some girl I hardly knew because she was bangin‘ (and drunk), or vandalizing someone‘s property if it seemed hilarious at the time.
That‘s what I‘ve been doing for the past four years, and you know what? I‘m sick of it. I only do it because
none of my crew can figure out a way to stop. I keep going to every party, and booking it every time the
cops come. I just know that someday soon we‘re all going to pay for our irresponsibility. Whether it‘s from
drunk driving, hooking up when we‘re out of it, or some kind of drug overdose…we‘re going to do something that‘s irreversible. I don‘t want that to happen to any of my friends, and I definitely don‘t want it to be
me. Saturday‘s party is an excuse to get hammered. How do I find an excuse to not?
Sincerely,
Glass Half Empty
Dear Half Empty
Your confession took a lot of guts to make. It also shows that you‘ve matured enough to see the consequences of the antics of millions of other teenagers. You‘re certainly not alone in your problems. More than 10 million current drinkers in the United
States are between the ages of twelve and twenty. Of these young drinkers, 20% engage in binge drinking and 6% are heavy
drinkers. By the time they are high school seniors like yourself, more than 80% have used alcohol and approximately 62% have
been drunk. You‘re absolutely correct in thinking that you might have something to worry about if you or your friends continue
to drink like this. The three leading causes of death for 15- to 24-year-olds are automobile crashes, homicides and suicides -alcohol is a leading factor in all three. Teens under 15 who have consumed alcohol are twice as likely to have sex as those
who have not. Nearly 4 in 10 (39%) sexually active teens who use alcohol have had sexual intercourse with four or more individuals. It‘s not just teenagers who will pay the consequences of underage drinking. So how do you fix it? You should avoid the
events where you drink. If you know your crew is going to get slammed at a party, don‘t go. If you go, most likely you‘re going
to break your vows. It‘s better to avoid the pressure all together until your stronger in your conviction. Make other plans that
avoid drinking, like going out of town, or find someone to hang out with that doesn‘t drink. Or, if worst comes to worse, just stay
home. For help, you can call the National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Referral Routing Service at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). By
doing so, you can speak directly to a representative concerning substance abuse treatment, request printed material on alcohol or other drugs, or obtain local substance abuse treatment referral information in our area. Stay strong and you won‘t regret
it. Maybe eventually, you can even convince some of your friends to look for another hobby.
Best of luck,
The Wise Wizard
Page 16
The Purple Press
March 21 – April 20
That spring feeling is in the air this month, and
you are starting to get off track! Don‘t worry or
feel overloaded. A good night out at the
prom is guaranteed to show you that your
worries and stress isn‘t worth it! You‘ll start to
get back on track shortly.
on a smile!
This month: Squeeze into the next belt hole.
Unexpected news will shock you!
Someone is out to get you this month
one way or another. You‘ve been feeling kind of sick this month, and it‘s time
to take a rest from those parties. Get
up and exercise your way to health.
April 21 – May 21
Being with your girlfriend/boyfriend too much
is getting on your nerves! The weather is starting to break, and it‘s a chance to get some
new scenery! Start to attend some school
sporting events and find a new crowd. Be
careful though. You may find yourself with a
new crush!
This month: Take a pointless drive.
May 22 – June 21
Be thankful for the ones that truly love you.
Maybe a day out with them will bring your relationship a little closer. Try and make future
plans for a vacation that you will enjoy!
This month: Organize your school notes
one last time, for fun.
October 24 – November 22
This month: Write an email to a distant
friend.
November 23 – December 21
You may see a serious change in a lot
of friends this month. Be ready to find
out who your true friends are! Focus on
your future and who you know you will
be able to depend on.
This month: Read someone else‘s diary.
This month: Delete someone off your
myspace.
December 22- January 20
June 22 – July 23
Lately you have been extremely tired!
Try to balance school, work, sports, and friends
to give yourself some time to nap. This way
you will have plenty of energy to put to good
use! Try to get some serious work done before
the school year ends.
This month: Buy some Old Navy flip flops.
July 24 – August 23
Don‘t expect things to run according to
schedule. Plan carefully this month for those
busy hours on the go! Maybe
some down time to yourself will
eliminate some drama!
This month: Buy a pack of Chiclets.
August 24 – September 23
You‘re on fire this month! You feel real good
about yourself and the way things are going!
Don‘t cut any corners because you have
enough talent and ambition to make you
shine! So be yourself and show off your skills!
This month: Clip your toe nails.
September 24 – October 23
Treat yourself to a nice dinner and a movie this
month, because it‘s long overdue! Make a
new friend, but don‘t forget the old. Maybe
you should all plan a hott date or two and put
The Purple Press
You may not be in the most sociable
mood this month. Do your own thing
and don‘t even think twice about
what others think. Treat yourself to
something you deserve. By the end of
this month you will feel satisfied with
yourself.
This month: Get a new bar of soap.
January 21 – February 19
This month could be the month you
start turning dreams into realities. You
may have been having some weird
dreams this month, but it is just your
unconscious mind talking to you! Follow those dreams and do something
out of the ordinary, because it will be
to your advantage.
This month: Shave your eyebrows.
February 20 – March 20
Time for a breakthrough! Take a risk
and put some spring in your step. This is
a fairly easy month for you to reach
the top. Ask a teacher or someone you
look up to for some wise advice on making
progress this marking period.
This month: Give a teacher an apple.
Page 17
The Purple Press
Marissa Rock
Grade 9
―When people ask, ‗Are you Ms
Rock‘s daughter?‘‖
Jeff Plaut
Grade 12
―When the librarians make you
pay to use the copy machine,
especially when it‘s school related.‖
Billy Shirk, Alyssa Talarico, and
Chase DiFebbo
Grade 12
―When boys wear girl jeans.‖
Mr. Wynne
―When you tell a student to take off
their hat, they don‘t, and then proceed to give you attitude.‖
Chelsea Allen, Julie Rabena,
and Alana Cappelli,
Grades 12, 12 and 11
―Girls that gossip.‖
Emily Norris
Grade 11
―When people
have eye
boogies.‖
Nora Gerstenberger
Grade 9
―When people walk really slow in
the hallways.‖
Ms. Vance.
Kristi Johnson
Grade 11
―When I‘m late.‖
The Purple Press
―When people chew
food while
talking on
the phone.‖
Page 19
4/21: Softball vs. St. Pius
Boys Tennis Pac-10 Singles
Boys Lacrosse vs. Lans.Catholic
4/24: Baseball vs. Upper Perkiomen
4/26: Baseball vs. Pottstown
Boys & Girls Track vs.
Pottsgrove & St. Pius
4/27: Girls Lacrosse vs. OJ Roberts
Softball vs. OJ Roberts
Boys Lacrosse vs. Spring-Ford
4/28: Prom / FOCUS party
5/1: Girls Lacrosse vs. Methacton
5/5:
Boys Tennis Pac-10 doubles
5/17: Blood Drive
** All games/matches listed are
HOME events (except tennis)