Our Community Newsletter
Cast photo from York Suburban High School’s original production of “Once Upon A Mattress.”
The York Suburban High School musical won the “Best Small Ensemble” award at the county-wide “Encore” awards on Sunday, April 19.
The students presented the “Shy” number from the musical.
Thirteen high schools took part in “Encore” this year.
Beth Vrabel, the author of children’s books, visited East York to share her recent book “A Pack of Dorks”.
The students were an enthusiastic audience and had a wonderful time learning about being a writer.
York Suburban High School sophomore violinist Daniel Lee has advanced to participation in the PMEA All-State Orchestra Festival at the end of March.
He achieved this by advancing from Districts to Regionals, and then from Regionals to States.
Allexis Aliaga with her parents, Dana and Raul Aliaga
York Suburban High School senior Allexis Aliaga was recognized for her portfolio of photographs with a Silver Key at the state level at the 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards ceremony in Harrisburg on March 7.
Allexis’ work, Catharsis in Body Language, was selected to be on exhibit in the State Museum with other high school students from across Pennsylvania from February 28 through April 28.
After graduation, Allexis plans to attend either the Art Institute of Chicago or Pratt Institute to study Fine Art. Allexis also serves as an officer for National Art Honor Society. She is the daughter of Raul and Dana Aliaga.
York Suburban School District students from elementary grades through high school presented “A Choral Showcase” on Sunday, March 15.
Allie Gunn sings a solo during the YS Singers’ performance of “Someone Like You.”
The 50-minute program, played to a full house in the high school auditorium, featured:
— The York Suburban Elementary Singers from East York Elementary and Indian Rock Elementary Schools under the direction of Susan Wolschleger and Ashley Markey.
— The York Suburban Middle School 6th Grade Select Choir under the direction of Hannah Strayer.
— The York Suburban Middle School Sounds of Tomorrow under the direction of Amy Chapman.
— The York Suburban High School Singers directed by Hannah Strayer.
— The York Suburban High School Concert Choir directed by Hannah Stayer.
— The Combined Elementary, 6th Grade, Sounds of Tomorrow, and High School Choirs singing the finale, “America Sings,” directed by all four of the music instructors.
As for the other musical performances this spring, flowers were being sold in the lobby to raise funds for the Music Boosters.
From left to right: Nate Gutekunst, Maia Carney, Sarah Rivera, Liam Waterbury
York Suburban Middle School students recently took part in the school’s annual WITF Central PA Spelling Bee. After the qualifying written test, there were a total of 64 YSMS students competing.
The top 4 winners were:
These four students went on to take the semi-final 100 word written test in Harrisburg, along with 162 other spellers representing 58 schools from 10 counties.
Nate Gutekunst, along with 34 other winners, qualified as a finalist and attended the Grand Championship Spelling Bee on February 28, where the regional champ was determined who would then participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Food … music … dancing … information: the world came to the York Suburban Middle School on Thursday, March 26, for the 2015 Multicultural Festival presented by YSMS and York Suburban CTC.
Fourth grade students from East York Elementary School perform a dance from India.
Eleven countries were represented at the event, many of them offering foods of the nation. They included: China, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, France, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and Spain.
In addition, members of the Spanish Honor Society were selling bracelets and purses to raise funds for children in Nicaragua.
Entertainment was provided by students from the fourth grade at East York Elementary School performing a dance from India. Jillian Ducker and Sophia Matey played the piano. Students from the Ni Riain School of Irish Dance capped off the evening.
Kendra Hilty chaired this year’s event.
The MathCounts Competition Program is designed specifically for middle school students to inspire excellence and curiosity through fun, challenging math problems. The program is under the leadership of the National Society of Professional Engineers and is sponsored by Ratheon Company, Northrup Grumman, CNA Foundation, Think-Fun, Texas Instruments, 3M and the National Defense Education Program.
Each year a qualifying test is administered and the top 16 scorers comprise the York Suburban Middle School MathCounts Team, coached by Mrs. Karen Campbell, teacher of the gifted.
These students compete at York College against other York County teams. This year’s YSMS team consisted of:
6th Grader — Devlin Ravegum
7th Graders — Hayden Brandt, Luke Hardman, Augustine Huh, Micah McKee, Arianna Greco, James Zhang, and Matthew Phillips
8th Graders — McKenna Graham, Justin Shocker, Liv Pindzola, Nate Gutekunst, Sam Garncarz, Andrew Frey, Caleb West, and Luke Sargen.
The top eight scores from YSMS then qualified to compete at the regional level of competition held at Millersville University on February 28, 2015. The competitors were: Sam Garncarz, Caleb West, Justin Shocker, Micah McKee, Hayden Brandt, Luke Hardman, Augustine Huh, and Devlin Ravegum.
At the regional competition, the team of Sam Garncarz, Caleb West, Justin Shocker, and Hayden Brandt ranked 10th out of the 27 teams that competed from the Lancaster, Lebanon, York and Adams Counties.
Individually, Justin Shocker placed 18th out of 178 competitors.
One team of YSMS bowlers dressed as Minions from the “Despicable Me I and II” films.
One of the goals of the People Respecting Individual Difference Everyday (P.R.I.D.E.) Committee at York Suburban Middle School, is to introduce students to the benefits of aiding those in the community that are less fortunate.
On February 20 and 21, more than 300 YSMS students and staff — comprising of 60 teams — participated in the annual Bowl For Kids’ Sake event benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of York County.
Participants of Bowl For Kids’ Sake had a lot of fun dressing up for the bowling event in Spirit Costumes, and playing laser tag at the bowling alley. Tied into the event is a school dance, hosted by the middle school Student Council.
YSMS raises money in several other ways during the year, including the popular “Staff vs. Students” basketball game, which takes place in conjunction with a staff-baked Cookie War.
This year YSMS raised $20,713.37 for the organization, and has raised over $300,000 throughout all of its years of participation. YSMS is proud to be the top single-organization fundraiser in York County for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
In addition to the Bowl For Kids’ Sake event, Big Brothers Big Sisters and York Suburban School District sponsor an in-school program called the ”S.M.A.R.T. Program,” in which high school and middle school students are paired up with elementary students in the district to serve as mentors.
Another team of bowlers represented the popular game “Guess Who?”
The CTC dodgeball tournament was held on Friday, February 27.
The Winning Team (shown above) was Wolves of Ballstreet. Members included Thomas Merkle, Collin Mailman, Brad Smith, Jonas Atkinson, Olivia Krum, Cali Hager, Madi Chivers and Zoe Zambito.