UPBeat News- 2018 January-February
Covering the monthly UP Beat News of Upper Perkiomen HS
Greetings from Upper Perkiomen High School!
TOP STORIES
Carpenter's Corner
Wow, I can’t believe we are more than halfway through the school year. We survived Keystone and Final Exams in January and now we are embarking on the course selection process for the 18-19 school year. On February 14, Mr. Vigilante and I visited with 8th grade students to begin the High School orientation and scheduling process. February 21, we hosted an 8th grade parent night to give an overview of the scheduling process, course options, and graduation requirements. Lastly, our high school counselors have begun individual and small group course planning sessions with current 9th, 10th and 11th grade students.
Aside from future planning, the High School has several exciting events coming up that I would like to share. First, we hosted Mini-Thon on Saturday, February 24 and raised more than $13,000 for Penn State University’s Children’s Hospital and The Four Diamonds Foundation. All funds raised from our Mini-Thon will be donated to Four Diamonds to help conquer childhood cancer. Please consider donating to this excellent cause here.
Please visit the UPHS Website for information regarding our Performing Arts Club production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. I highly recommend that you check out the wonderful performance. The production will take place at UPHS on March 8th through 11th.
Lastly, in conjunction with the Upper Perkiomen Valley Chamber of Commerce, we will be providing all tenth grade students with tours of local businesses March 13th through 15th. Students will be touring two businesses in the morning of one of the aforementioned dates. This is a mandatory experience to provide our students exposure to possible career paths. Thank you for your cooperation in this joint effort.
If you have any contributions related to the school, please contact me and I may include it in an upcoming newsletter. Feel free to contact me at 215-679-5935 or rcarpenter@upsd.org if you have questions or concerns. You can also follow us @upperperkhs and @UPnewsteam on Twitter.
UP Spirit on display during Eagles Historic Super Bowl Run!
Cinderella: Behind the Scenes- By Julia Moran, Class of 2018
This year, from March 7th to 11th, the UPHS Drama Club will be presenting Cinderella. Normally we only focus on what we see on stage in those four short days, but what is perhaps even more impressive is the nearly six months worth of behind the scenes work that must be done in order to put on the show. This includes a whole lot of art, technical, managerial, and organizational work.
Beyond the 35 cast members, there are an additional 15-20 people who are crucial to production. The play itself is directed by Mrs. Austin and Ms. Colby Phillips who are in charge of picking out the play, purchasing any needed materials, watching over the students, and of course, directing the play.
Francesca Glackin ‘18, one of the play’s stage managers, has a very important job herself. According to Glackin, she “builds sets, paints sets, and organizes everything backstage. She also “makes sure where everything goes on stage,” and “tapes everything out on the stage” Talking to Glackin, she was able to give a much more insightful look on what goes on in order to create this masterpiece.
There is also Run Crew, which according to Glackin “is moving everything onstage and keeping everything organized on stage.” This could vary between operating the curtains, little props, bigger props, etc. and it can be rather tricky. “Last year,” Glackin adds, “we had one person do the entire platform.” There are officially two prop masters, who “have the entire table and organize it”
Other members of Stage Crew are in charge of more technological aspects of the play, such as lights and sound. Mr. Matthew Austin is basically the head of Stage Crew, and Glackin says he “helps us run backstage and builds pretty much everything with any students who volunteer to help.”
Of course hair, makeup, and costumes is important for the visual presentation of the play, and take a lot of time and skill. This year the play will also have their own digital photographer, Lindsey Danasko ‘18, which is something that has not been done before.
Outside of the members of drama club, Glackin adds that “we always have people who volunteer to set of the entire lobby since the lobby gets decorated.” There are also “the people who do final house so selling the tickets, handing out booklets, and showing [guests] their seats.” says Glackin.
