etsd

Students Win “Best Medical Device” in PA Governor’s STEM Competition

by

IMG_8520

Seniors Alex Nerney (left), Connor Stoltzfus (middle), Sophia Jones (second from right), Hansika Kunduru (right) and junior Richter Bogust (second from left).

Seniors Alex Nerney (left), Connor Stoltzfus (middle), Sophia Jones (second from right), Hansika Kunduru (right) and junior Richter Bogust (second from left) won the award for the Best Medical Device in the final round of the PA Governor’s STEM Competition, held last week in Harrisburg. The students were one of the top 20 finalists from student groups across Pennsylvania. Their medical device is an app called “Blue Alert” that monitors the amount of blue light that a user is exposed to, which can disrupt sleep patterns. Their accompanying app collects data from the blue light sensor along with user-entered data, such as meals and caffeine intake, to give users a “sleep score” that allows them to make decisions to improve their sleep patterns.

The students partnered with a local health-based non-profit, My Gut Instinct, as well as a professor from Penn State Berks to build the blue light sensor to collect data and develop the accompanying app to log and interpret the data. 

Junior Richter Bogust said that the team was inspired to create the app because of the explosion of blue light exposure in modern-day society through the use of smart phones, computers and screens--and is something that his peers are regularly exposed to with these devices. “In our own lives, we realized that we’re affected by blue light more than you’d think. However, we found that almost everyone is affected by blue light in some way since people are often on their phones before bed, or use lights that emit blue light.”

Mr. Zach Potter, advisor to the students, commended the students for their exceptional work with the protoype. “I am always proud of students like these, who despite all of their commitments to academics, athletics, family, friends, jobs and more, make time to complete an incredible project like this. Their commitment to themselves and to building the skills they will need to be successful later in life is admirable.”

Internship Spotlight: Donnie Beiber at Trace Pheasantry

by

Copy of internship spotlight (Instagram Post) (1)

Donnie Beiber is a senior completing an internship with Trace Pheasantry in Douglassville, a hatchery for pheasants, chukars, quail and partridges. Zach Trace, owner, said that he was initially nervous about taking on high school intern since he is only a few years out of high school himself, but Donnie’s quickly proven to be an asset to his farm. “Donnie has been very eager to learn and reminds me to explain things to him when he doesn’t understand. Donnie always shows up when he’s supposed to and causes no stress. Donnie has helped me on many projects and he has provided his own insight and even taught me things I didn’t know. He’s a hard worker and more than just an extra set of hands. He has been very beneficial to my company.”

Donnie, can you tell us a bit about what your plans are for after graduation?
My plans after high school are to go to a trade school and get certified for heavy equipment operations.

Can you tell us a bit about your internship? What does a typical day look like for you?
My internship is just a way of being able to get out of the classroom and be able to help out on the farm while learning many different things that pertain to farming and life skills. A typical day on the farm consists of showing up at 11 and doing some busy work for an hour till the 12-1 lunch break, then after that we work at finishing the main objectives for the day, which is "whatever the boss writes on the list that has to be finished for the day." Then after 3, we go and collect eggs, take them back to the hatchery and wash them.

How did you select your internship? Did someone help you select it? Did you seek out the opportunity on your own? Were you asked to do the internship?
I chose the internship because I believe farming is a dying culture and I wanted to do something I enjoy.

What do you like most about your internship?
What I like most about my internship is the fact that I can be out of the school and enjoy the outdoors for several hours instead of being cooped up in a classroom.

And finally, what would be your advice to a high school student who's thinking about Exeter's internship program?
I think the internship program is one of the best programs Exeter has to offer. It's not a lot of work for a great reward of being able to intern somewhere you like or are interested in. Also, if you do well at being an intern, your employer may even offer you a job.

Exeter Team to Compete in National Academic WorldQuest This Weekend

by

IMG_8554

Members of the Model UN Club include (from left): Mady Hirneisen, Jordan Wolfe, Shaun Rathman, Andrew Schwenk, Adam Cooke and Cooper Devlin. Not pictured are Ethan Tibbetts, Calvin McClain and advisor Mrs. Heather Mills. 

