Shamokin Area High School

Alumni Association Minutes

137^th Annual Reunion

Saturday May 29^th 2021 - Masser’s Banquet Hall - Paxinos PA - 5:45pm

 

Opening invocation was given by Rev. Alfred J. Bashore.

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.  Irvin Berlin’s song “GOD BLESS AMERICA’ was sung by all attending with Mary Anne Brennan Stump ’00 as the accompanist.

 

Amy Henninger Rachu ’83 – President of the Alumni Association - provided the banquet introductions for the Business meeting.  A delicious meal was provided by Masser’s Catering.  After dessert, the business meeting started with a silent prayer in memory of deceased members.

 

The Secretary’s Report is located in the newsletter.   With a motion by Charles Wayne ’77 and seconded by Glenn Henninger ’47, the report was approved as printed.  All were in favor.

 

The Treasurer’s Report is lin the April 2021 newsletter.  With a motion by John Klinger ’68 and seconded by Rob Eisinger ’74, the report was approved as printed and will be put on file for audit.  All were in favor.

 

President Amy Henninger Rachu ’83 presented the Class of 2021 to those attending the banquet, welcoming them into the Alumni Association.  Olivia Haupt – Senior Class President, presented the 2021 class pennant to the Association.

 

Entertainment for 119 alumni, seniors, parents and friends was presented by cast members from the 2021 Musical “GODSPELL” under the direction of Mary Anne Brennan Stump ’00.  They sang two musical selections: “Beautiful City” and “Day by Day”.

 

Amy Henninger Rachu ’83 helped coordinate the prize drawing activities and was assisted by a few seniors for gift delivery.

 

Erik Anderson ’97, Vice-President recognized the various anniversary classes and where applicable, their contributions to the Education and General Funds:

 

1946 Class -  75 years - no members from the Diamond Anniversary Class were able to attend.

1951 Class – 70 years - no members were able to attend.

1956 Class – 65 years - no members were able to attend.

1961 Class – 60 years - no members were able to attend.

1966 Class – 55 years - no members were able to attend.

1971 Class – 50 years - no members from the Golden Anniversary Class were able to attend.

1976 Class – 45 years - no members were able to attend.

1981 Class – 40 years - no members were able to attend.

1986 Class – 35 years - 1 member attended.

1991 Class – 30 years - 1 member attended.

1996 Class – 25 years - 2 members attended from the Silver Anniversary Class.

2001 Class – 20 years - no members were able to attend.

2006 Class – 15 years - no members were able to attend.

2011 Class – 10 years - no members were able to attend.

2016 Class – 5 years - no members were able to attend.

 

Additional Class Donations:

Erik Anderson ’97 accepted donations from the Class of 1955 - $850 to the Educational Fund.

 

Amy Henninger Rachu ’83 asked to honor any “Senior” Alumni attending - Glenn Henninger, Class of 1947.

 

The distance award was presented by John Clutcher ’74 to Donna Reed from Geneva Switzerland.  She was a guest of her mother – Peg Jones Zerbe, Class of 1948.

 

Matt Weller ’91 - Educational Fund President, and Sam Weaver - President of CTHS Alumni Association, presented the Alumni Scholarship awards.  These are awards for four years.

 

Total Scholarship payout, when extended for four years equals $213,600.

 

Seven awards are from Coal Township Alumni Association (CT) while nine are from Shamokin Area High School Alumni Association (SA).  Congratulations were extended to all.  Recipient’s yearly awards amount, college choice, and their major emphasis are as follows:

 

1^st - Rileigh Nowroski (SA)--$5,000.  University of Pittsburg, Applied Mathematics.

2^nd - Jadyn Slovick (SA)--$4,500.  Gap Year/Hofstra University.

3^rd - Emma Zimmerman (SA)--$4,200.  Cedar Crest College, Psychology.

4^th - Aaron Shicora (SA)--$4,000.  Lock Haven University, Computer Science.

5^th - Ian Paul (SA)--$4,000.  Lebanon Valley College, Actuarial Science.

