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Showing posts from September, 2015

Dreary weather dampens final Girls' Tennis match, L-S wins nonetheless

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Photo by Maya Pieters The match today began with a dreary start; everyone had expected the match to be postponed due to the on and off rain showers. The athletic director, Ms. Lippy, unfortunately declared that the match could not be postponed since leagues begin on Monday. Reluctantly, the girls wrapped up in their rain gear to play their last tennis match. All the senior players being recognized before the match for senior night, many of the parents walked around the courts in the rain picking up leaves for the impending matches. The match instantly began with a win for a doubles team; the Northern Lebanon team only had five girls, and thus had to forfeit one doubles match. The number one doubles of the Capoferri sisters was a slippery slope to the victory; Taylor continuously slipped on the wet courts as she played. “She cannot afford an injury; leagues are on Monday!” commented Mrs. Rettew. As all the parents and team members anxiously watched the girls slide across the co

A fire alarm can't stop L-S girls' volleyball from beating Ephrata

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The Lady Pioneers strategize before the game After a bizarre night with faulty scoreboards and a fire alarm going off, the Lady Pioneers volleyball team took down Ephrata 3-0 in volleyball. Entering the match, Ephrata had a 4-2 record overall, and a 2-2 record in the season. The Pioneers went into the match with a 5-2 record overall, and a 2-2 record in their league. A 3-0 win usually means that it was a one-sided performance, but this was not the case. Neither team was able to make a substantial lead. The girls in blue were able to score the vital points that took them to the win. Ephrata was able to stay in the fight, but kills from Leah Wieland, Katelyn Reed, and others did enough to stop any potential streaks from the Mountaineers. An evacuation occurred when the fire alarms sounded late in the third set The last set was where a lot of the action occurred, along the bizarre events of the evening. Not long into the set, the scoreboard was experiencing technical difficul

"Palpable tension" notwithstanding, L-S defeats Solanco on senior night in soccer, 6-1

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With rain pouring down -- and doing its best to damper senior night proceedings -- two teams took the field under the lights to play soccer, unsure of how the game would turn out. L-S played Solanco in an exciting and invigorating game on Pioneer Field September 29. Jordan Bishop had a strong performance for L-S The game began with palpable tension felt both on the field and off of the field due to recent events at Friday night’s football game. The game commenced with strong efforts from both teams. L-S began the half with two quick shots, one from Matt O’Neil at the 8 minute mark and one from Alex Knarr at the 10 minute mark. L-S and Solanco fought for the ball, but L-S triumphed, with the first goal scored by Alex Knarr off of a corner kick from Jordan Bishop in the first 12 minutes.  T he teams continued to struggle, and both teams had calls made against them by the referee for pushing and tripping. 6 minutes later, the referee made a call against Solanco inside the g

Miller leads L-S contingent to County Chorus

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Mackenzie Miller For the third consecutive year, Mackenzie Miller is headed to county chorus. A successful audition this Saturday marks the first step in what she hopes will be another journey that since her sophomore year has led her to District and Regional Chorus, and last year advanced to State Chorus as well. For now, though, she is happy to have made the county ensemble. " The county chorus experience is one that I would do again in a heartbeat," she says. "It gives you such an accomplished feeling when you practice and practice the music. You know every eighth rest and syncopated rhythm and then can share that love for music with others. " The blind audition -- based solely on "raw chops" (no looks or theatrical performance) -- consists of singing two songs, one a cappella and one accompanied. Several judges, who never see  (only hear) those auditioning give scores, and those selected participate in the County Chorus festival, which will be

Student email to be available via Gmail

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Students may access their email at the new address starting Wednesday, September 30. Starting Wednesday, September 30, the Lampeter-Strasburg Information Technology department will begin moving student email accounts from the district email server to Google’s. Even though the email accounts will still end in l-spioneers.org , the accounts will be Gmail accounts. The migration may take several days. All student email will be preserved during the migration. Students can access the new student email by simply logging into http://www.gmail.com with their L-S login information. Students will know when the move is complete because they will no longer be able to log in at the old address ( mail.l-spioneers.org/owa ). With this change, students will have the ability to send outside the district and receive email from outside the district. Anyone with questions may contact Mr. Griscom , L-S Director of Technology.

Hey L-S: Solanco is not the enemy; Hey Solanco: Neither is L-S

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Well this escalated quickly. From a rivalry game to some chippiness to a player leaving the field in an ambulance to angry social media rants from both sides, over the past week, what began as a friendly rivalry has been transformed into a divisive, vitriolic, proving ground for who can utter the most demeaning statements about the other side. And that’s not good. Backyard brawls should be fun, not real brawls -- whether physical or verbal. And when fun metamorphoses into spite, it is time we all take a step back and regain some perspective. Ostensibly in response to Friday night's proceedings, students were not permitted to attend the JV game on Monday Photo by Maya Pieters, LSNews.org  Staff Photographer As one who attends school at L-S and attends church in Solanco (spending a large chunk of my life on 272 driving back and forth), I spend a significant portion of my time in both communities. Let me say this: L-S: Solanco is not simply a group of vicious warlord