Several months ago, the Model United Nations (UN) Club at the Senior High didn’t know if they would continue to be able to meet when their advisor accepted another job and left the district. This weekend, though, their dedication and perseverance to keep their after-school club alive pays off as they head to Washington, D.C. to compete against 250 other students from around the United States in the World Affairs Councils of America’s Academic WorldQuest. 

Reflecting back on the time when their advisor had left, sophomore Shaun Rathman said, “The club basically fell apart for a little while. Well, almost did.” It didn’t, however, thanks to English teacher Mrs. Heather Mills, who rescued the fate of the club by taking over as its advisor and helped guide the students for a first-place victory at the Academic WorldQuest regional competition held in March. That win qualified the team for the national event this weekend, which three other members of club will attend along with Shaun, including sophomores Adam Cooke, Cooper Devlin and Andrew Schwenk. 

During competition, teams are asked questions about world affairs in countries or continents such as South Korea, Europe and Africa, as well current topics, such as Women in Diplomacy or Artificial Intelligence. Students are given a study guide with additional readings to help prepare them for the competition in which they are peppered with 100 questions on those topics and given less than a minute to answer each one. During the national competition this weekend, the study guide and competition structure is the same; however, students will be given less time to answer questions. When asked how the team’s been preparing for the stiffer competition in DC, Andrew said, “We’ve been revisiting the stuff we already studied, but we’re going more in-depth in our notes and reading more than we did for the regional competition.” Beyond the study guide, Shaun said that students who are successful at Academic WorldQuest have delved deeper into world politics and affairs on their own. “You don’t need to be just knowledgeable on your topics,” he said. “You need to be knowledgeable about the world and many geopolitical issues.” 

Prior to their win, the club admitted that they’ve struggling to recruit members and almost didn't have full representation at the regional competition in March. Academic WorldQuest allows schools to have up to two teams of four students in the regional competition, and up until two weeks before the competition, the club didn’t have enough members to make a second team. Thankfully, sophomores Mady Hirneisen and Calvin McClain agreed to join the club in February to help round out their second team with sophomore Ethan Tibbetts and junior Jordan Wolfe. Andrew said that the club is "actually a fun time," but they admitted that they might be struggling to recruit members since not all students are interested in studying world affairs after school. However, they're hoping that their representation of Exeter on the national stage this weekend helps them interest new members going into next year--as well as the club's inherent camaraderie and perseverance that led to their incredible ability to keep their club alive despite all odds. 

Exeter’s SHS Reading Olympics Team Earns its 7th Consecutive 1st Place Finish

by

IMG_1911s

Exeter Township Senior High School’s Reading Olympics team brought home the gold for the 7th year in a row during this year’s county-wide competition held at Conrad Weiser right before spring break. Exeter competed against nine other teams from Berks County in a head-to-head competition where students are asked questions about 25 books on an assigned reading list. Working collaboratively, Exeter finished this year’s competition with an outstanding 75 points, with Wilson coming in second with 70 points and Brandywine coming in third with 52 points.

Members include: Samantha Baer, Ian Carr, Owen Davis, Cooper Devlin, Jysadee Giddens, Madyson Hirneisen, Madison Kiesselbach, Lydsey Kline, Alexandra Kononov, Sarah McCarthy, Marissa Millar, Alexis Nonnemacher, Charlotte Rismiller, Kayla Schafer and Isabella Stoudt. The team is advised by SHS English teachers Mrs. Heather Mills and Mrs. Lisa McCoy, who shared more about the club’s accomplishments:

What are students required to do to be a part of the club? 

The members of the club work together to share the reading responsibilities of 25 books determined by the Reading Olympics Committee. As a club, we try to have at least two to three people read the same book so that they can collaborate. Usually members read on average five to seven of the books on the list.

How do you think students fit all of that reading into their busy schedules? Are a lot of them involved with other extracurricular activities and sports/music?

