The newspaper is always looking for writers and
photographers! If you would like to join the newspaper please see Ms. Tischler or Ms. Grimaldi.
Issue 3
November 29, 2015
Or come to one of our meetings:
CSC: Every 3rd Wednesday in room 304
GAC: Every 2nd Tuesday in room 200
A Successful Blackout
By: Tanaka Mada
Thank you to all who supported the black
out day against bullying. Everyone who wore a
black shirt stood up against harassment, teasing, exclusion, and many other forms of bullying. Here are some words from thee coordinator of the blackout campaign.
Tanaka: What inspired you to coordinate the
blackout?
Ms. Puscian: Over the years I've seen a lot of
bullying. Along with people's cruel nature. So
one day one of my health classes were doing a
project on bullying and they came up with the
idea to wear black in support of the antibullying movement.
Tanaka: have you ever experienced
bullying personally?
Ms. Puscian: I've never experienced it
first hand, but I have witnessed bullying. Throughout my 9 years of teaching I've seen a lot of bullying throughout all grade levels. It's heavily affected me.
Tanaka: what do you have to say to
all the bullies out there?
Ms. Puscian: think about what you’re doing.
What if you were the one being bullied? Or
what if it was your little brother or little sister?
The actions you make have a great impact on
the lives of others. So stop to think about what
you’re about to it.
Tanaka: what would you like to say to all the
students who participated in the blackout?
Ms. Puscian: I'd like to say thank you all very
much. Thank you for taking a stand against
bullying. It was a simple campaign but it still
got the message across. So, continue to spread
the word against bullying.
N e w s pa p e r
Writers
Shereaf Braxton
Lashanna Bryant
Michelle Burton
Khadija Fofonah
Barera Hasan
Najah Hendricks
Housana Kamara
Tanaka Mada
Sandra Saydee
Brijhae Woods
S ta f f
Photographers
Tanaka Mada
Faculty Advisors
Ms. Grimaldi
Ms. Tischler
College Possible: Open a World of Opportunity
By: Brijhae Woods
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
Welcome to the Penn
Wood Family!
Freshman President
Interview
2-3
School Happenings
4-5
Welcome to the Penn
Wood Family! (cont’d)
Principal’s Corner
Rotary Students
6-7
A Successful Blackout
Important dates:
November 10 End
of Quarter 1
November 26-27
Thanksgiving Break
December 3 High
School Conferences
No School
December 24January 1: Winter
Break
8
Are you interested in a
program that gives you support,
so you can navigate the road to
college? If so, College Possible
might be a program for you!
Here are some questions
you might have about the program. I went straight to the
source, Mr. Forrest, for answers.
Q: What is College Possible?
A: College Possible is a national
program that makes college admission possible for students.
Q: Is the program for all high
school students?
A: The program is for low income students, who may not
think they can afford to go to
college. And for first generation
high school graduates/college.
Q: How does this program help
students?
A: Through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support,
ACT/SAT prep and college ready
material, meeting twice a week
in a supportive group of collegebound peers, summer enrichment opportunities, applying for
financial aid and scholarships,
and support all the way through
college graduation.
Q: Is this a free program?
A: YES!
Q: How can a Penn Wood student benefit from this program?
A: Education is KEY to life.
If you are interested in
joining the program go talk to
Mr. Forest, College Possible
coach and mentor, in room 000
right here at Penn Wood Green
Avenue.
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Welcome to the Penn Wood Family!
Mrs. Cancila
Mr. Bader
Mrs. Pickett By: Sandra
Saydee
By: Tara Wallace
Mrs.
Pickett is our
new Life Skills
Support teacher in room 125
at Green Avenue. She also
participates in
the Video
Game club at
Penn Wood. She went to West Chester University and majored in Elementary and Special Education. She plans
to start graduate school at West Chester next year.
When asked why she became a
life skills support teacher, she replied
“I grew up in a very large and diverse
school district. There was a lot of opportunity at an early age to get involved in the Best Buddies Program as
well as Special Olympics. In fifth grade,
I was assigned to be a safety in the
Kindergarten Life Skills classroom. I
was responsible for getting two students on and off the bus as well as
help them with their morning and
afternoon routines. I absolutely fell in
love with the simple joys we shared
together!!!”
She is most looking forward to
community field trips this year. She
offered up the following advice to the
students, “High School is one of the
greatest chapters in your life so get
involved and make it count!!!”
One thing you may not know
about Mrs. Pickett is that there are
three sets of fraternal twins in her
family, and she is one of those fraternal twins.
Mr. Bader can be
found in
room 313
at the
Green Avenue campus. He
teaches business law, technology, and entrepreneurship.
He attended the University of Scranton for undergraduate and Temple University for graduate school.
He is excited to be back
at Penn Wood, he was a substitute for Mrs. Murphy in
2012-2013. When asked why
he became a teacher he replied it was because he enjoyed working with students.
He used to coach lacrosse
and ice hockey.
He suggests that students get more real world
experience in a classroom.
Mr. Bader plays ice hockey, has a fear of yogurt, and
is a big Eagles fan.
If you see Mr. Bader
please welcome him to our
school.
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Mrs.
Cancila teaches
keystone biology, forensics,
anatomy and
physiology and
also tutors biology, chemistry,
and environmental science in the opportunity
center. She went to Cleveland State
University where she majored in
biology. She received her master
of education at Cabrini College.
