Elevate Winter 2025

POCONO MOUNTAIN EAST

WINTER 2025

Proudly Showcasing Cardinal Life

2 0 th A n n u al

SCHOOL TO WORK PROGRAM 2 0 Y E A RS !

Hall of Fame

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NO HATE HATE TOUR TOUR PAGE 16 NO

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Creativity Creativity Unleashed Unleashed PAGE 66 PAGE

ELEVATE staff Adviser

Adviser

Dr. Bracey

Mrs. Baldauff

English Language Arts Department

Business & Technology Department

Kira DeLuca, Senior

Brianna Mirabile, Senior

Sammi Clarke, Junior

Victoria Stiles, Sophomore

Nora Lewis, Freshman

TABLE OF CONTENTS 04 CARDINAL HAPPENINGS Hall of Fame By: Nora Lewis

Homecoming By: Heidi Regan

06

CREATIVE CARDINALS

Creativity Unleashed

By: Kira DeLuca

10 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Lauren McLain By: Brianna Mirabile

Paige Rully Daniel Cunningham Jake Merritt By: Victoria Stiles

12 ACADEMICS ELEVATED School to Work Program By: Brianna Mirabile

Future Educators Club By: Victoria Stiles

08 STAFF SPOTLIGHT Mrs. Rachel Dwyer By: Kira DeLuca

Mrs. Heather Hansson By: Sammi Clarke

Mr. Tal Waide By: Sammi Clarke

FBLA

By: Nora Lewis

HOSA

By: Victoria Stiles

16 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

No Hate Tour Assembly By: Sammi Clarke

Café Mural By: Kira DeLuca

Cheer Clinic

By: Brianna Mirabile & Victoria Stiles

CARDINAL HAPPENINGS

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS 1974-1975 WRESTLING TEAM Andy Bloss, Rich Eva, Bill Grumbine, Howard Kerrick, Brian Law, Rich Lutz, Dan Odom, Dave Siegfried, Bill Slutter, Bill Sopko, Scott Vetter, Harold Werkheiser

Coach: Ed Watto, Sr, Assistant Coaches: Ron Sparrow & Bill Forte

Nora Lewis 2 0 th A n n u al

The Pocono Mountain Hall of Fame induction ceremony honored the 1974-75 varsity wrestling team this year. The induction process begins a Hall of Fame year in advance, first taking nominations of former Cardinal athletes who are at least ten years out of high school. The Hall of Fame committee had over 50 nominations for this year's class. Cameron Texter presented the original nomination to the Hall of Fame committee for the team of 12 wrestlers who were ranked first in the Lehigh Northampton Southern Division with a 6-0 record.

Once the committee voted to induct the 1974-1975 wrestling team, their search for each wrestler began. Mr. Pete Dyson, Pocono Mountain Class of 2001 and the Hall of Fame representative for graduates in the 2000s, explained, “It was a difficult process; it's getting easier with social media.”

The former wrestlers gathered as a team on campus for the first time on Friday, September 17, 2025, when the plaque

was unveiled in the rotunda. Later that night, the wrestling team was recognized at halftime of the football game, joining the crowd and the marching band in the alma mater. The celebration continued with a golf tournament on September 18th at Pinecrest Country Club in Pocono Pines. The weekend honoring the team culminated with a banquet on Sunday, the 19th, when the team was joined by the committee, former inductees, as well as friends and family, at Carazza’s in Cresco.

“

The 1974-75 Cardinal Wrestling team was one for the record books!

-Chairman Robert Travis

Chairman Robert Travis honored the team: “The 1974-75 Cardinal Wrestling team was one for the record books…The first ever team to post an undefeated league record.”

Photo by Matt Messina, Lifetouch

Standing: Members of the 1974-75 Wrestling team and family representatives.

Kneeling: Junior Kevin Gerheart, Sophomore Christopher Gerheart, Senior Mikey Malek, Senior Malachi Bolinger

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Homecoming

Homecoming Photo by Lance Folden, Lifetouch

Photo by Lance Folden, Lifetouch

Senior Demarcus Turner

Photo by Ariana DeLancey

Seniors Kennedi McGuire, Laila Scott, Chevelle Owusu

Heidi Regan Students celebrated homecoming September 29 through October 4, 2025 with the annual spirit week, running for king and queen, and the football game.

Senior Peyton Torres stated, “This year’s homecoming was just very fun, especially all of the dance circles.”

Students not only attended the dance, but also participated in many spirit days throughout the week, featuring themes including Red Out and Twin Day. Senior Ava LaMantia said, "My favorite day from spirit week was Country vs Country Club.”

