The Sanatoga Post

CHINESE STUDENT DELEGATION JOINS THE FALCONS – A group of students and advisers from Harbin Normal University High School in Harbin, China, have been the guests this week (Feb. 12-18, 2012) of Pottsgrove High School. They’ve spent time learning about students, subjects, teaching methods and life here. During spare time they also visited the Philadelphia Premium Outlets in Limerick PA; Harrisburg, Hershey, Philadelphia; and Washington DC. They were honored Wednesday night during what school board President Michael Neiffer said was a “working dinner” for the Pottsgrove exchange program.

Photo from Pottsgrove High School

The assembled 2011 Pottsgrove High School Marching Band

POTTSTOWN PA – March on, Pottsgrove High School band members; march on. The district Board of School Directors said Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2012) it’s willing to put an additional $21,000 worth of pep into your step.

Directors voted to use a portion of about $60,000 raised in the district’s local merchant marketing campaign to pay in advance for marching band uniforms and percussion equipment. That allows the high school music department to place orders for those items before the end of March, ensuring their delivery for the 2012-2013 fall band season. Otherwise, it might not have gotten them until the season was almost over.

Band members, parents, and department heads applauded after the board decision.

Music education in Pottsgrove is happily suffering from a success problem, teachers Kathy Williams and Victor Holladay told the Board of School Directors last October (2011). Dozens of Pottsgrove Middle School students headed for the high school next year have already indicated they intend to join the band. Dozens more are ready to follow them from the elementary school music program in later years.

“The numbers are drastically improving,” Holladay said with a smile. “The band will more than double its size next year.”

Its fast growth, and its invitations to play later this spring in locations like Washington DC, have caused an immediate demand for percussion instruments valued at about $12,400 and 25 new band uniforms that will cost about $9,050, he explained Tuesday.

The department has already added those items to its 2012-2013 budget request. Problem is, Business Administrator David Nester noted, Holladay can’t spend what the board hasn’t yet approved … and potential acceptance of any budget remains months away. If the order is delayed, band members wouldn’t have their needs met until November or December.

Board President Michael Neiffer, who is a band volunteer and whose children are band members, notably abstained from voting. He announced his conflict of interest at the start of the discussion, but nonetheless advocated board approval of the advance purchase. “We don’t want to nickle-and-dime this,” he said specifically of the uniforms.

The money will be taken from revenue raised under the district’s partnership with the MarketStreet Sports Group of Lancaster PA. MarketStreet make a business of attracting local, regional and national companies to school districts primarily for advertising and promotional purposes. In Pottsgrove, it has signed the TriCounty Area Federal Credit Union, Mishock Physical Therapy and Associates, and Hallman Retirement Neighborhoods as clients.

The $60,000 fund was initially planned to be used for improvements and renovations to the high school girls’ softball field, Nester said. Enough money may be left to do that work too, he said.

Related:

• March On! Pottsgrove OKs Buying Instruments, Uniforms
• Successful Pottsgrove Music Programs On A (Drum) Roll

Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ Feb. 14 meeting):

• March On! Pottsgrove OKs Buying Instruments, Uniforms
• Pottsgrove Multi-Tasks Through MCIU Budget Approval
• State Suspends $3.2M In Ringing Rocks’ Reimbursement

POTTSTOWN PA – Pennsylvania’s teen driver law, which in part requires all occupants age 18 or younger of any vehicle to wear a seat belt, took effect late last December (2011). Now Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Police want to ensure it takes hold in the minds of teens themselves.

18 or younger? Buckle up, or face the music

Traffic Safety Ofc. Robert Diesinger and School Resource Ofc. Wil James got to work Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2012) at Pottsgrove High School on Kauffman Road to introduce the law and its ramifications to students there. They’re scheduled to conduct several seminars on the subject, reaching every grade level, through March 4.

The police department will make sure the consequences of non-compliance are felt, too.

In a little less than two weeks – beginning Feb. 28 and continuing through March 2 – department patrols will concentrate on enforcing the law along Kauffman Road, Buchert Road, North Charlotte Street, and other roadways within the townships. Violators should be prepared to be stopped, questioned, reminded of the law, and possibly be issued warnings or citations.

“This new law is a primary violation, and subjects can be stopped solely for not wearing a seat belt,” Diesinger said.

Parents and other adult drivers should pay attention, too. They are responsible for the safety of those in their vehicles, and can be cited if passengers who by law must wear seat belts are found without them.