6^th - Jarret Miller (SA)--$3,000.  Millersville University, Meteorology (Emergency Mgt.).

7^th - Blake Harris (CT)--$3,500.  Susquehanna University, Music Education.

8^th - Jaden Kodack (SA)--$3,500.  Lock Haven University, Computer Science.

9^th - Alexis Steenburg (CT)--$3,200.  California University of PA, English.

10^th - Hunter Bates (CT)--$3,000.  Lebanon Valley College, Biology (Pre-med focus).

11^th- Mark Kiracofe (SA)--$3,000.  Lock Haven University, Social (Studies) Work.

12^th - Destiny Smith (CT)--$2,500.  Wilkes University, Nursing.

13^th - Zigmund Moroski (CT)--$2,500.  Undecided.

14^th - Rosalind Kane (SA)--$2,500.  Penn State University, Aerospace Engineering.

15^th - Ashlea Oakum (CT)--$2,500.  Susquehanna University, Earth Science.

16^th - Gabrielle Kurtz (CT)--$2,500.  University of Scranton, Pre-med Biochemistry.

 

High School Principal Todd Hockenbrock ’97 gave a report on SAHS and included information on the following topics:  Academics, Athletics, Music and Art.

 

Good evening and welcome to everyone here today.  First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank and commend the Alumni Association for your efforts and generosity.  Once again, our students are able to take advantage of more and more opportunities provided through the Alumni Association.  And secondly, I would like to share with you some of the many successes that our school and students have achieved during this past school year.  And also tell you about some of the different things occurring in our school as well. 

As we are all fully aware our staff and students were faced with an enormous undertaking to being this school year.  2 Cafeterias one being in the gym, Directional arrows in hallways, masks, mask breaks, google classroom, virtual days, online learning, no water fountains, 5 minute bells to keep traffic to a minimum in the halls, social distanced seating everywhere, no large assemblies, shortened sports seasons, musical with masks on, 4 nights of performing the musical!!, live classrooms, teaching to live students and virtual students simultaneously, no clubs, constant hand sanitizing, delayed or all virtual college courses and tours, quarantines, and that is just off the top of my head!  Our students and staff are simply amazing! 

No one thought we would start on time or make it more than a few days yet here we are.  Everyone and I mean everyone that helped to keep the school going should be commended for the efforts to provide education to our students this year.  If you asked our staff if they would do it again the answer would be yes because seeing you all here now together for the first time in a year and a half e talking and laughing and knowing these graduates will get diplomas on time makes it all worthwhile.  So all of these items I am about to read did not just take place under a normal school year.  These students did not just get through the school days, they came in and took every opportunity they could to continue to succeed.

These kids are going to be successful in life!!!  They are winners and they are determined to never let anything stop them.  Even a worldwide pandemic!!!!  Think about that as I begin to read all of these accomplishments and areas of improvement our staff and students have made this past year.

Education

Curriculum

--ECRI- K-2  Literacy program was introduced and paid for with a grant.

 

--Seven Mind sets- Is a program that Mrs. Glosek our special education supervisor brought to the district three years ago.  It provides lessons and inspiration items to promote a healthy positive mindset for our students and staff.

 

--Virtual learning- 1:1 computers for our student body grades k-12.

Our staff will continue to provide virtual lessons via google classroom. 

 

--Closing the gap-  tutoring programs were implemented

 

--Several Presenters were brought in to support emotional learning issues

 

Science

-- Over the past two years the Science Department is continuing to strive to improve student success in the classroom, on standardized tests (Keystone exams & PSSA) and Advanced Placement Exams (AP Exams).  The following list of activities has help enhance the education in the field of Science:

