| Congratulations to the winners of the 2018 Autism Awareness Walk Art Contest. First grader Nadia Guth won the Elementary Best in Show. Freshman Tessa Berdika was the Secondary Best in Show while sophomore Rebecca Hoffer took home the Overall Best in Show. Congratulations! |
Grace Hillegas
Growing up, when we moved, we always moved to an area where we were didn’t know anyone, and were not related to anyone. It was never that big of a deal because I had never lived around family so, couldn’t miss what I never experienced. But, all my friends lived near their family. Their grandma lived next door, their cousins lived two streets away, everyone went to school with close and distant relatives. And it made me a little jealous because I would wonder what it would be like to live near family and go to the same school as them. It also amazed me that my friends were close with their cousins. They knew their likes and dislikes, and they were friends! We always lived far away from family so I never really knew my cousins. We were not even acquaintances, I didn’t know their last name and they didn’t know mine. But, it always blew my mind to know that families had that close of a relationship. We moved up to Pennsylvania to be closer to family because my parents realized that their children really didn’t know their relatives. So, we live around some family, and it’s kind of nice. It’s nice having a closer relationship with relatives and knowing my cousins a little better. So, even though I didn’t know my family very well for the majority of my life, it wasn’t all that bad because I know them now. Michael Burt
School uniforms have been a topic of discussion for many schools across America for a long time. What’s the appeal of a system like this? Why do so many American high schools require them? And the most important question; is it worth it? As of 2014, 15% of high schools in America required school uniforms, as opposed to 23% of English schools. While these schools report small grade and moral improvement, these uniforms don’t come cheap. On average uniforms cost around $150 for each student, which comes out of the pocket of taxpayers. This doesn’t automatically make the idea of school uniforms bad, however. Many of the communities around schools that implement mandatory uniforms are in favor of the change, reporting not only increases in their children's grades, but also having more school moral and positive behavior. While more and more American schools are adopting this dress code, students are often opposed to the idea of uniforms. A common complaint is that the dress code cripples one’s ability to express themselves, taking away their sense of identity. Another is that, while data shows small increases in productivity with implementation of school uniforms, this data is too small to justify the dress code. At the end of the day, school’s that use uniforms are only a small fraction of the whole. These uniforms lead to productivity and higher moral, but only slightly. Students, overall, are still highly against the implementation of this dress code, as it takes away their sense of identity. However, the parents of these kids notice the aforementioned benefits of uniforms. While many schools are beginning to adopt this practice, the argument of if they are worth it remains to be discussed. Josh Clemmer The Sixers blow their chances of moving on in the playoffs, by losing a crucial Game 3. Boston defeated the Sixers 101-98 in OT, after a Ben Simmons missed layup gave the Celtics a chance to take the lead in the final 10 seconds of the game. Then with around 5 seconds left, the Celtics were able to inbound the ball to Al Horford under the basket guarded by Robert Covington, who then scored the game-winning basket. The Sixers had plenty of chances in OT to win the game. The Sixers were up by 1 with 30 seconds on the clock, and Ben Simmons got an offensive rebound with the shot clock pulled. Instead of taking the ball out and getting fouled to make free throws and possibly sink the Celtics, Simmons tries to get a putback two but it misses and the Celtics get the ball. Horford makes his game-winner and after that, the Sixers blow another inbound pass. Simmons inbounds the ball, throws a bad pass to Embiid, and then Horford steals the ball and gets two free throws. He sinks both of them, Belinelli throws a half-court heave, and like that the game is over. Philly was lucky to be in OT after Marco Belinelli made an erratic buzzer-beating two to take the Sixers to OT. Philly was wild because everyone thought he had made a three to win the