By last Wednesday morning, organizers had already gathered nearly 1,000 volumes for the third annual Solanco High School book swap. "The kids seem more willing to part with their books now that they know this will continue," said junior Dallas Absher. "We've had more people bring in books this year," junior Erika Barr added. Students and teachers began contributing books last Tuesday; books will continue to come in until this Tuesday. Donors receive one coupon for every book donated. Those coupons can be exchanged for different books. Getting from point A to point B can be easy. Students can walk, ride skateboards, peddle a bike, or drive. Or they can pick the difficult route, putting together a machine that uses spoked wheels and is driven by a battery-powered drill. That machine, if it works as planned, will take team members to Millersville, a state competition, and the world championship. The national contest is the ultimate destination for successful Odyssey of the Mind teams. Solanco teacher Greg Lyon had a summer reading project. "I read Les Misérables, the entire thing," he said. He did that so he could choose the play that most accurately reflected Victor Hugo's 19th century novel. That led him to the version by Michael Druce, a retired English teacher. What started as a way to recruit distance runners for the school's track team has become one of Solanco's most successful sports. "I did it to create interest in the running program," said former coach Lee Rhoads of the start of the school's cross country program. The first year, 1965, cross country was a club, he recalled. "The school district wanted to be sure there was an interest in it before they committed to making it a varsity sport." That happened in 1966, when about half the schools in Lancaster County had cross country teams. About 30 novice wrestlers turned out for a free, three-session basic camp at Solanco High School last week.
The camp was run by the school's wrestling coaches and varsity wrestlers. The high school wrestlers included Wyatt Jennings, Joey Davis, Ben Root, Grayson Charles, Dalton Groff, Kody Hart, and Owen Stull. The coaches were John Little, Tony Mendez, David Beard, and Bob Bledsoe. It taught wrestling fundamentals, Olympic lifts, cross training methods, and games. The camp was held July 27 through 29. Click read more for photo gallery. Kyle Munro didn't miss a day of school during his last semester at Solanco High School.
But what he learned during the three hours before he headed off to class in his final semester at Solanco reinforced his decision about how he will spend much of his adult life. Munro will go to Lebanon Valley College in August where he will begin studying criminal justice. Santa will be making an early trip this month.
Instead of a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, she will be driving south on I-95 to Baltimore. When she arrives, Santa will have a car full of toys for children who will be in Johns Hopkins Hospital on Christmas. Solanco's students have begun using the district's newest physical education equipment.
They started working out in the high school's new weight room earlier this month. The room is used by team members after school and is part of the district's regular physical education curriculum. AJ Beyer knows pressure.
Beyer, who will play the title role in Solanco High School's performance of Sherlock Holmes, realizes he is just the latest in a long line of actors to play one of fiction's best-known detectives. After a hiatus, the Mr. Solanco pageant will return to the high school.
The pageant pits senior boys in a structured competition for the title. Funds raised are used to help pay for incentives for the school's Renaissance Program. Hosting an all-night party for 200 teenagers is expensive.
Even if it's staffed by volunteers and many of the prizes are donated, the cost will go well over $10,000. Coming up with that money is one of the challenges Solanco's post-prom party committee faces every year. Parents planning the May, 2015, party are pinning their hopes on a major fundraiser they'll hold next month. Twenty Solanco High School students will be in the Homecoming Court on Friday, October 3.
Ten girls will compete for the title of Homecoming Queen; 10 boys will compete for the title of Homecoming King. The queen will be crowned at the October 3 football game; the king will be crowned at the homecoming dance on Saturday, October 4. This year's candidates are: The third time is the charm.
The Solanco School District is counting on it, at least when it comes to fixing the problem-plagued high school varsity baseball field. For the past 29 years, Carey Kalupson has been teaching ag students at Solanco High School.
Now the department's lead teacher, he also mentors other ag teachers and student teachers in the department and works with fellow teachers throughout the region. That work was recently recognized by the National Association of Agricultural Educators. Kaupson has been named the 2014 Pennsylvania winner of the association's teacher mentor award. For the past eleven years, Scott Weyman has been teaching history. After working at Solanco High School for five years, he moved to Smith Middle School. Now he's changed course. Weyman will be teaching instrumental music in the district's two middle schools and beginning instrumental music at Quarryville Elementary School. The move takes his second career - teaching and playing music - and makes it full-time. Members of Solanco High School's 2014 marching band are playing music from their parents' era.
Many of the musicians' parents recognize the tunes in this year's program, band director Gary Doll said last week. "It's 70s jazz, stuff that a lot of their parents recognize," he said. "Most kids aren't exposed to jazz." The four arrangements in the show were composed by Chuck Mangione. They were written between 1962 and and 1978. Not all of the school district's construction projects will be finished by the time Solanco students start the school year on Monday, August 25.
But the major work will be done and the remaining projects won't interfere with the operation of the schools, said Dr. Timothy Shrom, the district's business manager. Rubicon Wrestling Camp clinician John Little wants to convey the message that hard work and dedication are key to a successful wrestling career.
He didn't have to look far to find some good role models for the Rubicon participants. Commencement exercises for Solanco High School's Class of 2014 will be held indoors this evening.
School officials made that decision at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 11. The decision was made due to the threat of rain and thunderstorms, officials said. Commencement will be held in the school's large gymnasium, starting at 7:30 p.m. This will be the third year in a row graduation has been held indoors. The school district schedules exercises in the high school football stadium with the indoor site as an alternative. The outdoor site allows more spectators. When commencement is held indoors, the district allows each student to give out two tickets to family members or friends. Anyone without a ticket can watch the ceremony on closed-circuit television. Members of one of Solanco High School's Odyssey of the Mind teams have traveled more than half way across the country this week to compete in OM's World Finals. The team is competing in the Driver's Test. A student-designed and constructed vehicle must complete tasks while traveling through a course, going forward and in reverse. "The vehicle and driver have to complete three tasks as it runs through the course," teacher Caley Roark said. Two of the tasks come from a list provided by OM; the third is developed by the students. Early Saturday evening, May 24, the public will be able to see what a group of parents has been concocting for the past 14 months.
The parents, all of whom have children in Solanco High School's Class of 2014, volunteered to put together a post-prom party for members of the senior class and their guests. The public is invited to view the party setup from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The party is open to seniors and guests from 10:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday. Solanco students, teachers, and community members will perform during the school's variety show this Friday.
The show will benefit the school's Renaissance program. The program is used nationally to improve the school's atmosphere. It provides incentives for students who do well academically as well as for those who improve their attendance and behavior in school. Delaney Peffer helped with Solanco High School's recent minithon, an event that raised more than $21,000 for a pediatric cancer program at Hershey Medical Center. She turns out every year to support the Solanco Relay for Life. Now the high school freshman is serving as Celebration for Life's 2014 Guest of Honor. Celebration for Life is a non-profit fundraising organization that helps fund research and support cancer patients. Delaney knows firsthand how important that support can be for a patient and the patient's family. A 13-year cancer survivor, she was a month past her first birthday when she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Solanco High School's junior varsity baseball team hasn't had a home game yet.
That's because the varsity has taken over the JV field because the varsity field isn't fit for play. The varsity field has been plagued with drainage problems since it opened in 2007. |
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