Signs of Child Abuse by Anne Kastelein, Class of 2021
Could you ever imagine being abused? 3 million children can. According to National Child Welfare resources, Every day, 3 million kids are a victim of child abuse. There are many signs that show someone could be getting abused; but these few signs could help the most when your at school, the mall, or anywhere in general. Sometimes the smallest thing can help you recognize someone's going through something, because who knows, it might be the person right next to you.
acts overly happy, suspiciously happy; you have a sense that they smile on the outside, cry on the inside (abuse victims can be very good actors)
avoids eye contact, especially if you press your friend for “what’s wrong” or try to talk to them about your suspicions of abuse
doesn’t have time to meet with you
begins using illegal substances or alcohol becomes a problem
minimizes what goes on at home
Only wears full covered clothing (clothes that doesn’t show skin), even on the hottest of days
An example of Child Abuse and no one knowing about it was in Riverside County, 80 miles away from San Diego, the House of Horrors stains all of California. David and Louise Turpin both face chargers of torture, child abuse, and false imprisonment. The couple has been arrested after police found their 13 children held captive in their home, deputies found three of their children shackled with chains and padlocks. The children range from ages 2 to 29 and were allegedly beaten, starved and tied up by their parents. One of the children, age twelve, weighs the same amount as an average 7 year old. The female victim, who is 29, weighs 82 pounds.
“The children were not allowed to have toys, although there were many toys found in the house that were in there original package and had never been opened. The parents would buy food for themselves and not allow the children to eat it, they would leave food on the counter and let the children only look at it and not eat the food. None of the victims were allowed to shower more than once a year. The children were not capable of doing anything, the only thing the kids could do, while being tied up to the wall, was write in their journals. Hundreds of them were found by authorities and are now being searched through for evidence. As a result of this extreme and prolonged physical abuse, several of the victims have cognitive impairment and neuropathy which is nerve damaged.” Mike Hestrin, Riverside District Attorney says, “This is severe emotional and physical abuse. There’s no way around that. This is depraved conduct.”
Throughout the years, the Turpins projected a happy family life on social media. A video was posted on the internet of the couple renewing their vows at the Las Vegas Elvis Chapel in 2011, 2013, and 2015. "They just looked different," said Tiedman Bell, one of the residents who saw five or six of the Turpin children at a community christmas decorating party two years ago. "Their haircuts were all like their dads. They looked like pilgrims.”
The parents have pleaded not guilty to 37 charges and David Trueman was pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual conduct with a minor. Lucky for one of the children, 17 year old girl managed to escape from the residence and call 911. The children are now safe and getting the medical attention they need.
No one knew anything about those 13 kids and what was going on inside of that house, no one saw them, no one heard of them, and no one even knew that some of them existed. Even though this is terrible as it is, there is always something that you can do.
The 2018 Flu Epidemic by Andrew J. Ortiz, Class of 2020
Pick a week over the last month and on any given week nearly 6.6 percent or roughly 7,000 Americans were infected with the Flu or Flu-like diseases and that’s just the number of outpatient visits (doctor visits where you aren’t hospitalized) in the US. That means students, parents and random people, from Pennsylvania to California, all got sick. This year is a very nasty one as we are shooting past the “epidemic threshold”, and while that sounds scary, we usually go past that point every year; it's just that some years we go way past that point. The worst record we have in the US of a Flu outbreak comes from 2009’s number of 8,000 people infected and although 2017’s number of people infected may not look as bad with 7,000 infected, we’re only halfway through the Flu season and the infection-rate still rising.
Different types of the flu can affect the infection-rate and, believe it or not, the death-rate for that year. Most people don’t know that the Flu can kill people so far it’s killed 53 children this year. It also doesn’t help that everyone is getting sick at the same time, which is very odd because the Flu normally does the wave across the country. This also make the flu season seem a lot worse.
The worst time someone can get hit with the Flu is when they are very young or very old because they both have either no or a damaged immune system. Older people exposed to the swine flu when they were younger did better with the swine flu epidemic of 2009 but struggle when the less familiar kind came along. Even so, people are still vulnerable to every type of the Flu.
