Page 1
The Quaker News
Vol. 1
Issue 1
Dec. 2016
Monthly News from the Millville School District
Millville Quakers:
Changes and New Beginnings
Mr. Hemsarth Comes Back to His Roots
Brad Vest, Kelly Holdren and Tim Johnson
analyze evidence.
Forensics: Raising Amateur
Detectives
By Elizabeth Brinser
Fingerprints have been used
since the 700’s by the Chinese to
identify documents and statue
owners. It was not until 1892 that
fingerprints were first used to solve
a crime. Since then, forensics science
has come a long way and it is now a
course offered at Millville.
Forensics, according to Mrs.
Steiner, is the “use of science to
establish facts.” As seen in crime
dramas such as CSI: Criminal Scene
Investigation and NCIS, evidence is
collected and analyzed to determine
who committed a crime and why
and how they did it. Many people
find these shows interesting, but as
some would imagine, Hollywood
science is not always accurate.
Continue on page 7
By Trent Longenberger
Imagine walking down the halls of your high school, but no longer as a student. Now,
you are the teacher. That’s what it’s like for Mr. Hemsarth. He is a 2003 alumni of
Millville High School.
After high school, he stayed in the area and continued his education at Bloomsburg University. There, he got his
undergraduate degree in history and education and then went on to get his Master’s degree in curriculum and
instruction. As a teacher, he has a goal of making his students better so they can make a difference in the world.
This is his first year at Millville teaching as a full-time teacher. Previously, he has taught at two cyber schools:
SusQ Cyber Charter School and Keystone National High School as an instructional supervisor of math, Spanish, and
business. He also taught part-time as an English teacher last year at Millville.
Now he gets to teach his favorite subject, Social Studies. According to him, “The subject appeals to me
because Mr. Marshman was my social studies teacher in high school and he made me realize how much I loved this
field.” He teaches American History II, Pennsylvania History, Government, and Contemporary World Issues.
Continue on page 3
Millville – By Way of Norway…….
By Alexa Rine
Throughout the past couple years, Millville High School has received its fair share
of new teachers. Those new teachers have come from a variety of different places
to fill a variety of different positions. One of those teachers is Mr. Brady. He comes
to Millville from different places – he graduated from Danville High School and Penn
State, but what is unique is that he also came to Millville from Norway.
Mr. Brady taught in Norway for four years, and remarked that he was treated very professionally. Another
thing of interest he mentioned: Norway does not have standardized testing.
One of the first things I wanted to know was what would be three words he’d use to describe himself.
His response: “Loquacious, jolly and stinky” ……...stinky? What teacher would describe himself as “stinky”?
When asked about where he would like to be in five years, he responded: “Sitting on a beach in the Caribbean”.
Huh????? What was becoming apparent was that Mr. Brady was sometimes not entirely serious, in fact he could
be rather funny.
As a student himself, he was very school-oriented. He participated in many in and out of school activities,
Continue on page 3
School Board Meets Health
Class
By Ben Dodge
Not many students know
how to perform CPR, but students
of Ms. Verstraeten’s Athletic
Training/First Aid class can claim
their knowledge of CPR and the
Heimlich Maneuver. Their
knowledge was recognized by the
Millville community when they
provided School Board members
with a demonstration during a
meeting held on November
fourteenth.
Ms. Verstraeten—whose
“passions are in health and Phys.
Ed.”—explained the essentials to
the course. They include learning
the procedures of CPR and the
Heimlich Maneuver.
She noticed that many
students of hers (especially
athletes) were interested in the
study of medicine, most likely due
to the increase in job opportunities
in the said field. This is also why
Ms. Verstraeten believed her new
elective will attract more students
in the future
The showing of pictures,
videos, and the use of interactive
exercises also contributed to the
enthusiasm of her pupils.
Continue on page 3
Page 2
Millville Quakers Qualify
Girls’ Soccer Season Wrap-Up
By Maddy Martin
In sports, improvement is always a goal
athletes want to achieve. That is something the
Lady Quakers are happy with – improvement.
Especially because it got them into the soccer
playoffs at the end of the season this year.
According to Nicole Shadle, Millville’s
head coach, “The team worked pretty well
together at times and other times we struggled,
just like any other team. It's important to notice
the small victories (better touches, better
shots, better team communication) as well as
the larger victories or actually winning the
game.”
This was Shadle’s second year as head
coach. When asked how this season compared
to her first season, she responded, “I would say
that this second season was better compared
to last season, at least for me personally.
