EduBlog

Winter 'Snowball' Formal a Good Time!

2012-01-04T08:19:00.001-05:00

We hosted the first ever Snowball Court at this year’s winter formal on December 9^th. Over two hundred students in formal attire attended to watch the crowning of the first Snow Princess. The court was made up of five ninth grade girls who each chose a charity to represent. On the court were Hannah Bower, escorted by Brennan Casale; Miah Dunkleberger, escorted by Michale Pastore; Lydia Hall, escorted by Tommy Baggett; Gianna Rockoff, escorted by Elijah Solley; and Makenna Winner, escorted by her brother Brady Winner. Loyalsock students crowned Makenna Winner as the 2011 Snow Ball Princess and the LTHS Student Government donated $200 to Makenna’s charity, the Wounded Warriors Project. Other charities represented were the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Special Olympics, and the March of Dimes. Student government also made donations of $25 to each of these charities. Overall, the night was a success as the students had a blast. The Student Government thanks all who were involved, and special congratulations to Makenna Winner on being crowned Snow Princess!

LTHS Receives Grant for Greenhouse

2012-01-02T20:35:00.002-05:00

The holiday season was especially appealing this year for us at Loyalsock as we learned just before the break that the grant that was written for a greenhouse project in the high school was approved and an award of $30,000 was granted by The First Community Foundation. You can read more about this organization's efforts here. We are so excited by this amazing news! Special thanks go to Mrs. Sarah Puderbach, LTHS Science Department Curriculum Coordinator and Mrs. Sherry Griggs, Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction, for co-authoring this grant. Thanks to their efforts, plans for a good-sized greenhouse are under way with construction to occur sometime in the spring to early summer.

Holiday Concert a Beautiful Event

2012-01-02T20:06:00.000-05:00

Each year, the last week before the holidays is an absolute blur for many. With last minute plans and purchases for friends and loved ones, many of our students are also equally busy celebrating the season by entertaining full house crowds at the many concerts held throughout the school district. Special thanks to the students in our Lancer Band and Lancer Choir on a very special and well done performance that week! Clearly, Mr. Barrett and Mr. Saville-Andree had everyone well prepared to host a great evening of holiday music spanning multiple cultural genres and cultures. Also, special thanks to members of Knight Music for performing the next morning in the high school lobby as students entered school for the last day of school before the holidays!

Meghan Cunningham - December Student of the Month

2011-12-22T16:04:00.001-05:00

Meghan Cunningham, daughter of Michael and Marsha Cunningham, has been recognized as Loyalsock's December Student of the Month. Meghan has been very active throughout her tenure as a student at Loyalsock. She is a member of the National Honor Society and a consistent achiever on the distinguished honor roll. A student who has a particularly fond interest in both biology and writing, Meghan is Loyalsock's nominee this year for the DAR Good Citizenship Scholarship Award and the nominee for the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship. She has held previous and current positions among several organizations and clubs, including: Student Government vice president, Key Club, SADD, Cross Age Teaching and Leader, Cultures of the World, and GSA. Of particular note is Meghan's participation in the National Youth Leadership forum on Medicine at Villanova University during the summer of 2011. Her post-secondary plans include attending the Pennsylvania College of Technology and then Penn State University to major in Biology and then attend medical school to become a physician. Meghan has participated in Odyssey of the Mind since fifth grade, and she has taken dance for the past eleven years. Meghan's involvement in the community is equally accomplished. She has been captain of teams associated with Relay for Life, volunteered as a teaching assistant at the Katie Benson School of Dance, volunteered at Southern Care Hospice, and is currently completing her Girl Scout Gold Award with a project at Donald E. Schick Elementary School. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys reading, writing, and photography. We are pleased to recognize Meghan Cunningham as Loyalsock's December Student of the Month!

Mrs. Brelsford - Highlights from PA Teacher of Year Awards

2011-12-16T12:01:00.007-05:00

This past year, Loyalsock was privileged to learn that Mrs. Kindra Brelsford, a Biology and AP Biology teacher, was selected as one of twelve (12) finalists for the 2012 PA State Teacher of the Year. After being nominated by her principal, Dr. Matt Reitz, and a rigorous application, several essays, and video of one of her lessons, Mrs. Brelsford recently attended the annual Pennsylvania National Teacher of the Year program held in Hershey during the first week in December. Mrs. Brelsford follows has become the second finalist from Loyalsock who reached this level; in 2002, Miss Carol Johnson, high school mathematics teachers, was inducted into the PA TOY organization. While a teacher from Penns Valley School District was chosen as the Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Brelsford was in extremely good company. With over 140,000 teachers state-wide, Mrs. Brelsford is one of the best twelve. She represented just one of many other outstanding teachers in our school district, and her students’ achievements are the direct results of her labor and passion. We are very proud of her accomplishment, for her dedication and commitment to public education, and to providing Loyalsock’s young people with the highest possible quality education.

Hayley Steiger - November Student of the Month

2011-12-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

Senior Hayley Steiger has been recognized by Loyalsock Township High School's math department as our November Student of the Month. The daughter of Gina Steiger, Hayley has been a consistent honor roll and high honor roll student throughout high school. Her favorite subject is mathematics, as evidenced by her strong SAT math score. Hayley is also very active in the school community and participates in the following: Leo Club (treasurer), Christian Club, Interact Club, and GSA. She has served as a math tutor for middle school students several times and is active in S.A.D.D. Hayley is a brass instrument player and has played since fourth grade. She has participated in the Lancer Marching Band and has played in District Band and Jazz Band as well on trumpet. Hayley's post-secondary plans are to attend Clarion University and major in molecular biology within the school's honors program. Hayley has contributed to various community service need projects within our community, including Daniel's closet, her church's youth group projects in Washington D.C. and New Orleans, Adopt a Highway, and various food drives. She enjoys writing poetry and short stories, playing video games, and playing trumpet. Congratulations to Hayley and her family on being recognized as Loyalsock's November Student of the Month!

Tessa Harris - Loyalsock's October Student of the Month

2011-12-16T09:53:00.002-05:00

The music faculty of Loyalsock Township High School has recognized senior Tessa Harris as the October Student of the Month. Tessa is the daughter of Terry Robleski and Ken Harris. While she doesn't have a clear favorite content area, Tessa is extremely active in school. She is vice president of the school's Key Club, and has served countless hours of community service within our community. In addition she is editor of the school yearbook, Apalaco. Tessa is highly active in S.A.D.D. and is historian of both the Student Government Association and the Lancer Choir. Finally, Tessa have served as stage manager of various school musicals each year at Loyalsock. Tessa's post-secondary plans are to attend a four-year college or university with an undecided career path. When she is not in class or being very busy around school, she enjoys photography, spending time with close friends, and working at T.J. Maxx. Congratulations to Tessa and her parents on her recognition as Loyalsock's October Student of the Month!

Alexa Allen - September Student of the Month

2011-12-16T09:40:00.000-05:00

Senior Alexa Allen has been recognized by the high school faculty as Loyalsock's September Student of the Month. The daughter of Matthew and Janelle Allen, Alexa has attained honor roll status throughout high school. Her favorite subject is Human Anatomy and Physiology. She spends much extra time around school participating in the Lancer Marching Band as vice president, a member of the color guard and color guard captain, the National Art Honor Society, and Drama Club. She plans on attending a four-year institution so she can attain her Bachelor's degree in Nursing. Alexa has also felt compelled to serve others in need with such efforts as assisting the recent flood victims around our area with clean-up efforts as well as shoveling sidewalks for the elderly in the winter. Alexa enjoys reading, drawing, and writing in her leisure time. Congratulations to Alexa on being recognized as Loyalsock's September Student of the Month!

Spanish Club Very Active This Fall!

2011-12-09T21:10:00.000-05:00

Miss Becky Leid and members of our Spanish club have been very busy this fall on a variety of fronts. One of the events they sponsored and ran was a Spanish Day of Instruction for our elementary students. The children at Donald E. Schick and our students clearly had a blast and learned a ton about the Spanish language and culture. Nice job folks!

Red Ribbon Week A Success

2011-12-09T20:51:00.001-05:00

Each year students from the high school visit every elementary classroom to reinforce making good decisions. Students did a lesson on refusal skills and all signed a commitment that they would be drug and alcohol free. Red ribbons were distributed to every student and staff member in our school district as a sign of solidarity against the pervasive issue of drug and alcohol abuse. Our high school students did a phenomenal job with working with our younger youth. Special thanks to each of them and Mrs. Diane Stanzione, their advisor, for their efforts!

Student Groups Aid Montoursville Residents

2011-12-09T20:32:00.001-05:00

Days after the horrific flooding several weeks ago that has produced the most rain Pennsylvania as seen in over 100 years, several student groups from LTHS spent their evenings and weekends helping various communities in the Montoursville Area School District with cleaning up. Approximately 9.5 inches of rain fell, crippling much of the area. One organization that reaches out to the community to perform various volunteer projects was our newly established Interact Club, under the advisorship of Miss Ashley Argenta. The students in Interact were also able to accumulate hours of volunteer service through our new initiative, the Silver Cord Program. Kudos to all of the students who helped our neighbors to the east in getting through an extremely trying time.

Catching up! Our Blog Is Back!

2011-11-28T22:10:00.004-05:00

For some unknown reason, our newsletter blog was not recognizing those individuals who complete posts on this newsletter blog - hence the reason why we have not posted anything Since mid October. I am happy to say that we are back and ready to catch up on all the recent activities and great things around our school!

A great place to begin is with a re-cap of our fall athletics and activities of various clubs and organizations. Although our football team struggled this year with a very trying schedule, we are fortunate to only lose 4 seniors. The off season looks bright as they continue to build their program. Congrats to our young men on tremendous effort each week! Our boys' and girls' soccer teams also had fantastic runs this fall deep into District and State playoffs. With new head coaches of both teams, our young men and women again showed dominance among other area schools. Unfortunately their season ran out recently, with our Lady Lancers losing in a controversial, hard-fought eastern final to Warrior Run that eventually won a second straight State title last Saturday Congrats to all of our soccer student athletes on another amazing season!