1. In past years our science students have done very well in local and state science competitions. Again in 2019-20 we had several students prepare for these same science competitions, Unfortunately due to the pandemic they never had the chance to participate or compete.  We look forward to returning to competition in the near future.
2. With school closed due to the pandemic and education limited in the 2019-2020 school year, the Science AP classes of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics continued their success with 9 students passing the AP exam and earning college credits. This year’s AP classes are showing promise as we have had an increase in enrollment during the 2020-2021 school year.
3. In 2019 – 2020 we had a group of students participate in the PennDOT Innovation Competition were the students developed and presented ways for PennDOT to keep Pennsylvania highways clean from litter.
4. This year we had over 200 students participate in the PPl energy program. The students and his/her family were given cost saving items to use at home in an effort to educated the public about energy use and conservation.
5. Unfortunately, the pandemic has made it impossible to do after school clubs, field trips, and other activities that take place during a normal year. However, next year the Science Department looks forward to participating in activities such as the Science Iditarod Competition,  having an active greenhouse, taking educational field trips to advance student learning and to explore scientific careers, and partake in hands-on activities that make science fun and exciting.

 

 

Special Education

 

--If you haven’t seen it and would like to make sure to call and schedule a time!  We have our very own café now.  It has been fully functional for the past three years.  The Purple Perk gives our special education students unpaid work experiences, in a fully functional café!

 

--Writing Revolution Program has been added to help our special education students in English and Language arts this year also.

 

Practical Arts and Business

 

--Food Prep – Thanksgiving Dinner ~ students made recipe books for families,

 

--Gingerbread House Competition ~ students received trophies,

 

--Cinco de Mayo, Studied countries of the world, incorporated cultural and ethnic foods into curriculum, Students analyzed food groups and kept food journals while making adjustments to live a healthier lifestyle.

 

--Parenting – Reality Works Babies ~ Grades have improved,

 

 

--Empathy Belly ~ students were able to experience the feeling of pregnancy, Visits to Tiny Tech to work with the children has been a success,

--Drug and Alcohol Unit has been a success ~ with students positively affected

 

--Life Management – New Financial Literacy Program EverFi ~ students earned certificates of completion and made the News-Item,

 

--Guest Speaker ~ Discussed Banks vs. Credit Unions and positives of both

 

--Manufacturing- Students are utilizing the “new to the classroom”    --3D printers in order to print their own designs.

 

--Electronics- Students learned to use soldering equipment in order to build physical circuits and create working electrical devices. This year, students soldered together individual electronic components to create their own working alarm clocks.

 

History

 

--The stock market teams competed again this year and we were just notified they placed 3^rd in the state.

--We have added two new courses AP History and History Seminar

 

 

English and Foreign Language

Middle school:

 

--Addition of the applied courses for the upcoming school year to help with any learning loss due to the pandemic.

 

High school:

 

--Rebranding of the high school newspaper - it's gone back to its original name, The Signal, and is published online several times a year.

 

--Addition of English honors courses in ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades.

 

Foreign language:

 

--Had the largest number of students ever moving into our highest-level foreign language courses.  Almost double what last year’s numbers were.

 

Math

--Had 8 out of 8 pass the AP Calculus AB or BC

Frist time ever.

 

--They will be adding 2 new courses to help bridge the learning gap from covid.  Applied math 7 and 8.

 

 

The Arts

 

--Our students and staff successfully put together our annual musical, despite limitations.  "Godspell" went very well, and the opportunity to livestream performances was also successful. This could be a useful option in the future, since it allowed out-of-town family members to see the show.

 

--They were still able to do performances that were live-recorded for band, orchestra, and chorus, rather than virtual ensembles where the students had to individually record themselves to be edited together.  A live performance in front of an audience is truly the best, but live recordings together allowed the students to have a more musical experience than virtual ensembles would have.

 

 

 

--Many students qualified for PMEA events this year –

9 for district band,

5 for district chorus, and

2 for district orchestra. 

Two students went on to qualify for the 2021 PMEA All State Chorus.

 

In 2020 and 2021, we had students qualify for PMEA District jazz band and vocal jazz for the first time in several years (2 students for band and 1 vocal jazz in 2020; 3 students for vocal jazz in 2021)

 

 

Clubs

--Due to COVID our clubs were shut down this year.  However, we still had national honor society.