Coming in as a first year coach is difficult
because you need to be able to judge the
dynamic of the team and players and be able to
alter it if need be. It's hard to get players to
adapt to a coaching style that was different
from what they were used to. Based on our
record from last year and this year it was an
improvement, which felt good.”
Continued on page 3
Millville/Benton Field Hockey
Makes an Impression
David Earnest, John Larotonda and Haley Bower all qualify
for both County Band and District Band
To Districts and Beyond
By Averi Rine
Several students from Millville qualified
for county band this year. This is quite an
accomplishment for a school who has a total of
44 students in its entire band. John LaRotonda,
Haley Bower, and David Ernest represented
Millville at the competition.
The lack of students in Millville High
School makes it hard to have a band the size of
surrounding school districts such as Central
Columbia or Danville. Despite the small size
though, Millville still has a decent-sized band
with 44 instrumentalists. On November 20th,
three of those instrumentalist competed at
County band tryouts that were held at Central
Columbia High School.
John, Haley, and David were judged on
performance posture and practice, tone quality,
accuracy and intonation, rhythm and pulse,
articulation, accents, and style. They could
receive a score in any of these categories
ranging from 4-0 points. The highest level they
could possibly achieve is “mastery” in a
Continued on page 7
By Kolten Smith
For the first time since combining as
one team, the Millville/Benton hockey
team made playoffs. They finished the
season with a 500 record which enabled
them to enter playoffs as a wild card team.
Since combining with Benton the
team has only improved. It has been a long
work in- progress, but they finally got a
hard-working team that made it to the
districts playoffs. Co-Captain Mackenzie
Sweeney believes that combining with
Benton has made a huge impact on the
team as a whole. Co-captain and senior
Jenna Chilcote also says that she likes
being combined with Benton. Although the
girls were rivals in field hockey in the past,
they all put that behind them.
At the beginning of the season Jenna
didn’t know what to expect from her team.
They began the season with many new
girls and lost their first two scrimmages.
“At the beginning of the season I was very
uneasy with how the rest of the season
would go because of not knowing many of
the new team members,” she remarked.
Continued on page 6
2016 District IV Class A Boys Soccer Champs
Boys’ Soccer Season Wrap-up
By Klohe Faatz
Once again, the Millville High School
Boys soccer team pulled off a District IV title
to cap off an outstanding season. Overall,
they went 20-3, finally losing in the second
round of state playoffs.
According to Kolten Smith, a midfielder, “We were expected to do well this
year, but we weren’t sure how far we would
go.” The team they played to win the
District IV title was Bloomsburg.
The team did very well overall. In the
beginning of the season they won all of their
games, most of them by 3 to 7 goals. They
beat Benton, a big rival game –winning the
cider jug. The team was very consistent even
though some games were harder to win
then others. Throughout the season the
boys had many solid wins, and by the middle
of the season they were beating some
teams by 10 goals.
The team the boys faced in the
District Final was Bloomsburg, a team they
lost to earlier. For Districts the out-come
was different. They then played East Juniata
Continued on page 7
Page 3
Mr. Hemsarth….cont. from page 1
However, his favorite subject to teach is
Government.
In Mr. Hemsarth’s class, students
will realize that they matter most to
him. This is why large schools and cyber
school just didn’t work for him. He
stated “being in a small community
school has helped me get one-on-one
time with my students.” This allows him
to get to know his students and make
them the best students they can be. A
big school or cyber school doesn’t allow
for any of this to happen. Millville is
also a good place for him because he is
only five minutes away from his home,
which allows him to see his family and
get his children off the school bus.
Mr. Hemsarth can now give back
to his home town of Millville by
teaching social studies. This lets him
give his students the education they
deserve and gives him the chance to
teach the subject he is very passionate
about. He strives to make his students
the best they can be so when they get
out of school, they can understand the
world that goes on around them.
Ryan Perkins demonstrates CPR on Hunter Shaw
Mr. Brady…..cont. from page 1
for example: Ski club, Student council (he
was class historian), FBLA (Future
Business Leader of America), the drama
club, and football.
I also wanted to know what was
his favorite novel. His response: “See
Spot Run, because it challenges
everyone’s vocabulary at a certain age!”
Really?!?! Actually, no – it is Incredibly
Loud and Extremely Close because,” it
captures the innocence and anger of a
child in a beautiful manner”
The last questions I wanted to
know was what his biggest goal for this
year was. He responded with, “I hope to
survive having to teach the 7th graders,”
he was obviously joking! He then
responded with, “I hope to mold my 7th
grade students into outstanding citizens!’