All of our other fall athletic teams did very well, capped off by three young ladies advancing in tennis to States held at Hershey - Kim Levy, Anna Newcomer, and Emily Niditch. The girls played outstanding matches to some pretty stiff competition. All three girls indicated the experience was well worth it and alot of fun! In addition, our inaugural girls' Cross Country team showed tremendous promise as they competed in stiff competition in the PHAC against such foes as perennial State contender Lewisburg. Coach Tina Remsnyder was quite proud of her young athletes! Although young, our boys' and ladies golf team had a solid year under the direction of Coach Jeff Whiteman. 2011 marked the first year in which our school entered into a co-op with Montoursville HS.

Another fall extra-curricular activity that had a fabulous season was our Lancer Marching Band. The band competed in five competitions around the region and placed first at Chapter Championships, earning them the right to compete in the Atlantic Coast Championships held at Hersheypark Stadium in late October. The band placed 17th out of 31 competing Group 1 bands with a score of 86.15. Congrats to Mr. Barrett and our talented musicians and our outstanding color guard on a great season! You can read more about ACC's and the band's success here. Our concert band and Lancer Choir also had a chance to show off some great talent at their annual fall preview concert, spot-lighting a variety of small ensemble groups under the direction of Mr. Barrett and Mr. Lee Saville-Andree. Beautiful, well-done music folks!

And behind all of our great fall sports' teams and other extra-curricular groups efforts are an inspiring and aspiring group of young, motivated students leading our newly established Spirit Club. Nicknamed the "Lunatics" some years ago, the missing link for a while was student leadership among the group. With the advisorship of Miss Becky Leid and student leaders Dan Hamm, Emily McMullen, Emily Dincher, and John Wehler, their efforts to date have definitely help to re-establish our Lancer pride and spirit. A successful fall campaign looks to gain even more anticipation as the winter sports season awaits. Congrats to all of our young folks for coming out and supporting our student athletes and groups so far this year!

Spirit Week and Homecoming 2011

2011-10-14T16:40:00.001-04:00

Spirit week and Homecoming were exceptional this year at Loyalsock. Students, faculty, and staff all got into spirit of the week and an amazing pep rally and theme of the day resulted in a beautiful Friday evening homecoming for our students and community! Topped off by over 200 students attending our first 5th Quarter event after the game, the entire week was well done! Special thanks to the myriad of individuals who made the week come alive, including Mrs. Dana Williams, Ms. Jan Warren, Student Government officers, and our cheerleaders who worked very hard to produce a great week of appropriate fun and school spirit. From many accounts, school spirit is definitely on the rise at 'Sock, and our football team tried valiantly but still lost to perennial foe Hughesville. The video below provides a glimpse of the week's highlights.

Welcome Mr. Greevy!

2011-10-14T16:06:00.001-04:00

With Mr. Hartmann's departure this school year, Mr. Charles "Chad" Greevy IV emerged as the candidate of choice for his new position as high school assistant principal. Previously the assistant principal of our elementary school for the past two years, Mr. Greevy hails originally from Williamsport. He was an English teacher at Curtin Middle School for ten years, after earning his B.A. in English from Allegheny College. He has a Master's degree in Educational Administration from Wilkes University and is currently pursuing doctoral studies through Immaculata University. We are pleased to welcome Mr. Greevy to our school and look forward to working with him in many endeavors! Welcome Mr. Greevy!

Updated 2011-12 Comprehensive School Profile

2011-10-14T15:56:00.000-04:00

Each year, we provide a comprehensive school profile of our school. The most recent demographics, student achievement data, and other pertinent school information can be found on the high school's homepage under "Our School."

First Few Weeks of School A Success!

2011-10-12T13:45:00.021-04:00

Although we are quite late in sharing, we have had experienced an overall great beginning to the 2011-12 school year! So, this newsletter post will be both a re-cap of some great news and information to share form this past summer as well as what has been occurring this school year thus far. Each year over the summer, we have a number of faculty, staff, and students who experience some pretty amazing and interesting experiences that we like to share with our Loyalsock school community.

To begin, Miss Jennifer Beck, one of our social studies teachers, traveled to China! Miss Beck spent time with other teachers and Chinese students in Hebei Province. She found that some are residential students and others commute each day as American students do. Most of them speak minimal English, love American music, and one even asked if high school in America resembled High School Musical. The school is called Hebei Oil Field High School (No. 1). Their principal, Mr. Bai, a day showing Miss Beck's group around and answered their questions. It was overall great opportunity for Miss Beck to compare and contrast teaching methodologies, culture, and of course how Chinese and American students earn their education.

Another very amazing opportunity was experienced by three of our current students, senior Dan H. and juniors, Rameez Z. and Ron R. when the applied for and were successfully admitted into a month-long summer experience at the University of Pittsburgh Health Career Scholars Academy held on campus of Pitt. A national program, Loyalsock was able to place three students at once in the program – more than any other high school across the country! Essentially, all three young men became college students, working and studying for sixteen hours a day and experiencing a broad range of health related topics, careers, and actual experiments. Recently, at our last school board meeting, each young man shared with everyone their experiences and what they took away. Each student indicated that this experience solidified what they want to do with their futures: become physicians. Ms. Karen Narkevic, the coordinator of the Health Careers Scholars Academy (previously known as the Governor’s School for the Sciences), was present t also speak with the board and present each student with their certificates of completion. One final point is that each student made mention of the coursework while here at Loyalsock that so well prepared them for this experience; they also indicated having courses here is likely what enabled their application to be set apart from so many other students. This experience is a tribute to these three young men’s work ethic as well as the dedication of our faculty to prepare students for their futures. Congratulations to Dan, Rameez, and Ron on representing Loyalsock in such fine fashion!

Back in the spring, 2011, Mr. Gerald Kaplan worked on a project with his art students on donating portraits of orphaned Rwandan children to an orphanage in Rwanda. A part of a nationwide effort, the Memory Project, the program’s emphasis is to enrich children’s lives in third world countries by exposing them to the arts and having American students reach out to them. Those portraits were delivered and just recently pictures were shared with us of the Rwandan children receiving them. Check out the video below. This is phenomenal stuff and a tribute to Mr. Kaplan and the work on his students!

Loyalsock's 50th Commencement - A Tribute

2011-06-28T11:42:00.001-04:00

June 10, 2011 marked an important date in Loyalsock Township history – it represented Loyalsock Township High School’s 50th Commencement! For many years, Loyalsock has endeavored to hold very special commencements for the respective graduating class, and this year’s was no exception. With the assistance of a variety of sponsors, we were able to provide an extra special evening and ceremony. The evening concluded with a twenty minute laser show that lit up the sky like fireworks!

In addition, we began a new tradition of inviting back LTHS alumni from the past 50 years as well as retirees who taught at Loyalsock. We look forward to bringing back alumni each year in some capacity in future commencements.

Our guest speaker was Mr. Tom Dempsey, Jr., a 1968 LTHS graduate and president of Utz Quality Foods based in Hanover, PA. Mr. Dempsey provided our graduates and families with an outstanding message as they all ended a stage in their educational careers and also look to begin a new one.

Special thanks to all of the individuals who assisted in making this year’s commencement very meaningful and special. It was evening to remember! Enjoy the video below highlighting the evening’s 50th commencement exercises! (Be sure to increase the volume on your computer....)

End of Year Jam Session

2011-06-28T10:14:00.000-04:00

Each year, we try to provide something speical to our students and staff near the last day of the school year for them to remember. This year's special event was spectacular, and we hope to have them back again for years to come! Thanks to Mr. Leidhecker, Mr. Palazzo, Mr. Saville-Andree, Mr. Johnson, and special solo guest Dylan Rockoff on performing in our lobby! Our faculty are quite impressive, and Dylan is quite a talent in the making! Great stuff folks!

Ray of Light Award Recipients

2011-06-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to several LTHS students who were recently recognized at the annual Ray of Light Awards at the Community Arts Center! Among many talented area youth in the performing arts, Loyalsock students Tess Marshall, Michael Harrison and Alex Strohl were each nominated for lead and support roles. Overall, LTHS received the Spirit Award in recognition of outstanding performances of both of our productions this year, Taming of the Shrew and Seussical. Congrats to all of our students who were involved - we certainly have some very talented young people!

LTHS Art Students Make Lifelong Gifts for Children at Orphanage

2011-06-28T09:07:00.000-04:00

Art students at Loyalsock Township High School have joined the Memory Project, a nationwide initiative in which art students create original portraits for children living in orphanages around the world (www.thememoryproject.org).

Given that children who have been abandoned, orphaned, abused, or neglected often have few personal keepsakes, the purpose of the portraits is to provide them with a special memory of their youth, to honor their heritage and identity, and to help them build a positive self-image. The project also provides an opportunity for young Americans to open their hearts to children who have endured many hardships, and to promote the value of sharing kindness with others.

The Memory Project has been featured on national television several times, most notably when Katie Couric concluded her very first broadcast of the CBS Evening News with a story about the project’s success at an orphanage in Nicaragua. The project has also been covered by major newspapers and magazines throughout the country, all telling the story of students who have participated.

Students at Loyalsock Township High School are participating as part of a course titled Drawing & Painting 2 with some additional smaller collaged portraits from the Digital Photography class. To do this, the students receive pictures of children who are waiting for portraits, and then work in their art classrooms to create the portraits. Once finished, the Memory Project delivers the portraits to the children. In total, the students will make portraits for four-teen children living at an orphanage in Rwanda.

The Memory Project is a program of the nonprofit organization My Class Cares based in Madison, Wisconsin. Since the project began in 2004, more than 25,000 portraits have been produced by high school art students around the country.

Resurrected Track & Field Has Outstanding Season

2011-05-20T10:57:00.001-04:00

For the past few years, LTHS has had a few students participate in track and field with Montoursville Area HS on an occasional basis. For this year, however, a tremendous number of students expressed the desire and will to actually field our own Loyalsock team. Under the leadership of first year coach and middle school art teacher, Miss Ashley Argenta, and Miss Becky Leid, high school Spanish teacher, 94 students began pre-season conditioning after several planning meetings. Loyalsock was able to form its own team and competed in seven (7) meets away at other schools, primarily due to the fact that Loyalsock currently does not have the facilities to host home events.

Overall, 75 students were regularly active at weekly practices and meets. We had many students compete and qualify for the District 4 meet early in the season, competing against and doing very well against perennial track and field powers like Lewisburg, Montoursville, and Hughesville. The boys' team was 3-4 in the PHAC, and our girls' team was 4-3 in the PHAC. Thirteen (13) athletes have qualified and will compete at the District 4 championships to be held Saturday, May 21at Shikellemy Area HS. Top qualifiers there will move on to the PIAA state championships to be held next week. Congrats to Miss Argenta, Miss Leid, and all of our young men and women who made track and field this year an outstanding season! We look forward to growing the program even more next year!