 

--National Honor Society has 72 members completing a minimum of 8 school service hours and 8 community service hours to aid and improve our community and district.

 

--National Junior Honor Society has 60 members.

 

Athletics

Football

District 4 runner ups

4 – first team all conference players

 

Girls and boys Soccer

2 – for each team first team all conference players

 

Volleyball

District 2/4 qualifiers

News-item player of the year

 

Boys Basketball

District 4 qualifiers

 

Girls Basketball

District 4 runner ups

1 – first team all conference

Swimming

1 state qualifier

 

Softball

Plays next week for a shot at being district champions

 

Track and field

400 meter district champion

200 meter district runner up

4x400 district champions

 

General

--Discipline numbers are down over 50%

 

--We implemented Indian Academy where over 100 students

participated in after school tutoring to close the learning lost.

 

--We will be running Indian Camp which is our version of summer school.

 

--Students are working with Bucknell University students to build a solar powered charging station bench. 

 

--Every student was provided with a laptop that they will used their entire time at Shamokin Area

Notes –

• Baccaluareate Service was on this past Thursday, as always our students worked closely with pasture Fisher to put on an amazing ceremony. 

 

• Senior Scholastic Awards Program was held this past Wednesday, and unfortunately, we did not yet have this banquette so the top alumni test students were not announced.  However, Amy did a great job with all the other scholarships the association and its members provided.  Over 60 students were awarded scholarships and awards.  Our top 5 was also revealed and I am going to announce them now if you would please stand.

Top 5 of the class of 2021

1. Olivia Haupt
2. Rosalind Kane
3. Rileigh Nowroski
4. Hayden Kramer
5. Gabrielle Kurtz

 

• Commencement Exercises will be held Tuesday, June 1^st at 6:30in auditorium. These are just some of the many, many accomplishments that have occurred this past year, but it gives you an idea of just how successful our school and students have been and shows that we are continuing to move forward.  Even when faced with an almost impossible task like having school during a pandemic!

So once again, thank you for everything you do and everything you provide.  It is a privilege to work with you and we are very fortunate to have such a great Alumni Association.  The district greatly appreciates it and our kids are the ones who are reaping the benefits.  Thank you, enjoy the evening and the rest of your weekend.

The following members are approved to serve 5-year terms on the Education (Scholarship

Committee) from 2021-2026:

Mary Anne Pitorak Miller ‘74

Tammy Linton Glowatski ‘87

Marlena C. Acedo Vasquez (Marty) Sinopoli ‘95

Robert Mattis ’68 made the motion to accept and John Klinger ’68 seconded the motion for the Education Fund Committee additions. All were in favor.

 

John Klinger ’68 presented the following Alumni Association officers for ratification who were nominated by the Executive Committee for 2021 – 2022:

PRESIDENT:                       Erik Anderson ‘97

VICE-PRESIDENT:             Mary Anne Brennan Stump ‘00

SECRETARY:                       Jamie A. Hoffman Bordell ‘75

TREASURER:                       Gregory Dwulet ‘68

REGISTRAR/HISTORIAN:  Jeffrey Clutcher ‘78

 

Amy Henninger Rachau ’83 made a motion, seconded by John Klinger ’68 to approve the officers.  All were in favor.

 

Outgoing Alumni President Amy Henninger Rachau ’83 introduced the new officers and thanked the many committees and members for their help this past year.  She also encouraged all alumni to become active with the association by attending meetings which are held 3 times year fall, winter and spring.  Check the website for details.

https://www.indians.k12.pa.us/alumni.

Giving your time to serve on committee and financially supporting the General and Education funds is appreciated.

 

The Senior Class led the Alumni Association in singing of the Alma Mater.  The Alma Mater was accompanied by Mary Anne Brennan Stump ’00.

 

AFTER GLOW:  Trivia Game was held.  Erik Anderson ’97 was the advisor for this event and Rob Ensinger ’74 was the Master of Ceremonies.  There were many alumni, seniors and parents participating.  Prizes were given.

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

Jamie A. Hoffman Bordell ‘75

Secretary