Girls' Tennis defeats Manheim Central in second-to-last match

As the Girls’ Tennis Team nears the end of the season, the last two matches are key to securing their spot as the number two team in the league line-up. The game began with the threat of impending rain, further postponing matches into the weekdays, which all have a chance of rain. Anxious about the impending rain, the team began their second to last match. The girls’ attention was high, knowing a win must occur in order to maintain their spot in the league. While scanning the dark, grey skies, the girls began their doubles matches with high expectations. The matches began with a strong start with wins on all courts. The number four doubles consisting of Izzy Mazaheri and Julia Breneman quickly won with a score of 8 to 1. The number two doubles was a closer score of 4 to 3, but ending with a score of 8 to 3. After the number three doubles won their match with a score of 8 to 2, the only doubles match continuing was the top doubles of the Capoferri sisters, who overall won with a score o

Marching band "sets sail" at first festival

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This past Saturday our very own blue and white pride of a marching band buccaneered its way to the field of Lancaster Catholic for its first coalition of the 2015 season. The day was a long one -- the color guard began practicing at 10 and the band joined at 12 -- but the beautiful fall sunshine and golden leaves made it more than enjoyable on the high school parking lot. The band set its instruments aside to watch other groups perform Photo courtesy of Mrs. Karren Kurtz L-S performed after a raucous show of Queen’s top hits from the 126-member band of Elizabethtown. But the flaming baton twirler and impressive saxophone soloist were nothing to deter the burgeoning group of 74 from L-S, a size that represents growth of over 10% from last year. By now the stadium lights illuminate the field and the sunset barely holds onto the horizon. The skull and crossbones “commitment to excellence” flag parades its way across the field on the pit cart to let the audience know just what the

A new doctor in town ... assistant principal Benjamin Feeney earns his doctorate

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After successfully defending his dissertation on September 22, Lampeter-Strasburg High School assistant principal Benjamin Feeney was proclaimed a doctor. “I would say that it is still pretty surreal to me when people are coming up to me and saying, ‘Congratulations, Dr. Feeney’ or ‘Hey, Dr. Feeney.’ It’s definitely taken a little getting used to,” the new doctor says. Feeney seems at ease and very excited to be talking about his accomplishment, especially since it is for L-S News. Dr. Feeney remarks about how he loves to read the articles and get a student’s perspective. He wants to get to know the student body, and this is a great way to reach out to them. Being friendly with the students holds great importance to Dr. Feeney. He taught social studies for seven years at Conestoga Valley, so he is used to interacting with teenagers in a kind, yet authoritative way. And the students are noticing. Most high school pupils have nothing but nice words to say about Feeney. W

LS News channel now available on Apple News for iOS users

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Add LS News to your favorites list in the Apple News app. LS News is excited to announce that our content is now a channel on the new Apple News app available to all iOS 9 users. Add LS News to your list of favorite channels today by clicking this link:  LS News . You can also subscribe to the LS News RSS feed here.

Boys' Soccer falls to Elizabethtown 3-0

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The Lampeter-Strasburg Boys’ Soccer Team sadly fell to Elizabethtown in the last 10 minutes of an exciting game Saturday, September 26th. L-S played a strong game, getting off a first shot by Nate Patterson (#9) at the 12 minute mark. Three other shots followed in the first half. Adam Lichty (#3) had two shots. His first shot was made at the 20 minute mark, and his second in the final 2 minutes of the first half. Matt O’Neil (#5) made the fourth shot of the first half at the 35 minute mark. #9 Nate Patterson fights for control of the ball   L-S began the second half with the same steady skill with which they played the first. 15 minutes into the second half, Nate Erb (#10) headed the ball off of a corner kick towards the goal, only to have the E-Town goalie catch the ball. The second half progressed with a steady struggle between the two teams. After E-town scored three times within the final 10 minutes, Alex Knarr (#11) took the final L-S shot in the game within the last 2 minu

Weekend Edition: 'Invasion of Nature' by Sam Welk

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'Invasion of Nature' By Sam Welk Logan runs like a cheetah Mrs. AG yells at everyone This invasion of nature by humanity Things are thrown Tensions rise with the humidity The sun is bright We stop to write Our time outside is over We flee inside to our natural habitat Like a turtle, unevolved for centuries Our nature walk is over Our only nature walk, ever. For more LS Enigma and other Weekend Edition content .

Weekend Edition: 'Nature Poem' by George Grau

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'Nature Poem' By George Grau The trees blow in the wind Oxygen is released recycled to the world, True power lies there, like a garbage truck, Walking how weights do Consequences hit us, Walking we cannot. For more LS Enigma and other Weekend Edition content .