Youth Leadership Lycoming Class of 2011 Holds Ceremony

2011-05-20T09:05:00.000-04:00

Recently, the resurrected Youth Leadership Lycoming program, now hosted by the Pennsylvania College of Technology and facilitated by Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour and her staff, held its annual ceremony concluding the year-long training that area youths received. In all, 30 students were recognized from the area schools, and Loyalsock's Sarah Miller, Ali Malee, and Mike Dougherty each graduated from the program. Congratulations to Sarah, Ali, Mike and their families on such an outstanding showing and representing Loyalsock in such an excellent manner!

Mr. Kaplan's Art Classes Donate Art to Orphaned Rwandan Children

2011-05-16T12:41:00.001-04:00

We recently received correspondence regarding the work of our high school art teacher, Mr. Gerry Kaplan, and his art students' work in conjunction with The Memory Project - a nationwide initiative in which art students create portraits for children around the world who have been orphaned, neglected, or disadvantaged. Such children have few, if any, keepsakes to call their own, and Mr. Kaplan's art students have been completing portraits for 14 youth in Rwanda, Africa. The portraits will be delivered to these children in early summer, 2011. Without a doubt, our students' and Mr. Kaplan's experience with such a nationwide project is rewarding for all, where our very own Loyalsock students have a chance to reach out across the world and demonstrate kindness, empathy, and service. Kudos to these students and Mr. Kaplan on the very profound impact they are having on children from a very distressed region of another continent. Well done!

LTHS Scholastic Scrimmage Team Does Well At States!

2011-05-16T12:27:00.001-04:00

Mr. Kirk Bower's Scholastic Scrimmage team have historically performed well at the region and state level, and this year was no exception. Having received first place in last month's regional championship, sponsored by BLaST I.U. 17, Mr. Bower's team automatically advanced to the Pennsylvania Academic Competition at the State Capitol in Harrisburg on Friday, May 6. The team, comprised of Adam Kennedy, Jennie Verrastro, Keegan Scott, Bryan Eck, and Sam Walters. The competition was indeed stiff, but it was nonetheless an outstanding experience as the matches took place in the actual Senate and House chambers at the state capitol! Congrats to Mr. Bower and his team on such a fine showing!

Loyalsock Township Music Program Ranked One of Best in Country

2011-05-16T12:15:00.002-04:00

Recently, Mr. Robert Barrett and the rest of our district's music staff, received word that our music program was ranked as one of the "Best Communities for Music Education in 2011" by the NAMM Foundation. 179 communities were recognized across the country. You can read much more about the recognition here. Congratulations to our music educators on this outstanding distinction!

Congratulations Niesha Williams - June Student of the Month!

2011-05-16T10:41:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Niesha Williams, daughter of John Williams and Kimberly Brown-Feay, on being recognized by the Physical Education department as the June Student of the Month! Niesha has been on the honor and high honor roll consistently throughout high school, and her favorite subjects inlcude math, Lancer Choir, English, Creative Writing, Jewelry and Textiles, Physical Education and Business math. Niesha has also been very active in school, participating in basketball, track and field, Spanish club, SNAC, and Christian club. Niesha plan on attending Penn College to study business and earn a bachelor's degree. In her spare time, Niesha volunteers in soup kitchens, youth basketball camps, and various food drives. She enjoys making jewelry and reading. Congratulations to Niesha and her family on being recognized as our June Student of the Month!

Jacob Dame - May Student of the Month!

2011-05-16T10:33:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Jake Dame, son of Laurie LeFever, on being nominated by our Visual Arts department as the May Student of the Month! Jake's favorite subject is art, and he has been a consistent member of the high school honor roll throughout high school. While Jake's post-secondary plans are uncertain, he certainly has a passion for life and looks to continue his hobbies of playing guitar and skateboarding. Jake was selected by his peers as the 2011 Mr. Sock candidate. Congrats Jake!

Kaitlyn Pellegrino - April Student of the Month!

2011-05-16T10:25:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Kaitlyn Pellegrino, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John Pellegrino, for being recognized by Loyalsock's Social Studies department as the April Student of the Month!Kaitlyn enjoys English and social studies and has been consistently on the honor and high honor roll throughout high school. She is president of Key Club, a member of Christian club, Relay for Life, and Spanish club. In addition, she is quite active and has lettered in varsity girls' tennis. Kaitlyn is also involved in the Girl Scouts and quite active in dance, including ballet, pointe, modern, and modern jazz. She is also a lifeguard in the summer. Kaitlyn plans on attending Elizabethtown College and major in English and secondary education. She will be playing on the women's tennis team there. While in high school, Kaitlyn ha splayed varsity tennis all four years and was a District 4 champion as a sophomore, junior and senior. She was also the District 4 doubles champion in her junior and senior year. She reached the PIAA state quarterfinals for the team in her sophomore and senior years. Congratulations to Kaitlyn and her family on this well-deserved recognition!

Congratulations Megan Bloom - March Student of the Month!

2011-05-16T09:55:00.000-04:00

Megan Bloom has been recognized by our World Language department as our March Student of the Month! A consistent member of the honor roll, Megan's favorite subjects include Spanish, AP English, and Social Studies. She is active in a variety of activities, including: Leo club, Lancer Choir, Drama club, and various musicals. When she has free time, Megan works at Wendy's. Her college plans are to major in journalism or Spanish and attend Messiah College. Megan also works on projects within her church and doing missionary work in other parts of the country. Megan enjoys playing the piano, acting, singing, writing, and hanging out with her friends in her youth group. Congratulations to Megan and her family on being recognized as Loyalsock's March student of the month!

Mrs. Kindra Brelsford - Finalist for 2012 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year

2011-04-20T11:37:00.001-04:00

We were absolutely delighted to hear that Mrs. Kindra Brelsford, a Biology and AP Biology teacher, has officially been selected as one of twelve finalists for the 2012 PA State Teacher of the Year. After a rigorous application and essay process, Mrs. Brelsford joins the ranks of other notable teachers from across the Commonwealth. You can read more about this special opportunity by reading a recent Sun-Gazette article highlighting Mrs. Brelsford's accomplishments. From this point forward, Mrs. Brelsford must prepare and submit for review a video showing a classroom-teaching episode. The video will provide the selection committee with an opportunity to become more familiar with her as a teacher as well as how well she can communicate verbally.
The Teacher of the Year Selection Committee will meet in July 2011 to review and score the videos. Scores from both the video evaluation and the application packets will be combined to form a composite score. The names of the top scoring finalists and recommendations for final selection will be submitted to Department of Education. The Department of Education has reserved the right to make on-site classroom and school visitations to verify, gain, or clarify additional information regarding finalists.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education will announce the 2012 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year in a special awards ceremony in late fall or early winter 2011. All finalists, including Mrs. Brelsford, will be invited to this prestigious recognition ceremony and will be honored for their dedication and commitment to providing Pennsylvania’s young people with the highest quality education.

Congratulations to Mrs. Brelsford on this outstanding recognition! We look forward to sharing more on Mrs. Brelsford's accomplishment in the future.

High School OM Teams Do Well at States!

2011-04-11T11:05:00.000-04:00

Both of our high school OM teams did very well in stiff competition on Saturday and the Pennsylvania state tournament held at Williamsport Area High School. Not only did our students do well in front of a live audience, a couple of our students also had a chance to be interviewed on WNEP-TV 16. Congrats to all of our OMers on a fantastic showing!

World War II Vets Continue to Intrigue Us!

2011-04-04T11:15:00.000-04:00

Residing within our community are many veterans who have valiantly served our country in every war as far back as WW II. Recently, Mr. Donald Koons, a Loyalsock resident and WWI veteran with the Eighth U.S. Air Force, set up a display in the high school lobby chronicling his experiences during WW II. Stationed out of England, Mr. Koons and crew flew 35 bombing missions over Germany, Africa, and other parts of Europe before returning home. Mr. Koons is still very active in the community along with his wife, Roberta. If you have a moment when visiting the high school, we encourage you to view the display. We are proud of our heritage of people serving our country and really appreciate Mr. Koon's ability to share his memorabilia with us!

Drugs Also Have Effects on Daphnia

2011-04-04T10:58:00.000-04:00

As part of a very cool experiment in Mrs. Brelsford's Biology and AP Biology Courses, students analyzed the effects of alcohol on tiny pond organisms called Daphnia. Because of their transparency, especially under high-powered microscopes, students placed a small drop of alcohol on Daphnia and then observed the effects on their systems. Students then compared and contrasted the effects on human beings through this very interesting lab experience. Neat stuff!

Spring Open House a Success

2011-04-04T10:42:00.000-04:00

March 22 marked the date of our second Open House at LTHS. While not as heavily attended as our fall Open House, many events were held along with parents having the chance to meet with teachers. Special thanks to Mrs. Stanzione and Mrs. McCarty for offering various career and college planning orientations in the library, and special thanks to members of our Key Club and Yearbook Media Journalism classes for being student hosts and guides for the evening!

Mrs. Mattie's Intro to Business Class Gets Some Visitors

2011-04-04T10:30:00.002-04:00

Students in Mrs. Mattie's Introduction to Business class have been working hard for about 4 months, writing business plans for a chosen business. In the class, there were a variety of business ideas, from lawn care services to bakeries. Through this process the students learned how important it was to write a business plan, and how difficult it was as well! At the end of this project, in order to showcase everything the students have been working on, and to create an authentic learning experience for them as well, the class hosted several business men and women from our community. During this time, the students received one-on-one interaction with real entrepreneurs and persons involved with business in a real and exciting way. They got to hear about real experiences, get instruction regarding their specific business plans, and receive some personal advice. The class guests included: Ronald Frick, from M&T Bank; Rosann Pelleschi, from the United Way; Steve, Karen, and Brad Mattie, from Transport Designs; Tom Garber, from Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and I-TEC; and Dave Percy, from Brewed Awakenings. Overall, the students had a great time explaining their project, and they enjoyed hearing the ideas and advice from our guests. It was an overall great experience for the students and one we can hopefully do again in the future!