game. Confetti was flying, fans were screaming, but the Celtics had other plans when the officials ruled it was a 2. And you know what happened after that. Game 3 was the most disappointing game for the Sixers all season. They were at home, and should have taken control of the game while Boston was trying to find their rhythm. Instead, the Sixers play an inconsistent and sloppy basketball game. The fans were really never into the game because when the Sixers would get going, they would eventually make mistakes and let Boston stay in the game. It even seemed like Brett Brown wasn’t coaching at his best. Some of his lineup choices, inbound plays, and defensive sets had lots of question. Brown was never able to get control of his team throughout the game. He hasn’t found an answer for the Celtics defense or offense, and he’s really letting down Sixers fans everywhere. As a fan, it’s very disappointing to watch this team perform at this level when you know what their true potential is. Plenty of hype was built around the Sixers after the first round series win over the Miami Heat. Philly was rolling and the squad looked unstoppable until facing the Celtics. Although the 76ers are down 0-3, the fans and the team are still trusting the process though. In the NBA playoffs, teams down 0-3 have a combined record of 0-129. The Sixers believe that they can be one to change that record to 1-129. Brett Brown stated, “Why can’t we be the one?” Many of the players have also commented saying, the team won’t stop fighting despite losing the first 3 games. I still can’t imagine the Sixers making a comeback, but maybe this will be the year of the impossible. It will be a tough feat to accomplish, but it’s possible that this Philly team can prove everyone wrong and make a comeback we’ll never forget. May’s Artist of the month is Gillian Stewart. She loves traveling, reading, art, nature, photography, writing, and creating things in general. Gillian picked up a pencil for the first times is when she was trying to recreate the natural beauty that is all around us in nature. She plans to attend Edinboro University with a major in Anthropology and minor in forensics to be on track to become a medical examiner. Gillian’s favorite artwork to do as a artist is ink because she has strong lines to follow that she imposes on herself. She also loves watercolor because she blends with many people and takes on the traits of people that she is around. She enjoys charcoal, and makeup as well. She identifies with ink and watercolor the most because she balances the definite and the color of beauty. Some of Gillian’s strength are: re-creating something just by seeing it, and being a perfectionist. The weaknesses are: skin shading in charcoal and using colored pencil. She takes the good with the bad, making the most out of it. Congrats to Gillian for being artist of the month!!!
Brianna Seip At a young age many coaches and parents are very competitive with their children in their sport. In my opinion there are three different types of coaches/parents, and depending on which one you are may have a positive or negative affect on your young player. The first type of parent or coach are the ones who are super excessive and can be overbearing. They may yell at the referee or at the other players on the team. Maybe after the game is over they will tell their child all of the negative things they had done instead of focusing on both. They may scream and yell during the game and instead of directing the players they are commanding them. The second type of parent or coach are the ones who care but do not really say much at all. They may just say good game after the game or sit there quietly during the game. I know for a fact a lot of parents are not like this because every game I have ever attended there are either parents encouraging the players or just plain flat out yelling at the reff for a bad call. Parents or coaches that tell their player what they did wrong and what to improve on but also what they did really well have always been the most successful. The player then feels like they are accomplished but also not to get a big head knowing there is room for improvement. I understand that referees can make really bad calls but most of the time yelling at them does not help your case or that of the team you're rooting for. I also know that competitiveness when I was younger is different than it is now. When I was younger I needed a lot of encouraging but now I like to be told what I did wrong so I can improve and get better. Dalton Zeigler 10. Regular People by Pantera. This song is an excellent place to start this top ten list. The whole song is extremely well-written. The lyrics are catchy, the guitar riffs are groovy, and the drumlines are killer. This song also has two guitar solos. Both are extremely fast paced. The song starts out heavy, and gets heavier. Overall, I cannot think of a better song to put in this spot. 9. Stillborn by Black Label Society. This song is heavy. This band also has the best guitar player in it. The lyrics are very catchy, and the solo is something you do not hear everyday. The guitar part remains mostly the same in the song, but it somehow makes the song better. 