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Volume 39 Issue 1 Student Newspaper Of Shaler Area High School October 2010 Shaler Area in need of positive press by Kelsey Meehan and Samantha Raible to get itself in Pittsburgh newspapers. “I’m not making excuses, we “I’m willing to step up and do more PR, and I When people hear that Shaler is in the news, know Mrs. Thiel agrees with me on that. We just most assume the worst. Late this summer and even in don’t have a media person... need to know connections, who to send stuff to,” the beginning of the school year, Shaler Area School it’s an expense that the school Principal Mr. Tim Royall said. District experienced the wrath of negative press yet Connections could help in gaining positive again. Between a report on violence and another on board has felt is unnecessary.” press for our district and it is also something that bus mishaps at Marzolf Primary School, Shaler did -Dr. Donald Lee almost certainly would be in a public relations fi g- not start off the school year on the right foot. ure’s job description. It is not the job of a principal In late August, WPXI reported, “according to North Allegheny. These articles highlight different or an activities director to send press releases. the school safety reports from the 2008-2009 school district’s accomplishments and awards. Shaler, on “I think public relations professionals help the year, Gateway and Shaler tied for the most assault the other hand, is mostly absent from the section. public build a sense of pride about their district. What and fi ghts involving student. Both schools had 32 on However, the North section is not the only place I do helps the public have a good feeling about the record for the year.” to read about districts’ accomplishments. Every school district,” Bonnie Berzonski, Fox Chapel’s co- In September, WPXI reported, “school adminis- school district has a website. If one checks North ordinator of communications, said. trators said nearly a dozen students boarded the wrong Hills’ website, there is a specifi c link for the media to Unfortunately, boosting Shaler’s pride would bus and were dropped off at the wrong stops.” get positive updates and accomplishments. come at a cost. According to the administration, a Some people wonder why it is so diffi cult to fi nd The North Hills communications coordinator, main reason that Shaler does not have a specifi c pub- positive news about Shaler in the media. One reason Tina Vojtko, said that with a link to media coverage, lic relations fi gure position is the budget. could be that the district does not have a full time it helps inform the community. The link helps high- “I’m not making excuses, we obviously don’t public relations position. light positive stories about the school district. have a media person; that’s an expense. It’s an ex- The surrounding districts of Shaler, which in- “Eighty percent of the community does not at- pense that the school board has felt is unnecessary,” clude North Hills, Fox Chapel, Hampton, and North tend the school,” Vojtko said. “With the website they Superintendent Dr. Donald Lee said. Allegheny, all have a public relations department. get a chance to become involved in the community.” Violence and bus mishaps aren’t the only things People read about these schools all the time. However, if there is no positive press to report that Shaler should be known for. The district needs Weekly, The Pittsburgh Post Gazette North sec- on, the website’s media link and the district’s voice to put itself out there in the public so that those tion publishes news articles about the school districts in the newspaper becomes relatively useless. In order outside the district have a chance to see our accom- around Shaler such as North Hills, Fox Chapel and to get the district a positive reputation, Shaler needs plishments. Shaler students get an opportunity A Hero’s Homecoming Get ready for HC 2010 for adventure on a trip to Europe by Nicholas Schmitt by Kelsey Meehan train to France. While there, they took a boat tour of Paris and saw the Louvre, the Cathedral of Notre Homecoming is an important event in the Shal- This past summer, students from Shaler Area Dame, and the Arc de Triomphe. er Area social calendar. It is a time marked by see- High School had the opportunity to travel abroad to “I really loved Paris. We weren’t there for long, ing friends, both current and past. Europe. Students, along with Mr. Jason Pirring, Mr. but they gave us a lot of time to interact with dif- According to the Activities Director, Mrs. Peter Hackett, Mr. Cory Williams, and Miss Holly ferent people. Plus all of Europe was excited about Mindy Thiel, the beginnings of homecoming start Anderson, explored England, France, and Italy. the World Cup, so we got to experience that,” Porter with the decision on the date. At the end of the school year in 2009, Pirring said. “Mr. Holzshu and I sit down when the WPIAL announced that he would be taking a group of stu- Their fi nal destination was London, England. introduces the football schedule and decide on a dents to Europe. Students had to raise approximately From Paris, the group took “The Chunnel”, a train date. Usually, the date is in September, making $2,400 in order to go. It may have been a lot of mon- that passes underneath the English Channel between homecoming very strenuous on everyone because ey, but according to Paris and Lon- the staff is just getting back to school.” th the 29 students and don. London was Homecoming will begin with the 5 Annual teachers who went a favorite stop for Run with the Titans. It will begin at Kiwanis Park on the trip, it was many students on at 8:00 am and its participants will run 3.1 miles. well worth it. the tour. At 10:30, the morning festivities will continue “A lot of us “London was with the annual parade. probably won’t defi nitely my fa- “This year’s theme, A Hero’s Homecoming, have the opportuni- vorite place. It was a decision which was made by the Shaler Area ty to go to Europe was very relaxed. student body,” said Mrs. Thiel. again. The experi- They thought we During the parade, the six fl oats constructed by ence outweighed were funny be- each class, the band and choir will debut. the money,” senior cause we couldn’t “Class fl oats are relied upon by the class of- Samantha Raible pronounce any- fi cers, since they are the student leaders, to recruit said. thing. The ac- their friends to help with the construction,” said Students and chaperones at the Colosseum (Mr. Pirring) The trip left for cents were prob- Mrs. Thiel. Italy on June 22, ably one of the best After the parade, one can enjoy the different and came back to the US on July 1. While in Italy, parts of the trip,” senior Taylor Miksic said. activities within Shaler Area. All proceeds will go the group went to Rome, Florence, Assisi, and Pisa. While in London, the group saw Big Ben, the back to the sponsor. The group saw the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, Tower of London, the Crown Jewels, and the London Then at 1:30, the Shaler Area Titans will take the Roman Business Forum, the Vatican, the Leaning Bridge. on the Seneca Valley Raiders. During the game the Tower of Pisa, the Statue of David, and everything For most, if not all of the students who went on banner winners, fl oat fi nalists, and the introduction else that Italian culture had to offer. the trip, the trip was a chance of a lifetime. of the homecoming king and queen will be an- “One of my favorite things about Italy was the “I think for many kids there isn’t going to be an- nounced. food. The pasta and the pizza were so good, and I had other opportunity like this. This a shared experience “The day will conclude with the dance at gelato every day,” junior Anna Porter said. with friends, and one that takes away an unknown 7:30,” states Mrs. Thiel. “Hope to see you out there After experiencing Italy, the group took a night aspect of being out of the country,” Hackett said. tomorrow, Titans!” Page 2 The Oracle October 2010 Opinions Is a meal at 9:38 a.m. breakfast or lunch? There are lots of good things about 4th pd lunch Lunch? I haven’t even had breakfast yet by Stephen Kimpel by Shelby Tabrosky During the much coveted summer break it is not uncommon for the average high Lunch…at 9:38A.M? To me, I wouldn’t really call that a lunch, school student to wake up until 9 o’clock am. In stark opposition, a student fortunate because normally people eat lunch around noon. So if lunch is being enough to have fourth period lunch may have their “noontime” meal at 9:37 A.M. Nev- served at a breakfast time, would we call it a brunch? Shaler’s new ad- ertheless, a question still remains: Is this schedule really that bad? dition of 4th period lunch has people complaining. Although the negative aspects associated with the early mealtime may be obvious, “It’s too early, and I’m not even hungry,” freshman Dakota Ross- there are some substantial benefi ts associated with eating during fourth period.

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