On October 3, many gathered at halftime for the crowning of the king and queen, Seniors Mikey Malek and Laila Scott, as the Cardinals beat East Stroudsburg South 30-7. Queen Laila Scott said, “My favorite part about running for Homecoming Queen was raising money for a good cause, which was pediatric cancer.”

The theme was 50s Drive-In, which had everyone busting moves on the dance floor. Senior Christian Mierzwinski said, “My favorite song at the dance was

by Travis Scott.” When asked about the dance, Senior Demarcus Turner said, “It was overall just a fun experience with my friends.”

Seniors Mikey Malek and Laila Scott

Country vs. Country Club: Emily Zheng, Mahi Patel, Samantha Christman, Kailey Clifford, Julia Nish, Kayleigh Schmidt. Photo by Ariana DeLancey

Twin Day: John Pezzuti and Nyeem Hall.

Photo by Mrs. Marianne Paige

WINTER 2025 | ELEVATE | 5

CREATIVE CARDINALS

Creativity Unleashed Creativity Unleashed

Kira DeLuca

Madelyn’s art piece is called Sammy. It is inspired by her baby brother Sammy. She said, “He’s always smiling so the particular colors of the yellow and everything really exemplifies his personality.”

The piece is named Love Birds, and it symbolizes the deep connection that different animals in the world can experience. “I think birds are such a strong representation of love, because usually when you see one, there's another one with it,” Alorah elaborated.

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Madelyn Minchhoff is a senior who is skilled in drawing, and has recently begun painting. She’s loved art since she was young, and she likes drawing flowers. After high school, she plans to go to college for architecture. One struggle she faces with creating art is perfectionism.

This piece took two months to make; the hardest part of it was, “Not giving up because I had to do all these individual shapes and each single square I did. It took a while. ” She made this painting by creating a 1" by 1" grid, then chose a picture of her brother, and applied a grid. This ensured the proportions were accurate. She then drew her baby brother’s shape on the grid and started the painting process.

Alorah Badman is a junior who enjoys making acrylic and watercolor paintings. Her greatest supporters are her parents who encourage her creative interests and artistic pursuits. She and her parents would paint, color, sing, build, and make toys.

“This planted my love for creating art, and ever since, I have taken every opportunity to paint or draw something I love,” Alorah explained. Her favorite subject to draw is cats. She still has challenges with certain mediums, but is skilled in painting with acrylics. Many of her pieces took a lot of time and effort, and she is proud of her work. This piece took her a few hours to make while using watercolor and colored pencils. She struggled to make the birds look life-like, but she was able to give the birds warmth and dimension. When making a piece, she tries to relax and listen to music. In this piece, the birds are a representation of the love she has for the people in her life.

Lucian Persaud is a senior skilled in digital art, honing a cartoon, animelike style. His friends were the ones who kindled his interest in art and supported his pursuit. He mostly enjoys drawing animals. The piece took 2-3 days to make, the hardest part being the line art. He made sure to use a reference and put in a lot of thought. Lucian enjoys drawing, but is still learning, “That wasn’t even one of my greatest pieces; it was just one I slapped together real quick.” He is still working on learning shading, lineart, and details, and is very skilled in background design.

The piece is named Vortex, based on his Dungeons and Dragons character. It was inspired by two games, World of War Craft and Diablo. The character is also based on the rogue character in these games.

This piece is part of Madison’s AP Art Portfolio; the portrait is meant to symbolize nostalgia and her childhood, bright and colorful with a black background to bring out those vibrant colors.

Faith Vargas is a senior who specializes in painting and design. Her sister was the one to get her into art and she enjoys drawing people, animals, and landscapes. She is working on innovation and motivation. This painting took her about a week to make, the hardest part was the person. She uses music to help her with the process and to stay motivated.

Victoria Stiles is a sophomore skilled in photography. She saw photography as an elective opportunity and took the class.

She enjoys taking photos of nature and the environment.

This photo was an assignment for her photography class. It did not take her long to make and was a quick process. She didn’t really have many challenges while making it, noting that the editing was time consuming. “The editing was kind of hard, trying to get it perfect and how it was supposed to be, but it was pretty simple,” she added.

Madison Grives is a senior who is skilled in impressionism and oil pastels, often taking inspiration from Van Gogh. She has always loved art since she could remember, and creates pieces based on what she enjoys.

Madison is pursuing art in the future; planning to be an art teacher. Madison worked on this piece over the summer. She said the hardest part of the piece was, “To get the baby face to look like a face,” and focused on making it flowy.