The intent, of course, is to raise awareness of the law now on the books. Lower Pottsgrove’s effort is being funded by a $1,000 “teen-driver safety enforcement mobilization” grant, and the township was chosen as a recipient specifically because of its educational outreach, Diesinger noted.

Parents and teens who have questions about the law, or the department program, can call Diesinger for more information at 610-326-1508.

POTTSTOWN PA – Students at Pottsgrove High School, 1345 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA, were named Wednesday (Feb. 15, 2012) as having achieved “distinguished honors” on its honor roll for the 2011-2012 school year’s first quarter, and dozens more were named with “honors.”

On the honor roll were:

Grade 12 Distinguished Honors

Samantha Brockway, Matthew Cimino, Amy Defnet, Joseph Di Paolo, Erica Edwards, Kassandra Forster, Ashleigh Kleinschmidt, Benjamin Macluckie, Alysa Adams Murray, Courtney Nealy, Alexandra Schurr, Jessica Stewart, Emily Stump, Michael Vennettilli, Lara Weisbach, Allison Weller.

Grade 12 Honors

Jordan Adkins, Steven Ambs, Ahmed Amer, Lauren Antenucci, Emily Bowen, Ian Brennan, Amy Cherico, Donna Chu, Ceara Coseo, Matthew Dao, Gwendolynne Davis, Emily Delena, Shelby Edelson, Lauren Edmunds, Tyler Gross, Trevor Hallman, Maura Hannum, Tillman Harris, Samantha Hunkel, Ryan Ivins, Wasay Khan,  Achilles Kontostathis, Jennifer Korb, Elliott Koss, Matthew Krieger, Stacie Kuneck, Austin Lastoskie, Megan Lazowicki, Meghan Luna, Caitlin Macfarland, Gabrielle Mack, Storm McLeod, Mallory McMenamin, Rowan Meador, Branden Mercier, Daniel Michaels, Megan Monzo, Allison Neel, Madeline OBrien, Casey Payne, Vincent Pellechio, Kevin Phillips, Edith Pineda, Brian Price, Justin Purdom, Victoria Queen, Brooke Rafalowski, Christopher Rathgeber, Carrie Robinson, Taylor Robinson, Deanna Robles, Jenna Saylor, Nicholas Sotera, Mark Teaford, Anthony Tremble, Cordelia Urquhart, Jared Valentine, Maurice Webster, Jarrod Wentzel, Tylar White, Jessica Williams, Jessica Wrubel, Yinan Xiong, Paige Yerger, Colleen Young, Bao Steven Zheng.

Grade 11 Distinguished Honors

Zachary Birch, Nathan Breidenbach, Nathan Fretz, Nia Gonzalez, Mackenzie Gross, Kiera Howard, Nicholas Hunsberger, Kelsey Lloyd, Adam Maynard, Daniel McNamara, Ashley Monzo, Justin Munro, Tanmay Patel, Kevin Rathgeber, David Brandon Stone, Ian Yanusko.

Grade 11 Honors

Jaclyn Bealer, Amanda Birard, Dominic Bridi, Christie Christ, Nicole Chu, Patrick Collins, Danielle Czekaj, Jessica Diaz, Jessica Evans, Nicole Finn, Jessica Fiore, Chloe Grebe, Ashley Haraczka, Daniel Harp, Brittany John, Julia Kemper, Benjamin Kunrath, Marc Ludwig, Troy Lutcavage, Michael Makoid, Alexander McCarthy, Rachelle Mewshaw, Qwhadir Miller, Tiara Mitchell, Tyler Mitchell, Robert Mohollen,  Aaron Roberts, Shawn Robles, Alexandra Rodriguez, Andrew Rodriguez, Caitlin Smith, Jamira Stephenson, Abbey Sullivan, Anthony Tartaglia, Allysha Towson, Ian Valway, Bridgette Vuotto, Kaitlyn Wagner, Ceirra Walton, Jasmyn West, Cameron Williams.

Grade 10 Distinguished Honors

Jeffrey Adams, Arizona Brennan, Angelica Glaeser, Christopher Haslam, Jacob Hunsberger, Daniel Kaiser, Jaid Mark, Thomas Sephakis, Gabriella Tammaro, Hayley Tomaselli, Jay Young, Kylie Yuchimiuk.