School Board….. cont. from page 1
The demonstration presented to
the School Board produced positive
feedback, and from the email sent to
Ms. Verstraeten, they “wish to further
fund the course and supply more
materials.”
James Dodge, a parent and
School Board member of the district, is
one who supported the introduction of
the Athletic Training/First Aid class. His
ultimate goal as a member of the Board
“is to ensure that students receive a
quality education and that that
education provides opportunities for
students to achieve their personal
goals.” He believes this is being fulfilled
with the new elective. He also
commented, “The Board helps to
support teachers and students in their
academic endeavors, and it’s nice to
see evidence of that when
presentations like that of Ms.
Verstraeten’s class are given.”
Another Board member and
parent, Jody Love, had positive opinions
of the CPR demonstration given
Monday night as well. She was excited
to see students put into practice the
skills they’ve acquired. She noted,
“Everyone in the Millville community
will benefit as we increase the number
of individuals who are adept in
responding to emergency situations …
the fact that they have both learned
and demonstrated CPR and the
Heimlich Maneuver for all ages and
circumstances is extra helpful.”
Thanks to an engaging teacher,
dedicated students, and supportive
School Board members, the Millville
community (and beyond) is safe in
knowing a new generation is qualified
to perform CPR and the Heimlich
Maneuver. These individuals are also
credited for the continuation of Ms.
Verstraeten’s Athletic Training/First Aid
class that will educate future students
who may pursue future opportunities in
the medical field.
Girls Soccer ….cont from page 2
The team had many tough and close
games. Some include their two wins
against Sullivan. Both games resulted in
double overtime. Another big game was
Homecoming, which was a
golden goal loss. A golden goal is
when there is 15 minutes of time
added to the end of the game
and whichever team scores first
wins. Muncy at home also went
into overtime. One overtime goal
this season was scored with less
than 30 seconds remaining in the
game.
Jaycie Fought, center
defender for the Quakers, is a big
contributor to the team, “Center
defense is a key position, I get a
lot of action and I control the
defense.” She was recovering
from an injury at the beginning of
the season that restricted her in
various aspects, including
conditioning during preseason.
After overcoming that, she
scored a goal against Sullivan, as
well as blocking a shot against
Bloomsburg.
A big loss for Millville will be
seniors Morgan Bower, Katie
Anderson, and Brooke Kremer.
Morgan Bower is a 4 year starting
player who has played all over
the field, including forward this
past year. She has scored over
100 goals over her career which
is a very honorable achievement.
Katie Anderson brought
tremendous life to the team,
according to all players. Brooke
Kremer played defensive mid and
was a huge help to the team.
When Katie was asked
about the past season she said,
“This past season was very
memorable. Although we did not
make it as far as we would have
liked, the team had great
chemistry and many great
memories were made. Knowing
that I will never play high school
soccer again is upsetting, but I
am thankful for the years that I
was able to play.”
When asked about what
improvements that could be
made for upcoming seasons,
Shadle responded with, “gaining
more knowledge of the game.
For example, better field
awareness and knowing what is a
foul and what isn't. We also need
to work on communicating as a
whole team.”
Moving up 16 spots in the
state, Millville Girl’s Soccer
clearly had a good season. After
their last game, Millville girls had
an overall record of 9-9-1. They
may not have gone as far as they
wanted this season, but they still
accomplished many
achievements. With some minor
adjustments to the game and
strategy, they could go even
farther next fall.
Don’t forget “Treats on Feets”
– week of Dec. 21st ! Support
the 10th gr. charity fund raiser!
Page 4
A Sneak Peek at a Millville Quaker
A Glimpse into the Day of Our
Administration
By Grace Boone
Administrators, we see them every day
welcoming us into the building and working
alongside of our faculty and staff. But, do we
really know what they do outside of school?
Millville’s superintendent, Mrs. Jenkins
has been in education for 26 years. She was a
teacher of grades 1-7, enrichment K-5, then an
elementary school principal for eight years at
Bethel Elementary in Tulpehocken School
District.
Her daily routine consists of waking up at
4:45am to to work out then she arrives to work
around seven to greet all the students.