8. Love to Hate by Ozzy Osbourne. This song is metal overload. It has an awesome introduction, heavy drum beats, and a killer guitar solo. Also, the lyrics have some of the smoothest transitions ever. This song is a good one. 7. Cowboys from Hell by Pantera. This song is extremely headbang worthy. The first five seconds of the song are hard to get past without instantly falling in love with the song. The lyrics have so much energy, that it is almost impossible to not sing along. Just when you think the song is over, it launches right into an awesome guitar solo. Right after that, we learn how the song gets its name. The ending guitar parts sound like a metallized wild west scene. This song is worthy to be this high on the list. 6. Nemesis by Arch Enemy. This is a very low tuned song. However, it is wicked fast. There are no places to rest, the song just keeps getting faster. The drummer can play as fast as a machine gun like it is nothing. The guitar players play two, out of this world guitar solos that only Arch Enemy is able to play. They also have a female lead singer that can sing harshly. 5. Silvera by Gojira. This song is not fast, nor does it have a hard guitar solo in it. This song is very special in its own way. The guitar riffs are something that only Gojira can come up with. The whole song has a lot of guitar taps in it. The lyrics are very powerful. Better yet, Gojira is the best band that you could ever hear live. They put work in, to make all their songs sound like the studio version while performing. It is impossible to tell what song is played live, and what is recorded. This band is also very environmental. All of their songs are about how humans are destroying the earth, and how to rebuild it. 4. Angel of Death by Slayer. This is one of the awesomest songs to hear. This song does not ever slow down. It starts out fast, and ends fast. The guitar riffs are out of this world, the guitar solo is fire. The lyrics have an extremely powerful message. This song has everything that this genre could want. 3. Dystopia by Megadeth. This song deserves to be this high on the list. The lyrics paint a one hundred percent accurate picture on what a dystopian government looks like. There are also three guitar solos in the song. Each guitar solo requires the player to pick three strings at once with each finger, really fast. The sound of them is pure fire. The song also changes up a lot, which is great for buildup. The beginning of the song is completely different from the end. The guitar riffs are simply headbang worthy. 2. Holy Wars...The Punishment Due by Megadeth. There are hardly any words to describe this song. This is what we call, a metal masterpiece. This song will never, ever get old. The lyrics are about the Israeli government, and the war in Israel. The words have a very powerful meaning. Some lyrics include, “Killing for religion, is something I don’t understand”, “Fools like me, who cross the sea, and come to foreign lands”, “They killed my wife and my baby, in hopes to enslave me”, “Pray for the alliance, to slay all the giants, last mistake.” This song starts out wicked fast, it ends wicked fast. This song is equipped with four guitar solos. The solos get faster as the song progresses. The final guitar solo is an all-out shredfest, capable of making jaws drop. Each time a riff changes, it sounds like a completely different song. But, it is only the song evolving into something great. This song has chunky electric guitar riffs, and an acoustic guitar riff, and even a crazy drum solo to match each guitar solo. I have listened to this song three times a day for the past three years, and it never gets old.
Nate Shirk- NL Belron In case you aren’t fully introduced to the NBA, and want to catch up in all of the hype of the playoffs, I’ve made the five best players to look out for in round 2 of postseason action. This will give you an idea for what top stars could make an impact in the playoffs.