Grade 10 Honors

Ethan Abdalla, Alexis Adair, Marquis Barefield, David Bieleski, Teodoro Calabretta, Kacy Carroll, Joshua Chamberlain, Audrey Eiland, Kylie Fulmer, Thomas Galamba, John Garges, Ferryn Garner, Noel Geniza, Abigail Girafalco, Charles Gulick, Elizabeth Harley, Ashley Hoffman, Gaia Houseal, Abagail Hudock, Taylor Inhof, Tyler Kline, Dana Landes, Kelsey Lee, Mollie Marko, Megan Montey, Natalya Nodolski, Brittany Opokwu, Sene Polamalu, Kayla Polen, Nicole Raimondi, Hannah Robinson, Ashlyn Sassaman, Kaleigh Tillman, Joshua Toth, Christopher Vecchio, James Walmsley, Grant West, Maxton Wickward.

Grade 9 Distinguished Honors

Joseph Buchler, Aubrey Christman, Samantha Goins, Renee Hunsberger, Chloe Klaus, Kyle Reed, Julia Tartaglia.

Grade 9 Honors

Andrew Bayless, Danielle Buchanan, Matthew Bush, Danielle Cook, Olivia Vanessa Cortez, Brianna Costira, Damian Creasy, Patrick Finn, Chad Flannery, Shayna Flint, Macie Frame, Caitlin Gillette, Evan Hillen, Kelsey Hutchinson, Hailey Jacobs, Katherine Likman, Sarah Lindgren, David Macartney, Cole Meitzler, Eric Mitchell, Autumn Mortimer, Meganne Natale, Sean OBrien, Andrew Phillips, Emily Ryan, Cassandra Shields, Kristi Shultz, Bernard Steyaert, Alexandria Thierry, Jacob Trexler, Hailee Tyson, Courtney Weaver, Allison Wentzel, Brianna West, Keely Zaborsky.

THEIR FIRST WIN OF 2012 – Members of the Pottsgrove High School’s Indoor Percussion Ensemble won their first competitive outing of the year Saturday (Feb. 1, 2012), with a judges’ score of 72.30 over Egg Harbor High School, which scored 64.40. Although many of the eight groups that entered the percussion segment of the contest fall into different classifications, Pottsgrove’s score ranked second-highest among all competitors. The show was sponsored by the Cavalcade of Bands Association at Wissahickon High School in Ambler PA. The ensemble is next scheduled to compete Feb. 18 (Saturday) in a contest at Ephrata High School.

• Watch a video of the ensemble, above, as they played Thursday (Feb. 9, 2012) for family and friends at the Pottsgrove High School gym, or see it at The Post’s YouTube channel. Pottsgrove graduate and composer Kevin Smith, whose “Dreamscapes” piece is played by the ensemble, opens the video by talking about the creative process.

POTTSTOWN PA – The performance “window” for members of the Pottsgrove High School Indoor Percussion Ensemble, which enters its second year of competition Saturday (Feb. 11, 2012) at a show in Ambler PA, is only eight weeks long. But as the group (some of whom are pictured above) learned last year, that’s time enough to earn awards from judges, praise from peers, and admiration from parents.

The 12-student ensemble left early Saturday for Wissahickon High School to join its first contest of 2012 against a field of eight other groups, many of them well-seasoned veterans. They’ll perform at 11:40 a.m., and then must wait until awards are presented at 5:30 p.m. to see how they fared. “It’s going to be a long day,” percussion instructor Eric Williamson noted.

It’s worth it, ensemble members contend. The competitions are sponsored by the Cavalcade of Bands Association Inc., the same group that oversees shows in which Pottsgrove’s far larger marching band competes. Doing well there brings honor to the Falcons, the Pottsgrove School District, and themselves, they say.

They’ve spent weeks since November in practice, perfecting their techniques and knowledge of this year’s piece. It’s an original composition called “Dreamcatchers,” written by Pottsgrove grad Kevin Smith (watching the group perform, below) and intended to give sonic definition to a young child’s dreams and nightmares. Parents, teachers and friends who heard it performed during a preview Thursday night (Feb. 9) in the high school gym loved it. “It was very listen-able,” one said.

The ensemble got started last year, and won honors during its first run. “That’s what got us thinking, ‘how can we do even better?’,” Smith said. “We were talking about this year even before last year ended,” he added, grinning.

The group is as different as its surprising initial results. They’re not a bunch of hard-core drummers, Williamson explained; about half its members play string, wind and other instruments with the marching band. Of the 12, five are not yet in high school. That speaks to their versatility, and the ensemble’s ability to continue building successes over several more years.