However, these facts don’t mean it needs to be the worst Flu outbreak in nine years. People can do things to prevent getting the Flu, like taking a vaccine so that your body can kill off the virus. A Flu shot can also prevent it from spreading from one person to another. Children that don’t get the Flu shot are more likely to get infected and more likely to die from the Flu. However, the problem is with Flu shots is that different types of Flu mutate and these mutations can lead to people not being able to kill off the Flu as well. You could also wash your hand so that you can kill off the little buggers before they can infect you or another person or if worst comes to worst then you could just take a day off.
(Based on Popular Science articles both by Sara Chodosh on 1/30/18 and 2/6/18-- For more information here is the first article link to article and the second article link to 2nd article)
Will the Spectre get us? by Andrew Niziolek
What if I told you that almost every electronic you own is susceptible to exposing your info and there's nothing that can fix it? That’s exactly what is happening right now. The way computer chips have been designed for the last 20 or so years is flawed, and it’s lead to two exploits that security researchers are calling “Spectre” and “Meltdown”.
But what are Spectre and Meltdown?
Spectre and Meltdown are catastrophic security flaws and the biggest in computing history. As of now, the only fixes available cripple device performance.
Let's start with Spectre. Since the mid-90’s, companies like Intel have been producing their microprocessors to do something called speculative execution. Speculative execution is a way for your computer to become much faster without needing to add cores or increase the clock speed.
Speculative execution is in essence, a microchip trying to predict the future. A microprocessor will make predictions on the user’s next action based upon previous actions and begin processing those decisions ahead of time regardless of the user actually has permissions to make those choices, loading in protected data. This lack of regard towards user permissions is what creates Spectre.
A simple example of how this attack might work would be a password box on a login page for example. For example, when a user logs into Outlook, Outlook stores that password in protected memory as they type it. If an attacker were to know the location in memory that the password is stored, they'd have the data for the password.
Well, then what’s Meltdown?
Meltdown refers to a specific vulnerability of modern operating systems. It allows for an attacker to breach the line between user activities and the “secure” ones of the operating system. Things like the data for user passwords and data that is usually protected by elevated permissions.
How does this affect me?
All operating system developers such as Microsoft and Linux have released patches recently but they're somewhat unstable. This becomes especially problematic when these systems are integral to the operation of a business or organization such as our school district. These systems are easy targets and are enticing to potential attackers.
As of writing this article, the [Upper Perkiomen] School District has yet to patch their systems for these vulnerabilities. In an email from Bryan Ruzenski, the Director of Technology for the district stated, “We’ve made a conscious decision to hold off installing any patches for the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities. Intel and Microsoft have both released patches that have had noticeable performance impacts and other issues, and in Microsoft had to issue another patch because the first was so flawed. We are waiting to see if the newest patches are stable before we commit to installing them”. So the district isn't ignoring the flaws, they're looking out for user experience.
Further information on these vulnerabilities can be found online by searching for their following reference codes; CVE-2017-5753, CVE-2017-5715, and CVE-2017-5754. (CVE stands for Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures, the standard in cybersecurity).
Update - Feb. 6, 2018
According to PCWorld, an anti-virus testing company called AV-Test is reporting they’ve spotted 139 variations of code exploiting these vulnerabilities. They are only proof-of-concept and are harmless but they are still effective exploits.
Spotlight on Teachers and Staff
Meet Ms. Megan Smolinski- Social Studies Teacher
What schools have you attended to?
“I went to Penn State University for my undergraduate, I studied social studies education and graduated there with a bachelor's degree. I student taught in State College Area school district and I taught in Ireland for a short amount of time”
How do you like Upper Perk so far?
“I subbed here, so I really loved this school when I started subbing. I like that it’s small and the faculty is really close. They have been really supportive, helping me in my first year. I really enjoy my kids as well, it’s a great place for my first year of teaching”
What is your favorite/ least favorite thing about teaching?
“I think my least favorite thing is grading, but my most favorite thing is interacting with my students everyday and staff. I am really social so knowing that I am getting along well with my co-workers.”
What do you want to be doing in five years?
“I definitely want to have my Master’s degree by then, I am thinking about getting my Master’s in counseling. There are a lot of social and emotional things that come into the classroom that impacts the learning in my classroom. So I would like to have those skills needed to address that in my classroom when it comes up.”