2. Steph Curry- Point Guard- Golden State Warriors Although he is just coming off of an MCL injury that had him sidelined since March 23, you still have to respect how good of a player Curry is. He made his playoff debut this year the other night, May 1 and had 28 points in a shorter than normal 27 minutes. The two-time MVP has such a crucial impact on this team. Many wondered if the Warriors would make it out of the West without him. 3. Kevin Durant- Forward- Golden State Warriors The 6’9’ forward averaged 26.9 points per game this season. Durant can defend anywhere from the 2-guard to the 4-man. He is a very versatile scorer who can kill you from the outside with his three, and attack the rim with his lengthy arm. He’ll even post you up. Even though he is not the only scorer on his team, he is poised to have a 35-plus point game hiding up his sleeve. 4. James Harden- Guard- Houston Rockets Arguably the best candidate for the MVP-award this season. Euro-stepping his way to an impressive 30 point, 8 assist regular season average. Harden has a step-back that is considered unguardable, and yes maybe a travel, but that is not up to debate. He has an ability to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line. He extends games and racks up points at the free-throw line. In seasons, past Harden has not had the help he needed. Now with the acquisition of Chris Paul, a load is lifted off of his back. He is able to play more freely, expect a big game out of him when he gets to the Conference Finals. 5. Joel Embiid- Center- Philadelphia 76ers Finally, after a long few years the Sixers have exciting upside to their team. Obviously making the second round of playoffs is good, and Joel Embiid has a lot to do with it. Averaging a solid 23 point, 11 board and 2 block regular season, the 7-footer from Cameroon has came around after many injuries set him back in the first few years of his career. Though injured for the first part of the playoffs, Embiid came back to give his team a first round series win. The big-man has a solid post game and can bring you outside with his 3-point shot, which is better than most big men. Joel also plays with explosiveness and excitement. Making big plays like blocks and posterizing dunks. He brings a nice temp to the Sixers team. Josh Clemmer Maybe the most forgotten Philadelphia sports team this year has been the Phillies. But with new coaches and a totally different look on the field, the Phillies still have hopes to stay in the playoff race. It’s been awhile since you could say the Phillies have a chance to make the playoffs this year, as they are riding a much improved beginning of the season. Although, Monday the Phils lost 8-4 to the Marlins because of Jake Arrieta’s poor performance pitching. This is the third straight defeat against another weaker team, but that’s why you play all 162 games of the season. They have a chance to bounce back Tuesday, with Zach Eflin pitching in his first start of the season after dealing with a back injury. But besides the three game skid, the Phillies are currently 16-12 on the season and only a half game out of first place in the NL East. They have had a pretty weak schedule to start the season, but you can agree that this team has improved a lot over the course of a year. This year the Phillies pitching has been outstanding starting the game and ending the game with the bullpen. They rank 10th in the league for ERA which is a substantial improvement compared to last season. And also, the pitchers have cut down on the amount of home runs and walks given up, which has allowed them to pitch well consistently. The weak part of this team so far has been the hitting and fielding, even though the squad is playing pretty well. Strikeouts, low batting averages, and slugging the ball have all been concerns for this Phillies offense. They sit in the bottom half of the league with home runs and batting average, and have been striking out almost more than anyone in the league. Playing defense has been worst part of the team so far, as they have committed 24 errors as a team. This ranks them as the 3rd worst defensive team in the league. So along with the problems the Phillies hold, lets all remember how young this team is. They are the youngest team in the league and also led by a first year head coach. So the fact that this team is a solid 16-12, I think the Phillies have had a great start to the season. Rhys Hoskins is hitting great, Aaron Nola is pitching like the ace he should be, and we have seen plenty of sparks of the teams potential. They added a couple great veterans in Santana and Arrieta, their young guys have lots of talent, and the young studs should get better as the season goes on. So please, don’t give up and lose hope on this Phillies squad. Obviously, the Phillies are playing for next year as they are expected to grab some great players in the 2019 free agent class. And they are trying to give their young hitters and pitching some experience for the future, including the Phils tough minded coach Gabe Kapler. But I think if you give this group some time to grow, the Phillies may make a splash in the playoffs this year and be the big surprise of the MLB season. Nate Shirk- NL Belron When Paul George landed in Oklahoma this summer after being traded from his six-year career in Indiana, expectations and wonders were high. The Thunder just had formed a trio of NBA stars. Carmelo Anthony, former New York Knick, had just signed to Oklahoma from free-agency. With the addition of two former and present all-stars, along with reigning MVP, Russell Westbrook, who just