Followed by that, there are meetings at the
Intermediate Unit (IU) #16 and Columbia
Montour Vo-Tech, meetings to discuss budgets,
interviews for new employees, and visiting
classes. She also helps oversee cyber school,
create yearly calendars, work on curriculum,
and she attends as many Millville
Millville’s Gifted Compete
By Magi Earnest
In a small room, just passed the library,
tucked in next to the physics room, chaos
sometimes reigns. It is organized chaos
though. One or two students may be
researching in one corner, one or two other
students may be in another corner creating
something for homework. Still another
student may be standing next to the teacher’s
desk reviewing questions for a competition.
Welcome to Mrs. Myers classroom.
activities as possible. Ending her day at 8
pm, she goes home to her husband.
In her free time, Mrs. Jenkins likes to
hike, watch movies, and play games with
her husband, daughters, and grand daughters. She goes to bed only to wake
up and do it all over again
Coming from a small school is great,
but there are some disadvantages that
come along with this. Mrs. Jenkins states,
“A disadvantage of a small school is that
sometimes it is hard for students and
teachers because everybody knows
everybody else and they struggle because
they are viewed as an outsider. I will say
that is not the case at Millville. Students
and staff here are kind, caring, and
accepting.” Being able to know every
student and chat with them personally is
one great thing about being in a small
school Mrs. Jenkins remarks.
Continue on page 6
Mrs. Myers oversees the gifted program in
Millville School District.
The students who are a part of the
gifted program at Millville High School all
have activity period together. Mrs. Meyers
said, “they mostly do homework or study
during this time period.” Students also work
on individual learning goals that include
projects and competition preparation.
The gifted program at any school
helps students challenge their intellectual
intelligence. It may mean extra work, but it
will be beneficial for the students outside
the school throughout their lives. Students
By Olivia Belles
Most students come down to the
guidance office for scheduling issues. The
first person they will see is the guidance
counselor’s secretary who is Miss Zeisloft.
She has been working here for one and a
half years and even though she has only
been working for a short amount of time she
knows how Millville works because she is
also an alumni of Millville herself.
She starts off her day with feeding the
fish which isn’t what you would expect. “It’s
just different everyday” said Miss Ziesloft. A
guidance counselor’s secretary needs to able
to juggle many projects daily.
Scheduling classes is one thing that
practically involves every student, especially if
they want their schedule fixed. Students get
three days at the beginning of each semester to
come down and have their schedules changed.
“Yeah, I mean it’s always a question. It’s
between online classes to ‘I want to get out of
this class can you please do this.’ She says it’s
hard to tell them they have to stick through the
class and try to get a decent grade.
The Guidance Office is also one of the
organizers to school projects. Project Snowflake
is a program that helps the less fortunate get
gifts for their children for Christmas. “Project
Snowflake for sure, Christmas is my favorite
holiday for me.” She likes this because she likes
to give back to the community.
Besides projects, there is always some
type of field trip that students can sign up to go
on. Miss Zeisloft gets the permission slips
ready, has the sign-up sheets ready for students
to come down and sign up,
Continued on page 6
are not just put into the gifted program, they
have to take a test to become a part of the
program at school. If a student is placed in the
program, he or she is able to focus on acquiring
more knowledge in subjects that they enjoy.
Ben Dodge from Millville Area School is a
student in the gifted program. This program
means a lot to him. It gives him incentive to
work on his studies and set high goals for
himself. If he doesn’t meet these goals, he
doesn’t give up; he works harder. Ben says he
expects a lot out of himself to do well in school.
His academic teachers don’t hold him to a
higher standard over anyone else, but his
gifted teacher does.
Ben says, “depending on what
subject(s) one is specialized in, effort will be
required.” Ben focuses mostly on English.
There aren’t many competitions within the
area based on English. He does enter into
essay contests. Right now he is working on a
novel that consists of 20,000 words.
Besides providing personal incentive, the
Continue on page 6
A Day as Guidance Counselor’s Secretary
Page 5
Quaker Creativity
Millville Quakers Fall Festival
By Amadia Yohey
Elementary students participating in one of the games.
Bright sunlight filled the morning.
Students joyfully ran from stand to stand. On
October 28th, 2016, Millville offered its first Fall
Festival to their elementary students. The
driving force behind the Fall Festival was Mrs.
Iliev and Mrs. Myers.
When Mrs.Myers was asked, she said it
took Mrs. Iliev and herself a long time to make
this happen. They started August 22nd and they
used every lunch break, prep period, and some
days after school to prepare. They asked people
for monetary or food donations, planned the
games, asked parents if they would volunteer,
and many more things. High school students
who were a part of National Honor Society
(NHS), teachers, and a few parents volunteered
to help.