How would you describe your teaching style?
“It is very student centered, I like my kids to be able to explore topics on their own. I feel like that helps the students learn more because they are engaging with the material instead of me standing in front of a room.”
Meet Mr. Kevin Patterson- Spanish Teacher
What schools have you previously attended?
“I went to Allentown Central Catholic High School. I studied a double major at Temple University. I have undergraduate degrees in English and Spanish. I completed a Master´s degree in teaching Spanish as a foreign language from the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain. I have a Master´s Degree in Education from Temple University.”
How do you like Upper Perk so far?
“It has been great to start at Upper Perk. I really enjoy working with the students. I feel that there is a strong school culture here. It is also great to get to know the staff as well.”
What is your favorite/least favorite thing about teaching?
“My favorite thing as a teacher is working with students and getting to know them. My least favorite thing is grading.”
What do you want to be doing in 5 years?
“I would like to continue studying and develop further as a language teacher.”
How would you describe your teaching style?
“The students are the most important people in the classroom. My job is to help them recognize their own potential and challenge them to improve. As a teacher, I want to focus class time on student learning and student centered activities. I would like students to “learn by doing.” I would like to help students realize their own abilities and help them reach their own goals.”
Meet Mrs. Covington Smith- Special Education Teacher
Mrs. Covington Smith is the most recent teacher hired and the 7th of 7 new teachers to help support and teach the students of UPHS.
Mrs. Smith says she's, "moved around a lot and went to four different high school's and one of my high school was actually located next to the CIA Headquarters in Langley, VA." Smith continues to explain that she knew how to find thrills early in life by working, "at Six Flags and operating a roller coaster in high school." When she's not here at the high school helping students, she takes care of her two boys; 4-year old Hunter and 10-year old Lee and her husband, Andrew. They also have a pit-bull named Kayla and a Ball Python named, Axel.
Educational Experiences: Spent time in many Philadelphia schools working with k-8 students while attending Temple University. Graduated with a degree in Elementary Ed and Special Ed. I also have teaching certificates for Middle Level ELA and Family and Consumer Science.
Classes taught:
Elementary:
· 5th Grade
Middle School:
· 6th Grade ELA, SS, Sci, Math
· 7th Grade ELA, SS, Sci
· 8th Grade ELA, SS
· Student Support 6-8
High School:
· Learning Support 9-12
Philosophy of Education: I believe that all students are able to learn. It is my job as a teacher to figure out how I can reach my students and show them what they are capable of and their true potential.
The Hidden "Gems" of UPHS by Jenna McQue
This Hidden Gems segment from last month continues with two magnificent members of our school district community.
Mrs. Regina Lundquist, the Upper Perk High School certified nurse has been working at Upper Perk for almost a year. Lundquist started working here in February of 2017. She has worked as a nurse since 1998 while working as a school nurse for the past 9 years.
Lundquist worked as an elementary school nurse before coming to work at the high school. Lundquist stated that “it was a big change, but much needed.” At first she was intimidated by the change but is very glad that she made this decision.
Lundquist stated that “Upper Perk was been so warm and inviting. [She’s] been blessed.” Her work here is very important to all students and staff in the building. When at work she is constantly juggling two to three things at a time. The hardest part about her job is prioritizing what needs her attention first. Mrs. Michelle Martin, the administrative assistant to the high school principal, stated that “Mrs. Lundquist can often be found in her office long after everyone else has gone making sure that all paperwork is in order and that she is prepared for any student needs.” Lundquist exceeds the expectations held for her and her job.
“There's only one me and a thousand students” Lundquist explained when asked what part of her job she would change. She would benefit greatly from a secretary to handle paperwork that needs to be dealt with on a daily basis while she would handle taking care of the medical emergencies. Lundquist has many responsibilities including distributing cough drops, band-aids, and medication to the students who need it through the day.
Lundquist is very happy with her job and is glad that she gets to work with the students and staff to make the school a better, safer, and healthier place. Lundquist does so much for so many students and we are glad to call her a Hidden Gem.