All-District Music Concerts Held at the CAC

2011-03-16T16:17:00.000-04:00

On February 8 and March 8, respetively, the Loyalsock Township School District all-district vocal and instrumental concerts were held to showcase our youth and the large amount of talent among our students. A little over 300 students came together for the choral concert for their finale, and about 280 students came together on stage with their instruments to perform two pieces as one large emsemble, one of which being from the formerly popular film, Ghostbusters. Both events were spectcular, and the venue of the Community Arts Center was a phenomenal expereince for our students and their families. Kudos to our music folks, especially Mr. Saville-Andree and Mr. Barrett for facilitating such a great expereince for out students!

Youth Leadership Lycoming Students Present to School Board

2011-03-15T08:38:00.000-04:00

Kudos to Ali Malee, Sarah Miller, and Mike Dougherty for presenting about their experiences as Loyalsock's representatives with Youth Leadership Lycoming this school year. A venture lead by Penn College and facilitated by Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour, these students shared their experiences with the school board and community members present about the type of leadership training and various concepts they are learning as a result of their exposure to Youth Leadership Lycoming. Great job folks!

Mrs. Kindra Brelsford - 2012 PA State Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist!

2011-03-09T14:20:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Kindra Brelsford, a science (Bio and AP Bio) teacher at LTHS, was nominated back in the early winter for the 2012 Pennsylvania State Teacher of the Year. The process to determine each year's recipient of the award is extremely rigorous and requires much work on behalf of candidates. In late February, we learned that Mrs. Brelsford was named a Semi-Finalist! Meaning, she has made it to the level where she is recognized as being one of thirty (30) semi-finalists from across the Commonwealth. The competition has been rigorous. Mrs. Brelsford feels this has certainly been an honor and privilege. As a high school and school district, we couldn't be more proud of her!

The next step in the process is the identification of the Regional Finalists (top 12 teachers from the group of 30). Mrs. Brelsford has completed a variety of tasks to submit in order to perhaps make it to this level, and we are awaiting a response which will be forthcoming in early April. In the event that Mrs. Brelsford becomes a Regional Finalist, we will continue to report on her endeavor. Please join us in congratulating Mrs. Brelsford and her family on her much-deserved recognition and in wishing her the best of luck as she vies to potentially become the 2012 PA State Teacher of the Year recipient!

Mrs. Stanzione Receives Recognition

2011-03-09T13:56:00.001-05:00

On March 8 at the annual SADD conference held at Penn College, our very own Mrs. Diane Stanzione, high school school counselor, was recognized for her 25 years' worth of work in serving in a variety of capacities around Lycoming County on the negative influences of drugs and alcohol on today's youth. You can read more here. Congratulations to Mrs. Stanzione on this most deserved recognition and to her work in the fight, in working with students, against the destructive decisions that confront youth each day!

Serving Others is KEY at Loyalsock

2011-03-09T12:43:00.000-05:00

- By Miss Jennifer Beck

Key Club is a division of the Kiwanis club that raises money and provides service for those in need. While always helping others, students involved are very competitive with one another for leadership positions. A particular student at Loyalsock has always been involved with leading the club, but never truly held a leadership position. He was the unsung hero of the Loyalsock Key Club; always organizing and helping, but never taking the credit. This year at the Key Club annual convention in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Daniel Hamm decided to run for the office of Secretary/Treasurer. He was well aware that those who had served in high leadership positions prior usually got elected to office, but he wanted to attempt to gain the position anyhow. On Sunday, March 06, 2011, his efforts and years of service without recognition truly paid off. The Pennsylvania District of Key Club elected Dan and he will now serve as the Secretary/Treasurer for the entire state. There are only three state positions and he gained one of them. In addition to Dan’s achievement and new leadership position, another Loyalsock student was elected to an important leadership position. Gina Girio, the Loyalsock Key Club’s former vice president, ran and won the position of Lieutenant Governor of the local division. She will help organize Key Club’s in our area and facilitate communication amongst clubs to help with local and national service projects. Gongratulations to Dan Hamm and Gina Girio on their awesome accomplishment!

Mr. Peterman in the Press!

2011-03-07T23:31:00.000-05:00

This past summer, Mr. Mark Peterman, high school science teacher, participated in (and continues to participate in) the Modeling Physics and Chemistry program through Mansfield University. A story about this program was recently released in a Mansfield U. publication, and our very own Mr. Peterman was pictured. Congrats to Mr. Peterman for putting Loyalsock on the map in yet another way!

High School OM Teams Advance to States!

2011-03-07T23:20:00.000-05:00

Two of our OM teams did extremely well at the OM Regional Competition held this past Saturday at Berwick. Both teams will be competing at the State Competition held at Williamsport High School on Saturday, April 9th. As Gold as Gold-Berg Div III placed 2nd (Team Members: Meghan Cunningham, Samantha Scott, Nichole Lupo, Micaela Weber, Caryn Keller, Jeremiah Wilson), and Le Tour Guide Div III placed 1st (Team Members: Mikayla Born, Anastasia Komarnicki, Katherine Lupo, Lauren Lorf and Shelby Cochran, and Catherine Waltz and Sara Greenway, both Middle school students). Congrats to both teams and all of the students involved!

Senior Tyler Bogaczyk Recognized as Lycoming County’s Outstanding Student

2011-03-07T23:13:00.000-05:00

Last week, the Williamsport-Lycoming County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Education Celebration was held in which nine area seniors were recognized. After a thorough interview and selection process by the Chamber, a single senior is selected as the Outstanding Student. For the second year in a row, a Loyalsock student has been selected. Congratulations to senior Tyler Bogaczyk and his family on a true honor. Tyler accepted his award with humility as he spoke to the 150 individuals present at the Holiday Inn. You can read more about Tyler’s success and learning more about the Outstanding Student of the Year process. Congrats Tyler! (Pictured with Tyler is Miss Carol Johnson, Loyalsock’s 2011 Outstanding Educator.)

LTHS Teacher Carol Johnson Recognized as Outstanding Educator

2011-03-07T23:05:00.002-05:00

Late last week the annual Education Celebration of the Williamsport-Lycoming County Chamber of Commerce was held at Holiday inn. Loyalsock Township High School’s Carol Johnson, a mathematics teacher, was one of nine local educators recognized as an Outstanding Educator. Miss Johnson has been also recognized several years ago when she became a finalist in the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year selection process. A calculus and geometry teacher, Carol has taught at Loyalsock for more than twenty years. She continues to serve on Pennsylvania’s mathematics committee that is largely responsible for designing the PSSA math problems seen each year. Further, Miss Johnson is extremely involved in the Williamsport area’s Relay for Life and has captained the Lancers Against Cancer team for the past several years. Congratulations to Miss Carol Johnson and her family on this outstanding recognition!

Spring Sports Begins This Week

2011-03-07T22:46:00.000-05:00

Spring sports begins this week at Loyalsock. Over the past year, one program, Track and Field, has grown significantly in popularity. At this point in time, 94 students have signed up to participate. According to Mr. Insinger, this is the most interest in Track and Field in over 20 years at Loyalsock. The head coach is Ashley Argenta, a former Edinboro University Track standout and Loyalsock Township Middle School art teacher. Best of luck to all students who chosen to put Loyalsock back on the map – this time in Track & Field!

Bryan Eck - February Student of the Month

2011-03-07T22:10:00.000-05:00

Bryan Eck, son Bob and Kathy Eck, has been recognized by the Science department as the February Student of the Month. A member of National Honor Society, Bryan regularly achieves the high honor roll and has taken several AP courses. His favorite subjects are chemistry and calculus. Bryan is a member of the Boy Scouts and has attained his Eagle Scout. Further, he enjoys taking part in various high school theater productions and musicals, is a member of the envirothon team, the Lancer marching band, Jazz band, and the TEAMS competition. Bryan also finds time for a part-time job at Burger King. Bryan plans on attending a four-year college in the field of chemistry and eventually obtain a Master’s and doctorate degree in the field. In addition, he enjoys playing ultimate frisbee with friends, golfing, and various outdoors activities, including rock climbing, fishing, hunting, and riding ATVs. Bryan is a member of St. Ann’s Church. Congratulations again to senior Bryan Eck and his parents as LTHS’s February student of the month!

Elizabeth Heilmann – January Student of the Month

2011-03-07T21:50:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Elizabeth Heilmann and her parents, Dr. Tim and Sue Heilmann, for being nominated by the English department as our student of the month! Lizzie is a member and treasurer of the National Honor Society and has been consistently on the high honor roll throughout high school. Her favorite subject has been AP Biology. Lizzie is also very active in our school community, including: secretary of key club, Christian Club, president of eco-act recycling club, vice president of the Lancer band, president of the Lancer choir, knight music, and environthon. Lizzie has been accepted to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend with a major in biological sciences and then attend medical school with a focus on genetics research. She is also active in her church, St. Ann’s, as a member of the choir. When she has any spare time, Lizzie enjoys knitting and reading. Congratulations to Elizabeth and her parents on being recognized as the January student of the month!

Energy Drinks – Big Risk to Teens by Barb Wertz, Loyalsock ATC

2011-03-07T21:27:00.005-05:00

Recently, The Today Show ran a special on the consumption of the many energy drinks on the market by teenagers. The article, linked here, recognizes that energy drinks, such as Red Bull and many others, are possibly dangerous to young people. The article lists the risks of these drinks as heart palpitations, seizures, strokes and possibly sudden death. As a school, we are wary of our athletes, as well as any other student, utilizing these drinks too often, and especially, prior to competition. While there is no set policy on the consumption of energy drinks, there is much documented evidence that puts coaches, parents, educators, and students alike on edge with these drinks. It may be a very good idea to converse with your children about the potential negative effects of such drinks and discourage the use, especially prior to any sort of cardio-vascular activity. This article is certainly not a definitive study on the issue, but it does relate much anecdotal evidence that cannot be ignored. More study would be very helpful regarding this issue. For more information, you may wish to read more about this issue by an article in the journal Pediatrics which was also cited in The Today Show article. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2009-3592v1

Othello on Trial

2011-02-02T23:21:00.003-05:00

On January 13, Mrs. June's 10 Honors English class put Iago, from Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, on trial for conspiracy to commit murder. Working with Kyle Rude, a lawyer from the Ziccolello law firm, the class completed all of the phases of the trial from lengthy opening and closing statements, direct and cross examinations, and witness testimonies. Caleb McGee served as the resident judge, while Mr. Rude offered counselors, witnesses, and the judge expert guidance. An unbiased jury of freshmen found Iago, played by Ryan Bogaczyk, guilty of conspiracy to murder Desdemona. He awaits 'torture' as we speak. Congrats to Mrs. June and her students on putting together such a relevant, contemporary, and well-done experience for all. Special thanks to Mr. Ride for giving of his time and expertise and working with some of our sophomores! Shakespeare would have been proud!