This year she is looking forward
to developing lessons for anatomy
and physiology and forensic science. She is also looking forward
to organizing her classroom. She
became a science teacher because
she loves science and learning new
things. She also loves to teach science and hopefully inspire students
to like science as well. In the future Mrs. Cancila would like to get
involved with theater arts, the debate team, or community service.
When asked to give advice
to students, she said “never give up
and believe in yourself as learners.
Know that hard work always pays
off.”
She comes from a very large
family, she is one of nine children.
She has 34 nieces and nephews
and 32 great nieces and nephews.
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Principal’s Corner
Thomas Edison said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most
certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Here, we
know that’s true, because we live it. This has been a great fall season.
Our athletes, student leaders, and activity members all have received
accolades across the county. Time and time again, I have the opportunity to be with you while you receive awards and recognition or read
the articles that feature your accomplishments. It is a privilege to be
your principal.
Students at both campuses promoted peace and safety in the community while the world around has been less certain. We participated in
the Black Out against Bullying, standing up against the verbal, physical, and emotional attacks
against those who are perceived to be weak, defenseless, easy targets. Think of how powerful
that message gets to be as you continue into adulthood. You are part of the solution. I am grateful to see the resilience and hope in you.
This has not been an easy time for the world at large. We have seen terrible things such as the
terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut and the earthquake in Japan. We don’t have much control
over what happens around us, but we do have control over how we respond. In times like these,
it would be easy to lose faith in humanity and our future, but when I look around me and see
you with your optimism and grit, I realize that it’s not time to give up yet. With you, we can try
just one more time to make a better world. With you, we will succeed.
Rotary Club Students of the Month
Pooja Tewari
& Samuel
Afolabi
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Welcome to the Penn Wood Family!
Ms. Montgomery
By: Talus Gaymore
Mr. Blocksom
Dr. Boerth
By: Barera Hasan
Ms. Montgomery is a
current Art
instructor at
Penn Wood
Cypress
Street Campus in room
101. She Graduated from Tyler
School of Art (Temple University) where she earned a Bachelor of the Fine Arts in Sculpture
with a Concentration in Art Education. Her goal for the year is
to motivate and improve students’ skills to design some really fantastic art. She wants to
ensure that students understand what is being taught to
them. Meanwhile, she hopes to
get to know the students and
faculty better. The reason that
Ms. Montgomery chose to be
an Art teacher is because she is
passionate about Art and was
influenced by her teachers.
Apart from being a teacher, she
likes to work with metal and
weld, it is interesting to her because many people don’t expect her to weld. When Ms.
Montgomery was asked if she
had any advice or suggestions
for the student body she said to
keep working hard in everything they do whether at school
or out there. “They should take
their education as their first priority, put in time and energy to
be successful in life.”
Mr.
Blocksom
is one of
our new
teachers
and he
teaches
Learning
Support, reading, writing,
and math in 210 at the
Cypress Street Campus. He
has his undergraduate degree from West Chester and
is currently doing course
work for his Graduate degree
there as well. This year Mr.
Blocksom is looking forward
to expanding his knowledge
of all of his students. He became a Learning Support
teacher because he enjoyed
helping people as a kid and
had some great teachers,
which helped him become
who he is. One day he hopes
to do the same for his students. Mr. Blocksom has this
advice for the students of
Penn Wood High school,
“Work hard and take it serious. What you do now will
influence your future.” One
interesting Mr. Blocksom has
to say about himself is, “I recently got a new food smoker
that I am enjoying learning
new recipes for.”
Dr. Boerth
joined us in
the middle of
last year, he
teaches chemistry in Room
206 at the
Green Avenue
campus and also teaches at
the Opportunity Center. In a
few words Dr. Boerth describes himself as easy going
and quiet with a subtle sense
of humor. The amount of energy present in the students,
and the friendliness of the
staff are what drew him to
teach at Penn Wood.
One of Dr. Boerth’s
goals for each and every student of his is for them to at
least have a good enough understanding of chemistry
when they leave to be able to
understand the world around
us so they can be an informed
citizen when they leave
school. His final statement to
all the students is, “to have
confidence in yourself, if you
work hard enough you can do
anything you set your mind
to.”
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Freshman President
Interview
By: Martinique Shaw
What made you want to run for class president?
I wanted to run for class president because I want the freshman class of
2019 to be able to have a voice, and be proud to say they’re Penn Wood
Proud.”
How did you feel when they announced you as class president?
“When I first found out I was class president, I felt surprised and quite happy
to know I would help give the freshman class a voice and help the freshman
instead of being just another student.”
What are your plans for making the class of 2019 a great experience?
“I would like to make a study group for anyone struggling with any class. I
would also like to help create any extracurricular activities that do not exist.”
Any other extracurricular activities you participate in?
“This year I am in the marching/competition
band, I play soccer and baseball, plus I am in
the 2019 Freshman Leadership Committee.”
If given the chance, would you run for student
government again?
“Most certainly. I want to continue what I’ve
done this year into next year, and for the rest of
my high school career.”
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Our Apologies
In the last issue of the paper we erroneously labeled the homecoming
court. Below are the amended pictures and captions.
King- Christian Santos
Queen- Oksana Fongsue
Cross Country Team
2015 Delaware Valley Champions
Special Thanks to Mrs. Smith for the photos
Duke- Rahiem Bowens
Duchess- Saleia Matthews