Mrs. Kathleen Stattel is our second Hidden gem for this month and is the Librarian at Upper Perkiomen High School. She has been working at Upper Perk for 10 years. She previously worked at North Penn School District which is much larger that Upper Perk.
Stattel enjoys her job at Upper Perk and is glad that at this smaller school she is able to easily get to know the students and staff. “In a bigger school it's harder to get to know each and every student,” Stattel explains, “By the time the students graduate I know at least 95% of them.” Stattel takes time out of her busy schedule to truly know all of the students that she deals with.
In the time span of a week Stattel might deal with 20 classes and other miscellaneous students. Not only does Stattel help students with finding books and doing research but she is also in charge of many Virtual High School students, study hall students, and community service students. Mr. Michael Swartley, who works with Mrs. Stattel often showed us that, “she cares about students and makes sincere efforts on making the Library and the school work.” Through the day Stattel makes sure to prioritize the things that matter most. For example, whenever a student or staff member needs help with something, that gets done first. Stattel make sure to always put her students first and then her other responsibilities. Mrs Monica Griffith stated “The library has a warmer, more welcoming atmosphere” with Stattel running the library.
Stattel tries to get students and staff to use the resources that are available through the library. She hopes that more teachers would use the resources available, and for those who are unsure of how to use the resources she also hopes that they ask for help.
“I wish there was more time in the school schedule for use of the library both during the day and after school” Stattel explains when asked what she would like to change about her job. Stattel wishes for students to be able to come do research and look and check out books that they would like to at whatever time they want. With the way that the schedule is set up there is currently very limited time for theses festivities.
Stattel also makes time for the two clubs that she advises every week. Reading Olympics and Writers Club take place in the library where Stattel guides the meetings and helps the students to achieve what they need to. Stattel’s favorite part about her job is the ability to help others and were glad that Upper Perk is used as a platform for her love. We are very thankful for all of the hard work that Stattel does both in her workforce and in helping students beyond school work.
UPHS Students in the Spotlight
Most Likely to Succeed- by Julia Moran, Class of 2018
With every passing school year at Upper Perkiomen High School, a new group of senior boys and girls are selected by their classmates for a certain set of senior superlatives. These include Best Eyes, Class Clown, Most Musical, etc. This year, Bo Duka and Natasha Carpenter were voted to be “Most Likely to Succeed”
Carpenter plans on attending either Messiah College or Grove City College, and would like to major in mechanical engineering. Later on in her career, she says that “I would like to use my knowledge of Mechanical Engineering to help others by making prosthetic limbs.”
As for Duka, he says that he has applied to “University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, University of Southern California, Lehigh University, Georgia Tech, and University of Pittsburgh.” He would like to major in biomedical engineering. As for his future plans in life, he says that he would like to “explore in college and figure it out once I’m there.”
Both Carpenter and Duka offered a few words of advice for upcoming students on how to be successful in their high school careers. Carpenter says to “do your work and try hard,” adding “stay calm, don’t freak out, everything is going to be okay.” Duka says “don’t take your first years in high school lightly--every grade counts.”
Good luck to Bo and Natasha, and the rest of the 2018 graduating class, in all of your future endeavors!
Kaylise John by Abby Mawyer, Class of 2019
Kaylise John is a senior that attends Upper Perk High School. As a student, she really shows what it takes to be considered as a star student. Her drive and determination is enough to make her an amazing role model for any young student to look up to. Recently, I interviewed her about her interests and plans for her future endeavors.
Kaylise is involved in many activities in and out of school. She has been dancing at Juli Kell’s Dance Center for a total of ten years. She also teaches young children that attend the studio, the art of dance. In school, she is a member of the Future Business Leaders of America Club or FBLA. Not only that, she is also an active member in Student Council here at Upper Perk. She also says that she enjoys a lot of different community service type of activities.
Kaylise hopes on attending Millersville University after graduating this year, as college has always been a goal of her’s. She plans on becoming a secondary math teacher, as she has, “always loved math and kids, so why not mix the two things together?” As of right now, Kaylise does community service for Mrs. Fehnel who teaches Math at the Middle School. She has had some practice teaching the students there. She has even made of up her own lesson plans, and put on a full lesson for the students.