As it strides into the Wissahickon show, visitors there will see evidence of one more way in which the ensemble defies tradition. Rather than usual uniforms, and in keeping with the theme of Smith’s composition, its members will wear pajamas. They’ll be comfortable, warm and, they hope, winners too.

• See a Post gallery of seven photos, below, taken during the Thursday night preview show. Click on any thumbnail image to enlarge it.

POTTSTOWN PA – Members of Pottsgrove High School’s acclaimed classical auditioned vocal ensemble, the Choraliers, will participate next Monday (Feb. 13, 2012) at 7 p.m. in the annual Tri-County Honors Choir Concert to be held at Spring-Ford Area High School on South Lewis Road in Royersford.

• These events have been added to The Post calendar.

Selected singers from Pottsgrove, Norristown, Spring-Ford and Plymouth-Whitemarsh high schools have been rehearsing together since November (2011) “to produce a concert of gorgeous music,” Pottsgrove Director Of Choral Music Cynthia Foust said Tuesday (Feb. 7), and she expects they’ll be even busier Monday with final preparations and “an entire day of rehearsal … to polish our music.”

Representing Pottsgrove are students Abby Huddock, Andrea Paganelli, Anne Fischer, Danielle Gambino, Jasmyn West, Rhiannon Levengood, Rowan Meador, Stephanie French, Aaron Jaffe, Joe Daye, Justin Hernandez, TJ Galamba, Ashleigh Kleinschmidt, Emily Weaver, Erin Amole, Felicia Nester, Jazmin Reddick, Jennifer Korb, Kelsey Lloyd, Krisina Antonio, Shaina Wood, Tiara Mitchel, Andrew Koss, Jeremy Downey, Vincent Pellechio, Nick Wolfe, and Trevor Noll.

Choral directors involved in addition to Foust are Yvonne O’Dea, Spring-Ford; Amy LaRue, Plymouth-Whitemarsh; Lynn Danoff and Bruce Tonkin, Norristown. Retired Spring-Ford director David Nicol assisted as pianist during rehearsals.

Tickets for the show, available at the door, cost $7 for adults and $5 for seniors; students will be admitted free.

And, as they say in show business, that’s not all!

Pottsgrove’s Choral Department presents its pops concert, “A Night on Broadway,” on Feb. 16 (Thursday) beginning at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Pottsgrove High School, Kauffman Road, Pottstown PA.

The Pottsgrove Show and Concert choirs will open and close the concert with selections from “A Chorus Line” and “Les Miserables.”

Solos from various musicals will be performed by Erin Amole, Brianna Pettiti, Anastasia Koss, Karley Moser, Jennifer Korb, Emily Weaver, Krisinia Antonio, Anne Fisher, Andrea Paganelli, Passione Nettle, Danielle Buchanan, Rebecca Smith, Jazmin Reddick, Sara Onyemaobin, Vincent Pellechio, Shayna Flint, Felecia Nester and TJ Galamba. Robin Ward will be piano accompanist.

Tickets, also available at the door, cost $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. Maroon and White cards will be honored.

Finaly, Foust notes the choral department will conduct its annual Bingo and Bling Night fund-raiser Feb. 24 (Friday) at the high school beginning at 7 p.m. Filled Longaberger-brand baskets and sterling silver Silpada-brand jewelry are among the prizes offered. Tickets cost $20 and can be bought at the door or in advance from Foust by calling 610-326-5105 Ext. 6501.

POTTSTOWN PA – A knowledgeable team of would-be attorneys fielded by Pottsgrove High School won both of its opening contests Tuesday (Jan. 31, 2012) during the district-level first installment of the 2012 High School Mock Trials Competition sponsored by The Montgomery Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, the Bar website reported.

The Falcons’ legal squad scored 99.40 against one of two teams from LaSalle College High School (its score was 96.00) in Tuesday’s first round at 3:30 p.m. in the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown PA; and then fared even better, 101.00, against a Souderton High School team (93.60) in the 5:15 p.m. second round.

Pottsgrove’s is one of 32 teams from Montgomery County high schools vying for the district crown in Pennsylvania’s mock trial program. Now in its 28th year, Pennsylvania’s statewide Mock Trial Competition includes more than 280 high schools from across the Commonwealth, making it one of the largest programs of its kind in the nation.

During the competition, each eight-member student team has the opportunity to argue both sides of a previously provided case in an actual courtroom before an actual sitting judge from Montgomery County’s Court of Common Pleas.  The students, who play the roles of lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants, prepare with the help of teacher-coaches and lawyer advisers.