Many of our club members are busy in various other clubs, sports, music, and theater activities, but they manage to fit reading into their schedules. Some make it a part of their independent reading assignments in their English classes, while others set aside time from their busy schedules to read a chapter or two until they have completed the book. Our members love reading, so it is not seen as an arduous task but a labor of love.  They are also excellent at holding one another accountable and checking in on each other's progress. No one wants to let the team down.

How long have you and Mrs. Mills advised the Reading Olympics? What's your membership been like? Is it up/down? What about since the pandemic? 

Mrs. Mills and I have been the advisers since its inception in 2016, and our membership has been constant. Mrs. Sowers at the Junior High School does such a great job with their Reading Olympics team that we normally have a few students who come to the high school looking to continue their Reading Olympics journey and usually jump in. Also, being English teachers makes it easier to recruit new members!  We have won every single competition that we have attended (2020 is of course an exception because of COVID). That is seven straight victories!  Who doesn't want to be a part of a winning tradition?

In this day of social media, how does it make you feel to see kids dedicating time to the pleasure of reading? Do you think many of them will continue to read for pleasure as adults?

Most of our students enjoy being able to escape into a good book. These are students who actively seek out books to read and love receiving and offering book recommendations to others. They see value in what books offer, and reading has become an integral part of who they are. They are building positive lifelong habits that will continue to benefit them as they increase their vocabulary, knowledge, and empathy through reading. Many of them will undoubtedly become future leaders due to these strengths. So, yes, absolutely they will continue and encourage others as well.

 

Exeter’s Esteban Ruiz to Perform in Berks Jazz Fest

by

sowhat

Members of "So What?" from left: Exeter's Esteban Ruiz, Wyomissing's Noah Gibney and Wilson's Dexter Sales.

image-20240405-1520--1

Esteban Ruiz

Junior Esteban Ruiz will be a featured performer in the 33rd Annual Berks Jazz Fest, which begins tonight. Esteban, who plays the bass in a jazz trio called “So What?” with percussionist Dexter Sales from Wilson High School and keyboardist/vocalist Noah Gibney from Wyomissing High School, will be performing at the DoubleTree’s Cheers American Bistro tonight at 4:30PM; Saturday at 11:30AM; Friday, April 12th at 4:30PM; and Saturday, April 13th at 11:30AM. They also will be performing this Sunday at 3PM at the Legacy Cigar Lounge in West Reading. 

The trio jammed together initially at one of Noah’s well-known open mic nights. Their chemistry was undeniable, which led to the formation of “So What?” and a chance to win the Chuck Loeb Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship jointly established by the Jazz Fest and the Reading Musical Foundation to honor the memory of Grammy-nominated guitarist Chuck Loeb, who loved teaching as much as he enjoyed making music. The trio won the scholarship last year–and again this year in 2024. 

Esteban said that the audition for the scholarship judged musicality, improvisation, balance, creativity and other criteria. The judges, in particular, look for chemistry as an ensemble. “This is not a competition where one musician can be a showoff. Entrants are especially judged on their ability to perform as a group,” he said. The winner of the scholarship enjoys a performance slot alongside other world-renowned jazz musicians during the 10-day music festival, as well as a cash prize. “Winning the scholarship means a lot to me and the other boys in ‘So What?’ because it allows us to get more recognition by other people and musicians which can further our popularity as a band and as individuals,” he said. “Simply having the opportunity to compete is an incredible honor. Competition is keen and gets stiffer every year.”

According to Berks Arts, which presents the festival, the Jazz Fest is one of the most prolific festivals of its kind, drawing nearly 30,000 visitors from all over the world right here to Berks County. Musicians from all backgrounds, locales and genres convene annually, performing dozens of concerts at venues across the region. 

In addition to larger-scale concerts, dozens of smaller, live-music events featuring local musicians, such as “So What?,” perform free concerts in area clubs and restaurants. The festival combines touring artists with unique collaborative performances while providing performance opportunities for world-renowned musicians and emerging artists alike. Visitors can enjoy a wide variety of genres including jazz, blues, R&B, funk, soul, bluegrass and more.

If you miss one of the trio’s performances, be sure to check out their YouTube channel for videos of the high schoolers jamming together: https://www.youtube.com/@SO_WHAT_BAND