In 5 years, Kaylise will be 22 years old, and plans to be fresh out of a successful four years of college. She has plans on achieving her teaching degree and maybe looking or having a teaching job. She has also thought about studying abroad. Whatever Kaylise plans to do, she will definitely be successful, due to her unwavering amount of willpower and heart. I give all of my luck to her future plans.
New Year, New Team- Girls' Basketball at U-P by Brianna Goodwin, Class of 2021
Tulpehocken Girls Basketball coach would reference Upper Perkiomen team as,“Worst team in this program I’ve ever seen.” The Upper Perkiomen Girls Basketball team is turning over a new leaf. The mind of the coaches and players have changed. After a season record of 1-21, the team is eager for the new season. The focus of this year is defense, because last year that was the main struggle. Players and coaches have confidence that this will be their payback year. The team is not expecting to win every game, but they want a new label. Greg Swavely stated, “I want other teams to say they play hard at the least.” The girls are now working towards that.
The girls first win came on December 12th against Quakertown High School. The next games were a struggle offensively for the team. Since the main focus in the beginning of the season was defense the offense was lacking. Before break their record was 1-6. The girls goal over break was to come back as Champions of their winter tournament. The first night of the tournament they played Chichester, the score was 41-22. The second night of the tournament they played Octorara, the final score was 47-26. With hard work and dedication from the team and coaches they were successful. The first time in more than three years the Upper Perkiomen Girls Basketball team has won a holiday tournament. Their record now being 3-6 the girls have the confidence they need. On Wednesday, January third, The Girls Basketball team played Antietam Girls Basketball Team. The Varsity Game was referred to “A Tale Of Two Cities.”
UP Students Know their Grammy's by Magdaline Camaratta
Students at Upper Perkiomen High School show their awareness of some of the best music in the world after taking a small count of those who have listened to the nominees for the Best Album of the Year. 7 out of 13 students listened to at least on of the artists in the last 24 hours. Bruno Mars crushed the hopes of hip-hop fans all over the nation on Sunday night at the Grammy’s after winning category of Best Album of the Year. Mars’ album, “24k Magic”, was up against “4:44” by Jay-Z, “Awaken, My Love!” by Childish Gambino, “DAMN.” by Kendrick Lamar, and “Melodrama” by Lorde, making it one of the fews times in all of the years of the Grammy’s that a white male was not apart of the nominations.
Many believe the reason as to why none of the hip-hop albums won is because the Grammy’s are behind on recognition of the genre, according to entertainment writer Lisa Resper, “the best rap album category wasn't even created until 1995,” despite being popular in America’s culture today. There is said to have been an audible reaction of shock when Bruno Mars won, taking many by surprise of who ended up being the winner. Angered fans vocalized their opinions on twitter, Alex Young stated, “Kendrick put out three of the greatest albums of our lifetime, and three times now he has lost the Grammy for Best Album. First to Daft Punk, then to Taylor Swift, and now to Bruno Mars.” Another person declared, “They keep sleeping on Kendrick Lamar for Album of the Year. No disrespect to Bruno Mars but DAMN should've won. #GRAMMYs”. Many others also agreed that Kendrick Lamar should have won the category due to the fact he has been involved in numerous critically acclaimed projects. After interviewing a student for their own personal take on the situation, Rebecca Wojcik stated, “In my opinion, Bruno Mars deserved the award because of his album receiving so much attention and for him being a great performer.”
Lamar even received celebrity endorsement when Macklemore won Best Rap Album in 2014, stating, “"He deserved best rap album. I'm honored and completely blown away to win anything much less 4 Grammys. But in that category, he should have won [in my opinion]." Lamar has yet to win a Grammy at all, always being nominated but falling short of winning.
About the Upper Perkiomen Network
Email: dthomas@upsd.org
Location: 2 Walt Road, Pennsburg, PA, United States
Phone: (215) 679-5935
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Upper-Perkiomen-Network-510556745947081/
Twitter: @UPnewsteam