The biggest issue in her opinion was
getting everyone signed in, to their station, and
to know the task and instructions on what to do
for the station they were assigned too. After
that, everything went nicely.
Fall themed games were the focus of the
activities.
Continue on page 6
Millville Quakers Go Abroad
The Art of Photography:
Underappreciated, But Still Important
By Meaghan York
Today, to take a picture, you simply
need to pull out your cell phone, aim and
click, then a picture appears. But the art of
photography is more than simply aiming
and clicking.
According to Mr. Ritter, “it requires
foresight and understanding… vision and
planning.” These are skills that students
should acquire for life, not simply a class.
They are skills that are taught in Mr.
Ritter’s photography class.
In Mr. Ritter’s film photography class,
students will understand the history of
photography, make pinhole cameras, and
the students will also take pictures and
process them in the darkroom.
“We made cameras out of shoe
boxes and we were able to make a
negative photo, then we were taught how
to make a positive from a negative.” Callie
Yohey, a student in that class stated.
Pinhole photos created in class.
Continue on page 8
Millville students outside their hotel in Barcelona,
Spain.
Millville Tackles Spain and France
By Kaitlan Anderson
This past summer the French and
Spanish classes traveled to Europe. A total of
10 days were spent abroad, five days in
France followed by five days in Spain. The
students visited the cities of Paris,
Barcelona, and Madrid.
When asked about the trip, Sra.
Baney, one of the advisors said “I feel our
trip was a success. The students were
surrounded by culture, we saw things that
for many were a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, and we all returned safe, with
many, very good memories.”
Aside from
the tours, museums, cathedrals, and dining
opportunities, the students had the option
to partake in extra activities such as a
flamenco show, a tour of the palace of
Versailles, and also prepare an authentic
Spanish meal with a professional chef.
Ariana Bish, a student who went on
the trip said her favorite part was the taste
of Spain experience. “I really enjoyed going
to the Spanish market, picking out fresh
food, and learning how to prepare it.” Bish
stated.
Continue on page 8
Buckingham Place c. 2008
Millville Heads to England
On November 30th, both teenagers and
adults met in room 203. Each person was
given two packets, one was labeled London
and the Countryside, and the other was
labeled Passports Enrollment Guide 20172018. During the meeting, Mrs. Richter
discussed what to anticipate during the 2018
trip to England.
Anyone interested who was not able to
attend the meeting should go to
www.passports.com and enter the tour ID
(MRICHTER2018) or contact Mrs. Richter.
There is specific information on the tour,
and anyone who wants to, can enroll:
students, family members, students from
other school districts, or anyone else who is
interested. The cost to participate is $4,759.
Participants do not need to pay for
the entire trip at once. According to Mrs.
Richter, “They set-up a monthly payment
plan, but it is not something that you need
to stick to; the only solid date is the final
date for all payments before the tour. In
other words – the tour must be paid in full
by March 2nd 2018. Students may also
organize fundraisers in order to help raise
money for the price of the trip.”
Continue on page 8
Page 6
Field Hockey …. Cont. from page 2
Jenna believes that the team
really proved themselves when they
started playing actual season games
that would affect their PIAA ranking.
The girls needed to win nine games
throughout their season to make
playoffs. The most difficult opponent
would have been Central Columbia High
School. Unfortunately, when they
played central this past season, Central
had an advantage over Millville/Benton
because Central had turf.
Going from playing on grass to
turf is a lot different, it’s a lot faster.
“Turf was a difficulty that the team
faced when Central had the speed to
keep up with it and we did not.”
Despite losing to Central, Jenna believes
that as the season progressed, the team
began to become more comfortable
with each other creating a good bond
within the team. By the end of the
season, they were like a real family. At
the end of the season the girls were just
shy of the 9-win requirement but had a
good record so were picked as a wild
card team.
Mackenzie states that she was
very nervous going into playoffs
knowing that they were playing a first
seed team. They played Bloomsburg,
who they did not face in the normal
season, but they had played them in
previous seasons, and Bloomsburg was
definitely a tough opponent.
Millville/Benton field hockey went out
and made it difficult for Bloomsburg to
score in the first half. Unfortunately,
they were not able to pull off a victory.