came off of a season where he averaged a triple-double, many were excited to see how the new group 0f stars would mesh together. After a slow start to the season, the Thunder placed as a fourth-seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Their first round matchup was against the Utah Jazz. Many expected them to win the series in 6 or 7 games to a young, but talented Utah squad. However, that was not the case. The Thunder lost the series 4-2 and were sent home out of the playoffs, leaving uncertainty with the team. Paul George becomes a free-agent this summer and has his hometown L.A. Lakers begging for him to come back where he grew up and close to where he went to college. George and the team have also seem to have struggles working together. Carmelo Anthony stated Saturday after the team's loss, “I’m not sacrificing no bench role.” The veteran forward referring to possibly taking a seat as a sixth-man next year, product of the team’s playing woes. George himself wasn’t the all-star he is during the playoff series and since the All-Star break. He shot just 32.4% from the 3-point line after the All-Star break, according to the OKC Thunder Wire. Further, in a crucial game 6 with the Thunder season on the line, “PG” scored just 5 points and shot a subpar 2-16 from the field. Unlike his 28.6 points per game that her averaged for the first 5 games of the series. Leaving the word to describe his playoff appearance this year as “inconsistent”. George said, “I don’t feel like myself,” when asked about his shooting mechanics late in the season, via CBS Sports. How does Paul George feel about his role on the Thunder? This is a question he will definitely ask himself this summer during free-agency. He will probably play the merry-go-round’ and meet with a handful of teams, just like all of the other big name players do. No doubt, George has to take into account that he has a max contract waiting for him back home in L.A. if he wants it. I think that an option he might explore is taking a 1 year deal and exploring the waters in Los Angeles. The Lakers have rising young talent and other big name free-agents that are possible to sign in L.A. this summer. Why not see what it is like in your hometown, and be the star of the Lakers. |
october teachers of the month Kris Miller is an Algebra I and Honors Geometry teacher from Quentin, PA. He is involved in extracurricular activities at NL and loves sports. Mr. Miller went to Conestoga Valley High School in Lancaster and later went to Lebanon Valley College and received his Masters Degree at Millersville University. He has been teaching for 7 years at Northern Lebanon. Mr. Miller teaches Algebra I and Honors Geometry in room 40, and is accompanied this semester by student teacher Mr. De La Ronde from Lebanon Valley College. He offers tutoring in his room from Monday to Thursday after school from 2:30 until 3 PM. Mr. Miller is involved in extracurricular activities at NL. He is an assistant coach for the varsity football team and head coach for the junior high wrestling team. Mr. Miller is also a freshman class advisor along with Mr. Beidler. Outside school, Mr. Miller also enjoys golfing. He often visits his family’s cabin and loves to play with his two daughters, Breana and Reagan. Breana is 3.5 years old and Reagan is just 7 months. Mr. Miller’s wife, Steph, is a nurse at Hershey Medical center. He also has one younger sister named Alicia. Mr. Miller’s favorite movie is “Rudy”, a football movie by David Anspaugh, and his favorite book is Tuesday’s with Morrie by MItch Albom, a memoir. When asked about his growth as a teacher, Mr. Miller said, “I have spent a lot of time trying to make my math class more engaging through the use of hands-on activities and the use of technology.”
Mr. Jack Beidler is the 10th grade world history teacher. He is from Annville, but now lives in Fredericksburg. Mr.Beidler has been teaching for 19 years at Northern Lebanon. Mr. Beidler teaches 10th grade World History in room 15. Tutoring is available after school if you ask him. Mr. Beidler does not currently have a student teacher, but has had about seven in past years. Mr. Beidler has been involved in extracurricular activities at NL. Currently he is a 9th grade class advisor. He is also a former head football coach at NL. Mr. Beidler also coaches football at Lebanon Valley College. His hobbies include playing football, watching the Hershey Bears hockey team, and The Washington Capitals. Mr. Beidler’s favorite movie is “Remember the Titans”, another football-based movie by Boaz Yakin. His favorite book is The Art of Smart Football, an analytic and strategic book studying different football strategies, trends and plays, by Chris Brown. Mr. Beidler has four older brothers and two children, and all of their names start with the letter “J”. His two children are Jacob, 14, and Joseph, 12, and he is married to NL English teacher Julie Beidler. After 19 years teaching at Northern Lebanon, Mr. Beidler has learned that, “success breeds success”.
EDITORSWelcome to Northern Lebanon's new Belron Blog. The Belron has been our high school's source for news since 1964. This year the students are working hard to bring changes to the format of our news. Our blog will be updated several times a week with the latest and greatest news from Viking Country. You can also follow us on Twitter at @NL_Belron. Once a marking period we will also be publishing our full-color edition of the Belron news magazine on our website. Please follow us and spread the word. Archives
May 2018
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