Textiles & Jewelry Class Donates 'Plushies' To Geisinger

2011-02-02T23:12:00.002-05:00

As part of their final exam and project in Mr. Kaplan's Textiles & Jewelry class, students designed and created two to five "Plushies" along with a written critique of their work. These stuffed, individually-created plush animals and figures will be donated by students of Mr. Kaplan's class to children at the Janet Weis Children's Hospital at Geisinger. Kudos to the students and Mr. Kaplan on such a fantastic project and community-based effort which will undoubtedly put some smiles on several sick kids' faces!

Mrs. LaCoe Presents to School Board

2011-01-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

At the last school board meeting in January, Mrs. LaCoe, one of our math teachers, gave a presentation on her use of some very exciting technology equipment that she and the math department uses with students. Through a grant, she was able to secure 30 Dell laptops and Texas Instruments graphing calculators with special interfaces that allow students to connect with and interact with the teacher and the Smartboard in each teacher's classroom. In short - what an amazing opportunity our kids and math folks have in providing a true, 21st century experience to work with math concepts and functions to solve real world problems. The equipment just enables our teachers to take instruction to an even deeper, better level with our students. The School Board appeared to have a blast with the advanced technology! Kudos to Mrs. LaCoe on her excellent work!

Lady Lancer Soccer Gives Back to the Community

2011-01-06T08:31:00.000-05:00

by senior Hannah Scheibeler and junior Emily Dincher

The Lady Lancer Soccer Team came out this year hoping for nothing less than a great season, and that’s exactly what they got. Entering the season, the girls knew winning championships and having a successful year would not be an easy task. It took hard work and the heart of 30 Lady Lancers. They took the season as it came, step-by-step, and were proud to be conference and district champs, and then ended their season in the final four of state playoffs.

Not only was their goal to do well, but they really wanted to take the time out to help other people in the community. Expectations, previously known as The Pregnancy Care Center, was an organization the whole team was excited to help. Expectations is a local Williamsport program that supports expecting mothers. Each player was given a baby bottle to fill with as much money as possible. Having one month, 30 girls, and a bundle of baby bottles, the girls were able to do a tremendous job. Through gathering money individually at soccer and football games, the team was able to raise a little over $600. It was the perfect gift to give in light of the holiday season. Raising this money was one of the most rewarding experiences for these girls, and it is something they will never forget.

Spanish Runway Models!

2010-12-17T12:49:00.001-05:00

Spanish II is currently learning about clothing in Spanish. Students put on their very own fashion show, but there was a twist. Instead of having the clothes made out of fabric, the students had to use their creativity to come up with different material to use to design their clothing. Some groups used aluminum foil, others garbage bags. The students had a great time working the runway! In November, the Spanish II and III students spent a day at Lycoming College for their "Modern Language Day." Students met native French, German, and Spanish speakers while learning about the different cultures. They had the opportunity to observe and participate in two different college classes as well. For some students, they realized they really did know Spanish! Others mentioned that they now want to pursue a career with a foreign language. All in all, the students all had a positive experience and now have an enthusiastic outlook on foreign language.

Spanish Students Entertain Schick Students

2010-12-17T12:40:00.000-05:00

Each year, a holiday celebration is held for Schick Elementary's after-school LEAP program. Over the past number of years, various LTHS student groups have participated by setting up holiday games, singing songs, and coordinating a special visit from Santa. This year, Mrs. Confer's Spanish III students and several members of the Spanish club put their bi-lingual skills to the test by providing a cultural Spanish holiday experience with this year's LEAP students. The kids had a blast, and our high school students did a fantastic job in making this holiday time special for these special young children. Special thanks and kudos to Mrs. Confer and the high school students who attended this special event!

Jessica Gower - December Student of the Month

2010-12-17T12:18:00.003-05:00

Jessica Gower, daughter of Laurie and Walter Gower, has been recognized by the high school math department as the December student of the month! Jessica has been on the high honor roll regularly through high school, and her favorite subjects are calculus and band. Jessica’s post-secondary plan is to attend Penn College and pursue a degree in their Physician Assistant program. In her spare time, Jessica enjoys horseback riding, and she regularly competes in riding shows primarily during the summer months. Jessica has been very active in band, and has qualified for various PMEA festivals. She also performs with the Williamsport Youth Symphony and is active in Loyalsock’s jazz ensemble. Congratulations to Jessica and her family on this deserved recognition!

Jeff Ulman - November Student of the Month

2010-12-15T14:13:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to senior Jeff Ulman, who has been recognized as the November student of the month! The son of Patricia Havens and Jeffrey M. Ulman, Jeff is a member of the National Honor Society and has been consistently on the high honor roll throughout high school. His favorite subject is math (AP Calculus, specifically), and he plans on majoring in computer engineering/science next year at either MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, RIT, Maryland, Penn State Schryers, or Drexel. Jeff has lettered in soccer from his participation in grades 9-12 and has also played tennis for 'Sock in grades 9-10 and participated in track & field in grade 11. Jeff is an Eagle Scout, and he enjoys the various community service projects he is involved in through NHS. We wish Jeff well in his future endeavors at the post-secondary level. Congrats to Jeff and his family on this wonderful recognition!

One Act Plays a Hit!

2010-11-24T13:38:00.000-05:00

Last week, our Drama club produced a series of one act plays, directed by our own student directors! Kudos to each actor, our student directors, and Miss Warren for putting on another display of the talent among our student at Loyalsock. Well done!

Caryn Keller - September Student of the Month

2010-11-24T13:34:00.001-05:00

Loyalsock's Business department has nominated senior Caryn Keller as the school's September student of month! Caryn plans on studying social services in college and plans on attending either Indiana University of Pennsylvania or Lock Haven University. She is the daughter of Mark and Carol Keller. Caryn is active in O.M. and S.A.D.D. and has been active playing softball and swimming at Loyalsock. She is also active in Girl Scouts and enjoys camping, hunting, and fishing - in fact, the first fish she caught was when she was three years old! Congratulations to Caryn and her family on this deserved recognition!

First Marking Period and Beginning of 2010-11 School Year in Review

2010-11-09T22:35:00.002-05:00

The first few weeks of the 2010-11 school year are officially complete, and it’s time to play some “catch up” with many posts to our newsletter blog at LTHS. With the implementation of several new initiatives this year, time has been a scarce commodity. However, we endeavor to post stories and newsworthy information on our blog and website now on a much more regular basis. So, please keep checking back for new and updated information of things happening here at ‘Sock!

Welcome New Staff!

First, several new staff have been added to our Loyalsock school community. We welcome Mrs. Christina Confer, who replaces the retiring Mrs. Hepfer teaching Spanish; Ms. Rebecca Leid, who is teaching part-time Spanish; Mr. Todd Girton, who replaces Mrs. Kidd in mathematics; Mrs. Melissa Mattie, who replaces Mr. Matter in business; and, Ms. Jennifer Anderson, who will be serving in Mrs. McCarty’s school counselor capacity through the Thanksgiving break.

Exciting Staff Development for our Teachers

Over the summer, and through the beginning of this school year, several of our Loyalsock faculty embarked on some outstanding professional development that they are sharing with students. A few staff attended Advanced Placement (AP) workshops, bringing back the most recent best practices in preparing our students for the curriculum and eventual AP exam in various content areas. Another opportunity was had by Mr. Mark Peterman, one of our science educators, who took part in the Modeling Physics and Chemistry program offered through Mansfield University, and begun as an outreach program by the Arizona State University. As part of the program, each school’s principal was required to participate. Dr. Reitz never learned so much about physics! And, what Mr. Peterman learned through this experience was, without question, one of the best learning experiences for any teacher to then apply and use in one’s classroom! Congrats and thanks to those faculty who took the vast part of their summer honing their skills in order to share and facilitate learning with our Loyalsock students!

Student Government and School Spirit

One of the key goals of the high school administration and staff was to find more ways to increase student communication and a voice within our school and among our faculty and staff. We also had a goal to increase school spirit by finding more and better ways to engage students in the great things that occur at Loyalsock each year. For instance, a focused effort was to change the concept of our previously-known Student Council organization. Over the summer and through this year already, Student Council has been re-formed as is now referred to as Student Government. With this new alignment, student officers from each graduating class, officers from each club and organization, and at-large members now meet regularly with Miss Warren, Mrs. Williams, and Mr. VanFleet in an organized, collective fashion where all necessary communication, fund raisers, and student-based initiatives are discussed. This enables students to have a concerted voice within a democratic process when discussing school-wide efforts.

In another way, Student Government has also become the hub of a variety of school spirit initiates that we have experienced thus far this fall. With the advisors’ and students’ leadership, we have been able to have three pep rallies this fall to support our football and other athletic teams that have been in competition this fall. Working collaboratively with our cheerleaders has allowed students to participate in more ways as well. From the awesome events we experienced during Spirit Week (which resulted in a great bonfire and tailgating food event with over 150 students attending), to facilitating the events of Homecoming, the Student Government and clubs rallied to show all of our students how much fun we can all have when we come together. On a specific note, the Homecoming floats were outstanding, and student had a blast designing them! Each club that chose to devise one used a shopping cart, compliments of Weis Markets, as the frame in which to design a thematic representation of the respective club. Each float was voted on by the entire student body, and the winning club walked away with $500, compliments of the Student Government to use for their own club’s functioning. This year’s winner was Yearbook!They also were instrumental with our fall bonfire, pink out, and volleyball tournament. Special thanks to Miss Warren, Mr. VanFleet and Mrs. Williams as well as all of the students who contributed thus far to increasing student school spirit! We look forward to only increasing opportunities for students and have additional pep rallies and functions that promote school-wide spirit! Check out this video of the various Student Government activites mentioned above!

National Merit Commended Student

Congratulations to senior Brad Bailey, a recently recognized National Merit Commended Student by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation! About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are recognized. Commended students rank among the top 5% of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2011 competition by the taking the PSAT qualifying test in 2009. We are very pleased of Brad’s accomplishment and congratulate him and his family on this high honor!