“Making playoffs and losing
playoffs were both great honors to
to have been able to be a part of” says
makes things hard for everybody. It’s
Jenna. She believes that they went out and
not just hard for the guidance office,
played their hardest but in the end
or the teachers, or anywhere in
Bloomsburg connected with the ball more
district office.” She feels like this is a
than they did. Mackenzie felt that, “making
challenging aspect to her job.
playoffs was a huge accomplishment
Even though there are challenges
because for once field hockey got its name
to her job she still enjoys it. She likes
out there. Even though losing is never a
to be able talk to the students and get
great, but to know I played my heart out and
to work with them all day.
left everything on the field was fine by me. “
Miss Zeisloft’s day ends just a
This year Millville/Benton Field
little bit after the students; like most
Hockey stepped it up a notch and did
of the faculty or staff members, she is
something that hasn’t been accomplished in
able to leave at 3:30. There are many
ten years. They made playoffs. although
different aspects to being a guidance
they didn’t make it farther, they could say
counselor’s secretary, but she enjoys
that they made it there for the first time in a
working with people the most. “I just
long time. By the end of the season they
liked hanging out, getting to talk to
became a family, and Jenna says that she is
everybody, and having fun, but we’re
glad to have spent her senior year with
serious, we have to be serious down
those girls on the field. The team will be
here.”
losing Kaili Hannon, Sydney Dillick, and
Jennna herself, but hopefully those who
Gifted Program …… cont. from page 4
remain will further the combined legacy.
gifted program also enables students to
attend different competitions. One of
A Glimpse…….. cont. from page 4
the big ones that Millville goes to is the
In conclusion, Mrs. Jenkins was
Envirothon. This competition, which is
asked one thing she would change to
opened for all students, requires
improve the school and she said “I would
students to take a test. This is a science
modernize the building to include a
based competition. There are different
media center, charging stations, and a
sections and information stations
social café to allow for more classes.” A
during this event.
lot of students agree this would be a
They have two big competitions
great addition to our school.
that they do as a group. One is located
at Bloomsburg University and is based
A Day In ……. cont. from page 2
on Math. There are three parts to this
and does whatever else Miss Dyzsel
competition. They answer logic
needs to get the field trips ready for the
questions as a group, go head to head
students. “It’s really simple, it’s like an
with another group, and play a card
easy thing.”
game called “24”.
An obstacle to her job is comAnother one that they go to is a
munication in the school. “Communi scholastic scrimmage that is sponsored
cation, or a lack of (it) is significant so it
by Channel WVIA.
This competition is broadcasted
on TV. The students in Millville’s
gifted program will go up against
other schools and answer trivia
questions. These questions are
based on Social Studies, Science,
Math, and English. They go up
against another school, and if they
win they keep going.
The gifted program in the high
school covers students in seventh
through twelfth grade. The room
where one finds these students is
empty now, but at any time
between one and fifteen students
can be found there-always doing
something.
Fall Festival ……. cont. from page 5
Elementary students pose for a picture
There were games there
such as Bean Bag Throw, Bowling,
Pop the Balloon, and various
others. As this took place, they
served snacks such as drinks,
cupcakes, and trail mix. The festival
took all day with the fall themed
activities, square dancing, and the
parade where the students dressed
in a costume if they chose to. The
high school students helped with
the activities by showing the
elementary students how to play.
Mr. Bodnar, a sixth grade teacher
remarked, “I think teachers were
satisfied with the festival and the
kids really seemed to enjoy
themselves.”
The students and teachers
enjoyed taking place in these
activities or helping with them.
One thing he thought should be
considered, dealt with the older
students, “Several of the games
were too easy for the older kids to
play. When planning for such a
wide range of ages this is
something that needs to be
considered. The sixth grades
students would get bored very
quickly in certain stations and
become unruly.” Games that the
older kids could find interest in
might be needed, but over all, they
had fun.
When asked about next year
Mrs. Myers remarked, “We would
like it to continue every year. It is
something we worked on for a
while and it took a lot of work.”
This is a tradition they
believe will continue, and it is
eagerly anticipated for next year.
High school students Emily Kline and Abby
Omlor help with the festival.
Page 7
Forensics ….. cont. from page 1
Mrs. Steiner’s forensics class investigates
the physical evidence of forensics and
analyzes it. Physical evidence includes
hair, fabric fibers, fingerprints, bite and
lip marks, blood – any objects found at a
crime scene.
While there are no tests, students
are still tested on their knowledge and
abilities by analyzing real and simulated
crime scenes. Afterwards, the students
write short essays that vary in number of
paragraphs with 10-sentences per
paragraph.
To enter forensics, a student must
be junior or senior and have passed 10th
grade biology, preferably with a grade of
a “C” or higher. Mrs. Steiner
recommends students approach
forensics seriously. Students should not
take forensics trying to get an easy grade;
they should be taking the course because
they are interested in the subject.