Column: If this is your house, we're content to go home

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A few thousand people descended on Quarryville this evening expecting to see a football game. It was a rematch of two teams who, last year, went down to the wire with L-S ultimately emerging on top in the final seconds. Tonight should have been a chance for Solanco to redeem themselves, and L-S to retain its triumph. Players take a knee before the game Instead, even calling it a "football game" is charitable; simply put, the actions of some marred any chance at sportsmanship. To quickly summarize the game, Solanco rushed its way to a victory -- on the field at least -- and won 42-14. For L-S, Bear Shank joined the 6000-yard club in the second quarter, and thus became one of just seven players to do so in Lancaster-Lebanon League history. Other than that, the game was very much a sideshow. During the third quarter, Darren Metz was injured, and had to be removed from the field, immobilized in a stretcher, and on an ambulance. As the ambulance drove off the field, the S

Determined for Districts: Girls' tennis defeats Pequea Valley, clinches spot at Districts

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On September 24, the new L-S girls’ tennis coach dealt with a tough choice: choosing either his family or his team. The number one player for the opposing team is Coach Josh’s sister, and by knowing her tennis talent, the match seemed more nerve racking than most.  The match against Pequea Valley was another success thanks to all of the singles matches; this match was the first match where all four singles players won their match, thus settling in four wins towards our overall score of 5 to 2. This match displayed the intensity from both teams as they both desperately wanted to win. By winning this match, either team would automatically move onto Districts. Since L-S’s defeat to Donegal this past Friday, Pequea Valley and L-S were tied for the spot to move on. All of this pressure definitely took its toll on both the players on and off the courts; many of the JV players were silenced during the match, which usually never happens. Sarah Capoferri Taylor Capoferri   The

Greased pig contest highlights day two at the Lampeter Fair

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Competitors try to catch the greased pig in the venerable annual contest The greased pig contest was, once again, a huge success. This is unquestionably the most viewed event at the fair; not only were the bleachers constantly packed, but the wooden fence was topped with spectators of all ages. The pig chasers ranged from age 5 to high school, although the age groups become smaller as the night wore on. Particularly favored by the crowd was the age 5 girls’ class, which exemplified that wearing pink does not make you weak. Congratulations to all of the 2015 greased pig contest winners! Earlier in the evening, the Lampeter-Strasburg Pioneer Marching Band performed its field show "Setting Sail", as well as a selection of stand music tunes while director Mr. Larry Royer shamelessly promoted the band burgers available for purchase. With day two in the books, just one more day of cows and community remains. Check out the Picasa Album of this evening's festivities ,

Scintillating Scandinavian Studies at L-S

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Tastefully styled from head to toe (and often in a deep, reddish shade of burgundy), this trendy newcomer has recently hit the halls of L-S High School. She hails from the Scandinavian province of Norway and is our third and penultimate featured foreign exchange student for the 2015-2016 school year. Mette Smaland joins the L-S community from Norway this year Mette Smaland is her name, the first pronounced like the beginning of the word “metaphor,” but with a sharper “t” sound in the middle. To Smaland, the country of America always been intriguing. In her younger years, she vacationed in Florida, and has since dreamed of returning to the U.S. However, this time around, she finds herself surrounded by the bucolic pastures of Lancaster County rather than the humid subtropics of The Sunshine State. Similar to the average teenage girl of nearly every first world country, Smaland enjoys spending time with friends, singing, and free-style dancing. In pursuit of her intere

Multimedia: Fair Queen contest photos and video

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LSNews.org  had a team of photographers at the Fair Queen contest, and took dozens of photos as well as several videos of candidates' opening speeches and responses to the questions. A few of these images and videos are available in the original article ; the rest are in links below. Video Complete YouTube playlist with videos of introductory remarks and answers to impromptu questions from winner Chelsea Hancock and runner-up Delaney Baker, as well as the farewell speech of Sarah Sambrick.Videos recorded by Benjamin Pontz. Sarah Sambrick's Farewell Speech   Photos Picasa gallery featuring the photos of Ashley Crutcher, Alyssa Van Lenten, and Benjamin Pontz From L: Megan Doolittle, Delaney Baker, Sarah Rhineer, Hailey Rohrer, Jaclyn Kuro --Benjamin Pontz, LSNews.org Editor-In-Chief

Chelsea Hancock "parks" herself as first Ski and Snowboard Club Fair Queen

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As finalists came forth to share what they would improve about the West Lampeter Fair, most said something about broadening its scope or trying to engage a greater audience. Chelsea Hancock declared that the parking situation was "nerve wracking". And a few minutes later -- minutes that were probably nerve-wracking for those contestants involved -- Hancock, who represented the Ski and Snowboard Club as its first ever nominee, was named the 2015 West Lampeter Fair Queen. "I'm a little teary," she says just after the result was announced. "It feels amazing. I can't wait to embark on this journey." A fleet of convertibles arrived to transport the candidates in the parade The journey of the evening began over three hours before its conclusion, when candidates assembled in the faculty parking lot to form for the parade to the fairgrounds. Much to the delight of Mrs. Tina Shockey, Fair Queen coordinator, all 11 candidates arrived on time, th