This year’s case is a civil action in which the plaintiff seeks an injunction to prevent the owner of a pharmaceutical plant from expanding its operations. The plaintiff argues that an endangered species is alleged to have been found on the land where the expansion is to occur.

Future mock trials in the competitive series are scheduled for Feb. 13 (Monday) and Feb. 15 (Wednesday). District semi-finals are scheduled for Feb. 21 (Tuesday), and the district finals for March 13 (Tuesday).

Lawyers, law office staff and community leaders serve as jurors for the mock trials. The juries determine the winners in each trial based on the teams’ abilities to prepare their cases, present arguments and follow court rules. Young Lawyers’ Section Chairman Seth Wilson said that more than 100 county judges, teachers and lawyers are volunteering time to the mock trials this year.

Once the local contests conclude – and Pottsgrove has done well in them during past years – the winning finalist team will join 11 other high school mock trial teams from across Pennsylvania in advancing to the Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide Mock Trial Championships, March 30 and 31, in Harrisburg.  The winning team of the state championship will represent Pennsylvania in the national mock trial finals to be held during late spring in New Mexico.

Dustin Tavella

POTTSTOWN PA – Pottsgrove High School graduate and increasingly popular national singer-songwriter Dustin Tavella is now a television star, too. He’s appearing weekly (so far, at least) in Season Three of “Sweet Home Alabama,” a reality contest series on CMT, formerly known as the County Music Television channel.

But about that “so far” part …

If you’re unfamiliar with the show, think of it as a southern-states version of “The Bachelor.” Twenty-two eligible young men attempt to outdo each other in weekly challenges to win the affection of a young woman. In this case, the woman is Paige Duke of Lancaster SC. She’s a Clemson University graduate who works as a national representative for Kruger Farms, an outdoors retailer in Minnesota.

Tavella, naturally, is one of the competitors. They are regularly eliminated from the show as Duke makes her preferences known, and family member Patti Tavella on Monday (Jan. 23, 2011) reported the news so far is good. Five men have been cut; Dustin’s still hanging in. For how long, who knows?

Tavella’s big chance to woo Duke arrives on the show Friday (Jan. 27), when an episode titled “Around The Campfire” airs at 9 and 11 p.m. Patti said during a “date” with Duke he will sing a song he wrote specifically for her and the show.

As an aside, the show’s promotional material describes Tavella as “a recording artist from Philadelphia, Penn. Dustin loves entertaining at children’s hospitals and has traveled the world doing missionary work. He is still a virgin, saving himself for marriage.”

Tavella has been an inspiration for students in Pottsgrove’s halls in recent years, and particularly at the middle school on North Hanover Street. He’s led music-fueled fitness exercises there, and served as a motivational speaker during assemblies.

It’s understatement to say Tavella – who rarely misses an opportunity to publicly poke fun at himself – is having fun on the show. His latest video on YouTube (he has 73, for anyone who’s counting) promotes “Sweet Home Alabama” in a take-off of the rap song, “Sexy And I Know It.” His twist is titled “I’m Country And I Know It,” and although it’s far from the smell of hay and the sound of twanging guitars, it has already been viewed more than 383,000 times … in just one week.

• Watch the video (above), or see it at Tavella’s YouTube channel.

Other coverage:

• Stowe native featured on reality show ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ (The Mercury)

Photos from CMT, Dustin Tavella

Pottsgrove Middle School

POTTSTOWN PA – Decisions, decisions.

To become a lawyer or a doctor? A machinist or a missionary? A chef or a fire chief?

Luckily, eighth graders at the Pottsgrove Middle School, 1351 N. Hanover St., Pottstown PA, aren’t yet required to make such life-directing choices. They will, however, focus this Thursday (Jan. 12, 2012) on the kind of education they’ll need that someday prepares them to succeed as the next Albert Schweitzer or Emeril Lagasse.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Thursday, school Principal Bill Ziegler reports, is when students begin their course selection process for next year, their first year in Pottsgrove High School. It’s an exercise that will take time, and obviously some forethought and planning; it won’t be accomplished in a day.

But guidance counselors from the high school will be on hand at the middle school for discussion and yes, guidance, on what’s involved and what’s ahead. Parents are included, too; a parent information session is scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of the high school on Kauffman Road. They should not “miss out on this important evening to prepare for (their) child’s academic journey,” Ziegler urged.

Parents with questions (and he’s expecting a few or more) should call Ziegler at 610-326-8243 or send him an e-mail, here.