Hollywood displays forensics with
large, high-tech machines but there are
no major issues with a lack of technology
for this class. Mrs. Steiner stated that one
of the only issues regarding technology
was that they do not have comparison
microscopes. The class makes do with the
regular microscopes. They do not allow
the students to make side-by-side
comparisons with evidence, but it
certainly does not stop their studies.
When studying blood splatter, the
students go outside to hit sponges and
wigs soaked in cows’ blood with blunt
objects. Nathalie Henrie, a Millville
junior, enjoyed this activity because she
was simply able to hit a bloody sponge.
Nathalie asked to take forensics
because she plans to be a forensics
psychologist. She encourages her peers
to take this course whether they want to
pursue forensics as a career or not. “It’s a
fun class because it’s very hands-on and
interactive. It’s creative and makes you
think in a different way,” she
commented.
Nathalie appreciates that there is
“no legit homework.” Nathalie also does
not mind the essays. “The essays are
fairly easy to write,” she added.
This forensics class took two years
to set in motion and will be available to
take next year and next semester. If
students are interested in investigating
crimes and want to continue to learn
about the ever-advancing science, they
should aim to take forensics in the near
future.
A student analyzes “blood” splatter.
Boys Soccer …….. cont. from page 2
in the first round of states. The boys beat
them by one goal a penalty kick by Keegan
Bower.
The next game they played was
against Mountain View; they also won
that game as well. For the quarter final
they played Kutztown but unfortunately
they lost 0-5. The quarter finals mark the
farthest the Millville boys’ soccer team
has ever gone. They couldn’t have gone
this far without the help of their coaches.
Their head coach is Anthony Preston and
the assistant coach is Chris Bower.
Coach Preston made sure they
were in good shape so they could always
give 110% on the field. Coach Preston
was gratified with how the team did this
year, “The team exceeded their own
expectations with winning the Adam
Rarig Tournament, another league title,
as well as a repeat district title.”
At the end of the season they were
ranked 37th in the state and 497th in the
nation.
Keegan Bower was a key player for
the Millville boys’ soccer team. He helped
the team get through many games with
his skill. He had 50+ goals throughout his
varsity soccer career. He was very proud
of how his team did this year, “I felt like
the season was very successful. The team
did very well, winning the District IV
championship and making it to the
quarterfinals in states,” he said. He also
got all-state this year for soccer which is
a very rewarding for a player. Keegan is
sad his high school career is over but
looking forward to what has to come for
him in the future.
The soccer team has three key
players graduating this year: Keegan
Bower, Kelly Holdren, and Kenny
Cowperthwaite.
They are all starters for the team
and next year it is going to be hard
to fill their spots. Hopefully there
will be good upcoming freshman
that are going to play next year.
Thinking of the seniors,
Coach Preston commented,
“Although I am sad to see the
seniors move on, I am grateful for
what they have contributed to the
program and am beyond proud of
what the team accomplished both
on and off the field this year.
To Districts….. cont. from page 2
category and the lowest would be
“no attempt”. Every year each
school district in Columbia County
sends students to try out for the
seat positions. The players with the
highest scores fill the amount of
seats allotted.
Last year as a sophomore,
John Larotonda qualified for
county band and districts, and was
just one seat away from qualifying
for States. He’s a very talented
saxophone player and this was
quite an accomplishment for a
sophomore instrumentalist.
Mr. McCaffrey is already
proud of these student but he
knows they have potential to go
farther. He’s confident that these
students have a solid chance at
going to districts and doing well.
He also believes that John has a
legitimate chance and making it to
states and competing with the girl
who beat him out for the final seat
last year. He’s only a junior and has
two more years to get there. With
hard work, practice and
dedication, no one has any
doubt that he can do it.
John’s been looking
forward to playing and
competing because he’s been
“practicing a lot harder than
last year.” His freshmen year,
he faced a few set-backs that
cost him the final seat. “It
would be really cool to make
it to states; I hope I can do it.
It would be really awesome.”
John wants to pursue
musical education to become
a music teacher after high
school, so qualifying for states
would be awesome for him.
He has a love for playing and
even names his instruments.
He plays Annabelle, Chelsea
and Eleanor on a regular basis.
The pressure is on for
these young musically inclined
students. They must practice
hard and perform to the best
of their abilities.
Update: Haley Bower, John
LaRotonda, and David Earnest
all made it through tryouts for
county band. They all placed
at county and qualified for
district band. Haley placed 8th
out of 74 clarinet players.