Youth Leadership Lycoming

Penn College recently re-formed the local Youth Leadership Lycoming program for each of our local schools. Loyalsock’s representatives include Sarah Miller, Alison Malee, and Mike Dougherty. Congratulations to them on their hard work and training as they work through what it requires to demonstrate leadership in today’s world!

Spanish Club is back!

Speaking of clubs, Miss Leid and Mrs. Confer, our two new Spanish teachers this year, have resurrected our Spanish Club! To the delight of many students, activities such as Spanish Heritage week and “Day or the Dead” festivities have occurred in the school and have welcomed the entire school to participate! Special thanks to our two new ladies on welcoming this club back our school!

Key Club

Special thanks are extended to Key Club and their advisor Miss Jennifer Beck for the service they provide our community and school! Two specific notes are with respect to their efforts to re-fill and re-stock over 200 emergency bags located in each classroom in our school district. This bag contains various emergency related items for when/if we ever evacuate from our school (i.e. fire drill, etc.). In addition, Key Club members also were very helpful acting as student ambassadors during our Open House by assisting parents to various classrooms and providing schedules as necessary. Thanks for your efforts Key Club!

Fifth Quarter

With the guidance and leadership of Miss Leid, our new part time Spanish teacher, the Firth Quarter program has begun at Loyalsock! Fifth Quarter is an initiative designed to give students a safe and positive place to go on Friday nights throughout the fall and winter athletic seasons. Usually in the form of a dance and variety of activities (basketball, ping-pong, etc.), Loyalsock students can attend the event free of charge. This event is for Loyalsock students only. Food, a DJ, and chaperones are all donated to the school. The inaugural Fifth Quarter occurred November 5, after the football game versus Montoursville. Pizza, chips, baked goods, ice cream sundaes, served by some vey willing adults was available to all. Also, Lycoming College Communication program provided the music (the radio station). We look forward to providing other Fifth Quarter events in the near future!

Yearbook Field Trip

We encourage faculty to take field trips with their students as appropriate to make real-life application to the concepts and content being learned in class. One field trip that was extremely impressive was the Yearbook Media-Journalism class’s trip to Penn State University and the Jostens Yearbook plant located in State College. Organized by Miss Stiber, students experienced a presentation by the Dr. Ford Risley in the College of Communications on what it means to write in journalistic fashion and the function of objectivity in writing. He also led the class on a tour of The Daily Collegian, a completely full-functioning, student-lead student newspaper at Penn State. From there, students jumped on the bus and were able to tour the brand new, state of the art, HD television studio at Innovation Park on the Penn State campus. Students even had the chance to take a seat at the news anchor desk in front of the 24 state of the art cameras. According to students there, Penn State’s HD studio is only one of three in the entire nation. Finally, students went to the Jostens plant and toured each department to see exactly how Loyalsock’s yearbook is made. Clearly, the 21st century is upon us as students experienced exactly what it means to produce a high quality document (yearbook)!

The Fueling Station

This past September, Loyalsock Township School District Food Service Department introduced “The Fueling Station”, an after school nutrition program. “The Fueling Station” can be described as a self-contained student store where students can use cash to purchase food and beverage items such as Harvest Cookies, Fruit Smoothies, Yogurt, Fruit and Granola Parfaits, Fresh Fruit Cups, Cheese and Crackers, Smucker’s Uncrustable Sandwiches, Trail Mix and a variety of beverages. The goal of “The Fueling Station” is to offer students convenient healthy food and beverage snack options as an alternative to the less nutritious items students may purchase off campus.

“The Fueling Station” was in operation throughout September and October and will reopen in January 2011. Students, faculty and staff have had positive comments about the options “The Fueling Station” offers. Members of SNAC, Student Nutrition Advisory Committee, will continue to provide input in the planning process of “The Fueling Station”.

Student Random Drug Testing

Since early summer, a committee of administrators, teachers, student, Board members and parents has been meeting to implement a part of Policy 227, Random Drug Testing for Students. The many meetings have gone extremely well, and the School Board is very close to enacting this very new and important policy. In an attempt to keep students safe and as far away from illegal drugs as possible, the focus of such a policy is not intended to be punitive in nature, but rather pro-active and supportive to assist all students’ fight against the possible use of illegal substances. Likely to be adopted in either December or early January, the policy entails the testing of students who are members of any extra-curricular function (sport, activity, club, etc.) as well as student drivers to school. Testing is completely done by healthcare professionals, not school officials. Students are placed in a randomly selected “pool” in which student I.D. numbers are randomly selected, and then students are tested using urinalysis in a private, confidential environment. Federal and state law as well as recent Supreme Court decisions governs school district policy and procedure, allowing districts to conduct random student drug testing. We look forward to working with and communicating with the community more on this topic as the months continue. Look for more information on our district website, newsletters, and specific letters to be forthcoming on this topic.

Lancer Marching Band Performs at ACC's!

Once again, our Lancer Band made a trek to the Atlantic Coast Championships this past weekend held at Hershey Park Stadium. Our Lancer band scored high enough at Chapter championships to earn the right to compete among 25 other group 1 bands from across seven states. Congratulations to our marching band students and Mr. Barrett on again being able to compete among some of the top bands on the east coast!

Fall Sports Update

Our fall sports’ programs have been extremely successful again this year! While Loyalsock is blessed to get some fairly good press in the local newspaper, it is important to also note their accomplishments here! In a nutshell, here are the results. Girls’ soccer was PHAC champs and District 4 champs! They also just won their first game in the PIAA state tournament by defeating Minersville from District 11. They continue onto states this week at a date an time to be determined. Girls’ tennis also had a banner year as they were District 4 Team champs (3rd consecutive year), and made it to the state semi-finals in team tennis. What a great season girls! Our girls’ golf team was also District 4 champs, and junior Diana Wahl placed third in District 4 and qualified for the regional tournament. Our boys’ soccer team played some fierce competition this year under Coach Canich’s leadership, but they fell a bit short this year at 8-4-3 when they were defeated last weekend by Northeast Bradford. Finally, our football team has also faced some very stiff competition and has experienced a number of injuries that have remained with various players over the season. 'Sock football finished its season with a decisive win over Montoursville this past Friday night, 28-7. The bridge is ours once again!

Ready, Aim, Fire!

2010-06-29T14:53:00.000-04:00

Mr. Peterman's physics classes tend to put together some very well-done, engaging culminating projects to illustrate the many concepts discovered in studying the physics. Teams of students designed life-size catapults designed to hurl water balloons at their beleoved Mr. Peterman. On the last week of school, they carried out their mission, had a great time doing it, and illustrated how great phsyics can be! Kudos to the students who created some phenomenal contraptions and to Mr. Peterman on a job well done!

Freshman Fundraiser a Success

2010-06-29T14:46:00.000-04:00

During the last week of school, as a service project for the freshman class in the form of a fundraiser, freshman designed a contest in which students donated money for a worthy charity. The goal was to pay to see how many strips of duct tape it would take to tape two of their teachers to the wall in the cafeteria. Miss Jennifer Beck and Mr. Kirk Bower were the selections of choice among the students. After multiple donations, in the end Mr. Bower received the most donations and hence the most strips of tape. Unfortunately, there was quite enough tape to keep him plastered to the wall! In any event, congrats to the ninth graders, their advisors, and to Miss Beck and Mr. Bower for being such good sports in the pursuit of a worthwhile cause!

Yearbook Assembly

2010-06-29T14:31:00.000-04:00

During the last week of the school year, LTHS holds a yearbook assembly prior to handing out of yearbooks to students. A faculty member is nominated and then seelcted in which to have the given year's yearbook dedicated. This year's recipient was Mrs. Marcella Hepfer, who, after 36 years of teaching, will be retiring. Congratulations to Mrs. Hepfer and her family on this special and well-deserved recognition!

Lady Lancer Track Headed to States

2010-05-26T22:34:00.000-04:00

Best of luck to four young women who qualified well at the District 4 track and field meet this past Saturday at Athens. Sami Lane, Beth Braunegg, Paige Klingerman, and Lindsey Hepburn were part of the team that finished third out of 28 AA teams to earn the right to compete at states in a very competitive field. What a tremendous showing for a sport that hasn't existed at Loyalsock for 24 years! Good luck at Shippensburg ladies!

Youth Leadership Lycoming 2010

2010-05-26T22:17:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to three of our students for participating in the Youth Leadership Lycoming program - a program that recognizes and seeks to develop quality youth leadership within our communities. Stephanie L., Robin V., and Jadan M. were Loyalsock's representatives. A recent graduation from the program occurred recently in which these three young people were recognized. Congratulations to them and their parents on particpating in such a worthwhile experience!

Loyalsock Teachers Retire

2010-05-25T23:22:00.003-04:00

What is clearly a mammoth task is trying to replace the legacy left by a school's teachers who have chosen to retire from the profession of teaching. Last Thursday, all Loyalsock teachers who have planned on retiring this school year were honored for their many years of service at a retirement dinner held at the Williamsport Country Club. Mr. David Matter, Mr. Paul Barrett, Mrs. Marcella Hepfer, and Mrs. Marilyn Kidd join the ranks of many great teachers who have taught countless Loyalsock students. Together, these four teachers have a combined 100+ years of service. Other teachers from the middle school and Schick elementary were also honored. Please watch this brief video in recognition of the LTHS teachers. While Loyalsock may be able replace them physically, we will greatly miss the large contributions they have made to our school and community. Best of luck to them in their retirements – we will truly miss them!

Lancer Swimmers Recognized at Annual Swimming Banquet

2010-05-12T12:05:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, May 2, our swimmers that co-op with Williamsport Area HS were recognized for their efforts and performance this past year. Congratulations to the following students on an outstanding year and representing Loyalsock in great fashion!

Men's Scholar Athlete : Evan N.
Men's Coach's Award: Brian N.
Women's Coach's Award: Emily T.

Season Highlights include:

Handed Danville Girls their first loss in over 6 years
Both teams won district titles
Sent 12 swimmers to states

Graduating senior swimmers include: Reid H., Emily T., Molly S., Evan N.