David qualified for district
orchestra as second chair
holder. John placed 1st out of
all of the saxophone players.
In February they will be facing
off in district band at Danville
High School.
Page 8
A group of Millville students at the Eiffel Tower
Spain and France….. cont. from page 5
“Park Güell was definitely my
favorite part of the trip, the beauty of
the place was breath taking, I don’t
think any of us will experience such raw
beauty like that anywhere else.” Boone
also noted of the Barcelona
architectural site.
From an educator’s aspect,
watching the students soak in the
culture was the best part. “I truly
enjoyed being in Spain and using the
language with the locals, and
encouraging my students to use it there
as well. I loved seeing things first hand,
that I have mostly just taught about and
shown students in a book. I also loved
seeing the students truly enjoy being in
Spain and France. It gave me joy seeing
them enjoy themselves in a new
surrounding.” Sra. Baney remarked.
Although there is no such thing as the
perfect trip, this particular trip was
pretty close.
“The only horrible part of the trip was
when Sierra Sabol got pick pocketed on the
metro and lost everything.” Grace Boone
recalled about the trip.
Ariana Bish also added “By the time we left
Europe, I was very tired of taking the
metro.”
Sra. Baney said that in her opinion the
trip could not have gone much better,
when asked what she would change about
the trip she replied with “Hmm...maybe
having a ‘Plan B’ in case the weather is not
cooperative. No trip is perfect,
though. Considering the fact that we all
had a good time, no one was seriously
hurt, and we all walked away with
treasured memories, I wouldn't have
changed a thing.”
The group traveled with EF Tours and
had their own tour guide the entire time of
their travel. The tour guides name was
Christina, and she was there from the
minute they landed in Paris until the
minute they boarded the plane ten days
later to return home.
England ………. cont. from page 5
The Rosetta Stone – The British Museum
The trip will last nine days, and
participants will visit London, Brighton,
Bath, and Stratford-upon-Avon.
The highlights of the trip include a
walking tour of Oxford University, London
City Sightseeing, and a visit to Canterbury
Cathedral, Stonehenge, Shakespeare’s
birthplace, and Anne Hathaway’s Cottage.
“I think, though, one of the best things will
be the workshop at the Globe Theatre…
that is definitely a bucket list item for me.
The workshop is a $25-dollar add-on, but it
is one I will definitely take advantage of,”
says Mrs. Richter, who is in charge of the
trip.
Those who are participating will be
staying at a three-star or four-star hotel.
Mrs. Richter, who has previously gone on
two similar trips, remarks, “From previous
experience, the hotels were very nice; all
were clean and I never had an ‘uneasy’
feeling as I did on my first tour. Some had
pools, others did not, but the one thing
that was the same for all of them was that
they were all centrally located within
tourist areas.”
A traditional continental breakfast will
be available, but participants will be
responsible for their lunches. “No matter
where we are, time will be provided for
lunch, but we would pay for it.” Anyone
with eating disorders or who is vegetarian
or vegan does not need to worry.
According to Mrs. Richter, “they would
definitely need to let Passports know
ahead of time (at the time of enrollment or
definitely by March 2, 2018) of any food
allergies.”
Participants will need to keep a few
things in mind. They will need to bring a
small luggage with about four to five days-
worth of clothes, a nice outfit,
walking shoes, and a pair of nice
shoes. Clothes can be washed at
the hotels. Those who are planning
to go should also make sure that if
they do not have a passport, that
they get one as soon as possible.
They should also see what type of
plans their phone service provides
for international calls.
“It’s Great Britain after all… so
any time I have the opportunity to
go to the British Isles, it is all ‘the
best part’. Seriously, London is
always a good thing.”
For students who have a
passion for photography, this
class would be great for them
to learn the fundamentals.
Mr. Ritter states the
reasoning of teaching his class
is that “film photography is a
great base for beginning and
understanding in a school
setting…trending towards
digital photography.” He should
know; he has had plenty of
students go on to pursue a
career in photography after
taking his class.
Big Ben – adjacent to the British
Parlament
Photography…… cont. from page 5
The students got a roll of film
which allowed them to take at
least 20 photos, and with those
photos, they then learned how to
develop the photos in a darkroom.
“I really enjoyed this class, I
thought it was helpful in the aspect
of wanting to go to college for
photography.” says Callie.
Reminder
8 grade field trip
to ColumbiaMontour Vo-Tech
on January 4th.
Also
January 18 marks
the end of the 2nd
marking period.
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