Mock Crash 2010

2010-05-11T22:49:00.001-04:00

Each year, Lycoming County's Coroner's Office, along with local law enforcement and EMS, facilitates a "mock crash" for our county schools around prom and graduation time. The event includes staging an accident with student actors, involving law enforcement and EMS, using Geisinger Health System's Life Flight to actually carry one of our students off in a helicopter ride, and having Charles Kiessling, the County Coroner, address the entire student body. The message is clear to all students, specifically to those who drive: don't drink and drive, don't drink period because a life could be taken. All students in attendance appeared to be very engaged in this very real mock experience. Special thanks to Mr. Kiessling, our Loyalsock emergency staff, and the PA State Police on their assistance, and to Mrs. Stanzione and her SADD students for facilitating such an eye-opening experience for our students. You can view more photos of the assembly by clicking here.

Lancer Baseball Team Wins PHAC Championship Again

2010-05-11T21:59:00.000-04:00

For the second straight year, our Lancer baseball team has captured the Heartland League's Division II championship. Division II is loaded with much talent, and our young men once again demonstrated why they are among District 4 and the state's best. Congratulations to our young men and their coaching staff on a very successful year, with the post-season yet to come. Their next test comes this weekend as they face Williamsport in the area's Backyard Brawl at Bowman field on Saturday, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Mike H. - District 4 AA Boys' Singles Tennis Champ!

2010-05-11T21:43:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to one of our senior boys' tennis players, Mike H., on securing yet another Distirct 4 title for Loyalsock and himself. He is District 4's best singles player in AA tennis. Congrats to Mike, his family and his coach on representing his school in amazing fashion, and best of luck as he prepares for States!

Lady Lancer Softball in Driver's Seat

2010-05-11T21:28:00.000-04:00

Like our other spring sports' teams, our Lady Lancer Softball team demonstrated much success as they look to the post season. In this past weekend's tournament at Williamsport, our young ladies showed that they have what it takes to take their play to an even higher level as they enter district and state play. The girls beat AAAA State College 10-0, and then defeated last year's District 4 AAA champ, Milton. Read more their success here, and we encourage you to follow the softball team as the post season takes shape! Congrats ladies!

Teacher Appreciation Week

2010-05-10T08:33:00.000-04:00

Last week was national Teacher Appreciation Week. It goes without saying, really, that without our dedicated teachers and staff that students would not do as well as they do. In many respects, our teachers define our students in terms of preparing them for their post-secondary endeavors. We are thankful for those in our classrooms! Part of the week's recognition inlcluded offering a breakfast on Monday of last week, enjoyed by school staff, inlcuding Miss Beck, and an outstanding luncheon provided by several of our families on Friday, who donated their time in preparing a buffet of amazing food for our faculty and staff. Special thanks for the luncheon are extended to Mrs. Sandy Person, Mrs. Stacey Anderson, Mrs. Julie Schaible, Mrs. Theresa Moff, and Mrs. Sue Surovec. Thanks ladies!

Loyalsock Students Compete at Lycoming County Envirothon

2010-05-04T11:30:00.000-04:00

The Envirothon teams traveled to the Sportman’s Club in Montoursville on April 28th for the Lycoming County Envirothon Competition. The teams met after school to prepare for competition in the areas of aquatics, wildlife, soils, forestry and a current topic which changes from year to year. This year’s current topic was Groundwater. Loyalsock had six teams that competed against teams from Montoursville and Sullivan County. The team of Lizzie H., Tyler B., Bryan E., Alex S., and Adam K. placed 1st in Groundwater, 1st in Soils and 2nd place overall.

Student Recognition Breakfast

2010-05-03T12:19:00.000-04:00

On Friday, April 23, our annual student recognition breakfast was held to recognize students who have made an impact on the faculty and staff in our school. The student recognition breakfast has been a tradition at Loyalsock for more thirty years, begun by former principal, Mr. Al Knecht. While a great many students are very deserving, each faculty and staff member invite two students to the breakfast as a “thank you” for their contributions in class as well as to the school. Our special guests included several members of our school board, our district administration, and our incoming new superintendent of schools, Mr. Robert Grantier. Students and staff were entertained by the outstanding performance of Mr. John Shively, lead singer of the popular band, the J.O.D. band. Congratulations to all students who attended and were recognized!

Lancer Track Team Alive and Well!

2010-05-03T11:30:00.000-04:00

It has been twenty-four (24) years since Loyalsock had a track team. With a solid nucleus of students interested in pursuing a spring sport other than tennis, baseball or softball, record numbers of students have demonstrated interest in track and field. At the beginning of the season, sixty (60) students signed up, and on any given night, 30-50 students are practicing on our track in preparation for the events that the school has been able to schedule. Although a late addition to the conference, Loyalsock was still was able to secure several meets this spring. What’s more, our young men and women have been doing extremely well, with each team winning a match recently (which is quite a feat since not being is existence for twenty-four years). Also, several of our young athletes are competing at a very high level, and our boys and girls placed as a team in the top half of the Bloomsburg Invitational this past weekend. Congrats to our young student athletes who have chosen to participate in track and field. With such a swing in interest, we look forward to what the future holds for track and field at Loyalsock!

One of the Special Things That Happens Around Our School

2010-04-23T14:02:00.000-04:00

We recently became aware of a chilling event that unfortunately occurred in another high school in the state. An AP Biology teacher from the Neshannock Township High School in New Castle, PA experienced a massive heart attack while teaching his AP Bio class and, sadly, passed away. News of this event quickly spread across the state through a variety of sources – one of which being through the contacts of the state CFF (Classrooms for the Future) coordinators/coaches. The dilemma for a specific group of students at Neshannock was that the substitute teacher now responsible for preparing student s for a rigorous AP Bio exam needed a variety of materials, resources, and information in order to help this class do as well as possible when the test is given in May. Through the help of Mrs. Linda LaCoe, Loyalsock’s CFF coordinator/coach, Mrs. Kindra Brelsford, our AP Bio teacher, got in touch with Neshannock’s teacher with a variety of those resources to assist in the teaching of those students who have just lost their teacher. Mrs. Brelsford and Mrs. LaCoe are to be commended for their tremendous efforts in assisting another school with such a burdensome task. The truly eerie part of the story is that Neshannock’s mascot is also the Lancers! In doing so, we, as a school, and Mrs. Brelsford, as one of our teachers, again showed people from another part of the state how classy our people are in Loyalsock – the students and faculty alike! Thanks, Mrs. Brelsford and Mrs. LaCoe, for the contributions you have made to other students in this very unique and special experience as well as to our students each and every day.

Baseball Team Currently Ranked #1 in State

2010-04-23T11:21:00.000-04:00

Despite a tough loss to a very good Jersey Shore team last evening, our Lancer baseball team is off to a fantastic start. Currently, the baseball team is ranked #1 in the state AA, and ranked #7 among all high school baseball teams in Pennsylvania by Maxpreps. Congrats to Coach Jeremy Eck and our players on performing at such a high level once again. We encourage you to come to a game and see a classy group of young men play some great baseball.

Cross-Age Teaching Program Spotlight!

2010-04-23T09:27:00.000-04:00

For approximately twenty-five (25) years, Mr. Stanzione, one of our school counselors, has facilitated a program that looks to work with young people in middle school to understand the dangers, effects, and recent research on drug and alcohol trends among our youth. The Cross-Age Teaching program at Loyalsock is designed to make an impact with sixth grade students regarding the pressures experienced by most young people in our society today. High school students are trained for several days and then develop their own curriculum that is designed with various activities to get to know and work with students at the middle school level. It is an extremely beneficial program that we can only hope grows and continues making a difference with young people who will soon enter our high school. Special thanks and congratulations are extended to Mrs. Stanzione on her tremendous efforts and to the young people, both past and present, who have been Cross-Age teachers. Together, we can continue to make an impact with young people in making them all aware of the dangers and effects of drugs and alcohol on the youth of today.

New Concession Stand for Baseball Field

2010-04-23T09:14:00.001-04:00

Special thanks are extended to the folks from the Lycoming County Career and Technology Center for the design and building of our new concession stand, located next to our baseball field. Students from LycoCTC, the building construction instructor, and our Loyalsock maintenance crew have worked hand in hand in putting this welcome addition together for us. If you get a chance, you are welcome to attend a game and grab a hotdog from our new concession stand!

'Sock Baseball and Softball Off to Strong Start

2010-04-12T09:57:00.001-04:00

If you haven't had a chance, you ought to get out and check out a game. Our baseball and softball teams are performing at a high level. The weather had been great, and our baseball team is off to 4-0 start, after defeating Lewisburg 22-1 this past Friday. Likewise, the girls' softball team looks strong, despite being currently 3-2. A few key hits separate them from having been undefeated. You can read more about our teams by clicking here (scroll down...).

Sound of Music to be Performed

2010-04-12T09:47:00.000-04:00

One of the many things many people remember about high school is the quality of your school's spring musical. Loyalsock's performance of The Sound of Music will no doubt rank right up there as students perform it this coming weekend, April 15-17. The cast is amazing, and the set is very well done. We encourage you to come on out and take in what is likely to be a great performance! You can order on-line by clicking here.

Foiled!

2010-04-09T09:16:00.009-04:00

Ms. Stiber's class foils the concept of foils - a literary term for a character whose personality and attitude is opposite the personality and attitude of another character. Because of this contrast, Ms. Stiber says the personality of the other character stand out. Great job folks!

Senior Wrestler Alec E. and Coaches Recognized

2010-04-01T09:33:00.000-04:00

At last evening's School Board meeting, senior Alec E. and Coach Ben Hepburn and assistant coaches Werner and Bower were recognized by the Board on the recent outstanding finish by Alec at the State championships in Hershey. Alec was the lone wrestler this year from 'Sock to make it through districts and regionals. Coach Hepburn gave a brief historical account of the outstanding wrestling accomplishments over the past many years that have placed Loyalsock and District 4 wrestling on the state and national map. Congrats to Alec, his parents, and our wrestling coaches on their success and continued efforts on behalf of our students who participate in wrestling!

All-District Instrumental Concert a Hit!

2010-03-31T09:14:00.000-04:00

For a relatively small school district, we should be very proud of our instrumental musicians in each of our three buildings! What an impressive concert last evening, performed by students who play an instrument in grades 4-12. Over 250 students took a part in a multi-band finale of some of Michael Jackson's finest pieces. Truly, all groups performed extremely well - a credit to our five music educators within our district. Kudos to our teachers and parents for understanding the distinct need for music and art in our schools, along with all the other great things kids can experience at Loyalsock. And, a big congrats to our young people who put on a legitimately fine show for a packed house! Music is indeed alive and well in our schools at Loyalsock!

Congrats OM Teams!

2010-03-16T22:40:00.000-04:00

Loyalsock Odyssey of the Mind teams performed with outstanding results on Saturday at the Regional Competition at Mansfield University. Loyalsock has five teams advancing to the State Tournament. Our High School team of Discovered Treasures is going to States. This team consists of high school and middle school students. High School members are Samantha Via and Jackie Schaefer. Our Return to the Gift of Flight team received a Third Place trophy with team members Keegan Scott, Julie Applegate, Chaz Bunce, Megan Young and Rocco Lupo. The Food Court team placed fourth in a very stiff competition. Those team members are Meghan Cunningham, Noah Caldwell, Margaret Falco, Sami Scott, Alana Miles, Micaela Weber and Jeremiah Wilson. Congratulations to all the teams! Loyalsock has more teams advancing to the State Tournament than any other school district in our region. You can see our Regional winners at the State Tournament on April 10 at the Williamsport Area High School.

Lady Lancer Basketball Wins Again!

2010-03-13T10:23:00.000-05:00

Congrats are in order for our Lady Lancer basketball team, who successfully defeated Mid Valley last evening at Shikellamy HS by a score of 49-43. They now face a District 3 team early next week as they seek their way to the quarter finals in PIAA. Best of luck to our girls and Coaches Wright and Tripoli as they prepare to go deeper into states!

Senior Wrestler Alec E. Headed to States!

2010-03-10T10:14:00.003-05:00

Senior Alec E. sucessfully made it through regionals this past weekend and will be headed to Hershey for the PIAA state wrestling championships! Congratulations to him and his family on his reaching states, and we wish him well! He follows a long line of Lancer wrestlers who historically wrestle hard and make it to states each year. Thanks to a host of outstanding wrestling coaches, we are hopeful that Alec can medal at his weight class and bring home more victories!

Lady Lancer Basketball - District 4 Champs!

2010-03-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

For the third time in five years, our girls' basketball team claimed another District title while thumping Towanda, 61-39 at Mifflinburg High School. Clearly, the girls had a great time cutting the net during the close of the boys' game. Now, they will face District 2 Mid Valley High School this coming friday at Shikellamy High School. Congratulations to first-year head coach Demarr Wright and the girls on another fantastic season. Check out this brief video of the girls' championship win!

Abbie M. - Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber Student of the Year

2010-03-07T22:11:00.001-05:00

Last Thursday evening, senior Abbie M. was recognized by the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Senior of the Year during its annual Education Celebration. Abbie was one of nine seniors from Lycoming county high schools who were nominated by their schools. Each student experienced a rigorous application and interview process in which the outstanding senior would be selected. Along with her family and a host of Loyalsock educators, Abbie’s name was read, elating all in attendance. Mr. Richard Miller, Loyalsock Twp. Middle School math teacher, was also recognized as Loyalsock’s Outstanding Educator this year. You can read more about this awesome achievement that Abbie successfully attained. Congratulations to Abbie and her parents on this yet another fine recognition for one of Loyalsock’s students!

Daniel D. - February Student of the Month

2010-03-07T21:56:00.001-05:00

Daniel D. has been nominated as the February Student of the Month by Loyalsock’s math department. Dan has consistently been on the regular and high honor roll throughout high school. His favorite subjects are math and science, including calculus, biology, and physics. He has been active in the ski club for four years and a member of the marching band for four years. He is currently vice president of the Lancer Marching Band. Dan also was a member of the tennis team for two years. Dan plans on majoring in pre-med at a four-year university. In the community Dan has been a member of the Williamsport Regional Association of Pilots for the past three years. He is an avid cyclist and has been a member of the Susquehanna Valley Velo Club for the past two years. In his spare time, Dan enjoys working out, cycling, and building a high performance, single engine aircraft with his father which is nearing completion. Congratulations to Dan and his family on being recognized as Loyalsock’s Student of the Month!

TubeSOCK goes Live!

2010-02-22T10:13:00.003-05:00

Under the supervision of Mr. Lorson, the school's multimedia class each semester produces the morning video announcements. Groups of students takes turns anchoring, editing, directing, and producing the morning announcements. While production of the announcements each day is just one part of all that students learn in this course, students definitely are engaged and have a great time learning about some very cool 21st century skills. Kudos go to Mr. Lorson for making this happen and to our students for being a class act in their productions!

Senior Antoine Ellison-Love Reaches Milestone

2010-02-22T09:16:00.000-05:00

At last week’s game against Midd-West, senior Antoine Ellison-Love reached a milestone by earning his 1000th career point while wearing a Lancer jersey. Naturally, fans and his proud mother were ecstatic on his accomplishment! Antoine is a member of and point guard on our Lancer boys’ basketball team that looks to eclipse that of last year’s team. Antoine plans on attending a four-year university and hopefully play basketball at the college level. Congrats to him and his family on an outstanding four years and for reaching his 1000th career point recently!

Welcome Mr. Kaplan!

2010-02-22T09:10:00.000-05:00

The retirement of Mr. Paul Barrett created an opportunity for us to take a look at a variety of folks for an art teacher. Mr. Gerald Kaplan, a native of Montoursville and graduate of MAHS, was the successful candidate. Mr. Kaplan has several years experience teaching high school art at Hilton Head High School, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Mr. Kaplan brings with him a broad range of mediums with which he has experience, including drawing and painting, digital photography, and ceramics. While teaching at Hilton Head, Mr. Kaplan's teaching responsibilities were strictly geared toward ceramics. Welcome to Mr. Kaplan!

Lancer Swimmers Do Well with Williamsport

2010-02-17T07:22:00.000-05:00

Loyalsock has many talented swimmers, but they sometimes go unrecognized since they swim for Williamsport in a co-op that has been going on for 4 years. The small addition of 11 swimmers is actually a huge asset to the Millionaire swim team. This season has been extremely successful for both boys and girls. The boys are currently undefeated in the conference, and the girls ended Danville's winning streak. Jacob Mackey, Evan Nardone, Matt Runtas, and Williamsport's Trevor Harris broke Shamokin's pool record for the 200 medley relay. Loyalsock swimmers are also going to be a big part of the team at districts, which will be held in Wilkes Barre on March 6 and 7. The Millionaires have high hopes this year, including sending some swimmers to states. Evan Nardone, Bryan Nardone, and Molly Serfass will all be swimming the distance events, which are the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. Matt Runtas is Loyalsock's and Williamsport's best sprinter, which he hopes to prove by beating the team record of 22.5 in the 50 freestyle. Reid and Ryan Hartzell, Catherine Campana, Chris Stiefield, Alex Isaacson, and Emily Trautwein will each be swimming various individual events with the hopes of dropping time and earning points for the boys' and girls' teams.

David Skorinko - January Student of the Month

2010-02-15T12:13:00.001-05:00

Senior David Skorinko, son of David and Darine Skorinko, has been nominated by our Arts department as the January student of the month. While his favorite subject is math, David is greatly influenced by art. He has been on the honor roll consistently through high school and is looking forward to an eventual degree in architecture. David's plan is to attend the Pennsylvania College of Technology and then pursue a master's degree at Penn State University. In his leisure time, David enjoys BMXing and playing the drums. Congratulations to David as the January student of the month!

Miss Warren Receives Recognition

2010-02-07T23:33:00.001-05:00

Last week, Miss Jan Warren was surprised at our monthly faculty meeting. Mr. Al Cunningham, former Superintendent of the Montoursville Area School Distirct and board member of the Pennsylvania Council on the Social Studies (PCSS), presented Miss Warren with an award that recognizes her time while president of the PCSS over the past several years. Congratulations to Miss Warren on her very deserving recongition!

Mr. Paul Barrett Retires

2010-02-07T23:29:00.000-05:00

At the conclusion of the first semester, Mr. Barrett decided to retire after more than 35 years of teaching at Loyalsock Township High School. Mr. Barrett has worked as an employee at Loyalsock under the direction of multiple principals and superintendents, and has taught thousands of young people. Many of his students earned various awards for their art and photography. Mr. Barrett plans on working at Penn College part time and opening his own photography business. Best wishes to Mr. Barrett, and best of luck to him in his new endeavors. We are proud to have had him as a member of the Loyalsock faculty and staff!

Lady Lancer Soccer Team Honored at State Capitol & School Board Meeting

2010-02-07T23:23:00.000-05:00

Last week, our state champion girls' soccer team was honored at the Capitol in Harrisburg by the Pennsylvania Senate and at our recent school board meeting for their accomplishments this season. Hosted by Senator Gene Yaw, the girls took in the sights of the Capitol and its beautiful renovations as well as the history of how state government works. Later in the week, our school board honored our ladies by providing each with a certificate. Congrats to each of our girls and their coaches on a very unique and fulfilling season!

New Tardiness Procedure

2010-01-26T14:36:00.001-05:00

Students and parents,

Each staff and faculty member at LTHS strives to educate and prepare our students for the rigors of the 21st Century. One such “work-ready” concern regards our student’s proficiency with time management and the concept of punctuality. As such, students who demonstrate a need to improve their punctuality by arriving tardy to school without a valid excuse will be assigned Same Day Detention. This detention is held in the Library from 3:00 to 3:15 daily. Please note that this is in addition to the regular school consequences of After School Detention (3:00-4:00), Morning and Extended Saturday Schools and Out of School Suspension. An administrator will make contact with a parent/guardian to ensure transportation arrangements are made for your student.

Thank you for your attention regarding this matter.

Lady Lancer Basketball Gets Huge Win

2010-01-19T07:25:00.000-05:00

In front of a packed house, our Lady Lancer basketball team defeated South Williamsport for a second time this season. South has some great athletes, but our young ladies definitely came to play and earned a hard fought victory. Congrats to our girls and Coach Wright on a great win!

Girls' Soccer Team Recognized by County Commissioners

2010-01-18T22:31:00.000-05:00

Last week, our state champion girls' soccer team was recognized by the Lycoming County Commissioners. Senator Gene Yaw was also in attendance, and each Commissioner and Senator Yaw offered their comments to all in attendance. Congrats again to our young ladies and coaches as the accolades continue. Our young ladies will also be honored at an upcoming school board meeting as well as on the floor of the Pennsylvania Senate in Harrisburg.