The piece is unnamed; Faith rarely names her pieces. She says that her painting is about, “An image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality.”

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Fresh Faces

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

Sammi Clarke & Kira DeLuca

Guess the owner of the desk!

Mrs. Dwyer? Mrs. Hansson? Mr. Waide?

Photo by Lifetouch

Mrs. Dwyer Mrs. Dwyer is a Special Education teacher for 9th and 10th grade English Language Arts. She’s new to Pocono Mountain East High School, but has been teaching for 18 years. Before she came to Pocono Mountain East High School, she taught at Lakeland Elementary in grades 4 through 6, as well as Pennsbury High School, and Bucks County Technical High School.

When asked what her goal was this year, she said, “It is to have a good rapport with my students, especially my 9th graders going into 10th grade, because I'll see them again. I want to be supportive of the students that are here, and I think getting to know the other staff I’m going to be working with. As a teacher, especially a special education teacher, you work with a ton of different staff. So I think my goal going forward is creating rapport with the faculty and the students, just so they know that there’s somebody they can come to, and my colleagues trust that I’m a good partner to work with.”

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Photo by Ryan Huntley

Photo by Tal Waide

Mrs. Hansson

Mr. Waide

with 13 years of experience under her belt, including

recently transferred from PMSD Cyber to serve as a

eight years working at a special education school in

half-year substitute for Mr. Ostrowski. He began

New Jersey and early intervention for four years, which

working for East in 2000, in his early 20s. Once West

she still does after school. She knows some of the

High School opened in 2002, he transferred and taught

faculty and staff through her son, Ryan Huntley, who

there for 19 years before moving to PM Cyber until

graduated from East in 2025.

August of this year. Having already taught here, he

Mrs. Hansson is a civics teacher new to our school,

Mr. Waide is one of our pre-calculus teachers who

knew plenty of people, including Mr. Bartko and Mrs. Mrs. Hansson prefers to spend her time with her three

DeFazio. He and his family often go on vacation with

dogs, Gizmo, Jinx, and Dexter. Mrs. Hansson makes it a

Mr. Bartko, even taking a cruise together once. During

priority to help her students in any way she can. She

his free time, he enjoys spending time with his son and

highlighted, “I'm very empathetic and understanding,

wife, whether it's watching baseball games, traveling,

and I try to always be available to help and make sure

or playing Fortnite.

that my students know that I'm here for them.” r, Jinx & Gizm Dexte o

In regard to his classes, Mr. Waide hopes to make his students comfortable enough to believe they can grasp math and its concepts, even when they hate math or have struggled to understand it. He explained, “That's my goal, just to make you guys comfortable learning in an environment that's safe for you to ask questions, safe for us to laugh, safe for us to share things about everything. All so that you're comfortable enough to learn from me, and then ask questions.”

Desk answer key: 1-Hansson 2-Dwyer 3-Waide

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

H e H e l l p p i i n n g g H a H a n n d d s s In I n T Tr r a a ii n n i i n n g g

Brianna Mirabile

From the classroom to the hospital, Senior Lauren McLain takes on an impressive internship with Geisinger Medical Center to gain real medical experience.

Lauren starts her day at 5:00 a.m., when she commutes one hour to Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton to be ready to clock in at 7:00 a.m. At the center, Lauren volunteers in the cardiac department, where she helps patients who suffer from heart failure, heart disease, or those focusing on heart health. As a volunteer, Lauren helps to take care of the patients on the floor. Her tasks include: helping patients wash up, feeding patients if they need help, changing bed sheets, breaking up medication, and helping her patients with any care that they require. She also experiences many fascinating educational opportunities, such as witnessing an echocardiogram.

Initially, Lauren decided to take on this internship because of her dad; his experience in the hospital taught her about the work that it takes to help people. Lauren said, “I realized all of the things that go into getting someone healthy and out of the hospital, and I wanted to be a part of it.” With her willingness and passion for the medical field already underway, Lauren took a step further when she saw that Ms. Garvey, EHS career guidance counselor, advises students who are interested in the medical field, leading her to Geisinger. The next steps were creating her application and schedule, which she was able to do with the help of Ms. Garvey and Mr. Fitzpatrick, EHS guidance counselor. The cooperation and support of Lauren’s senior year teachers have also been a great support to her.

Photo by Gavin Demler

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Photo by Arianna DeLancey

As a future medical professional, Lauren wishes to pursue a career as a Physician Assistant. This experience has not only prepared her for medical school, but has connected her personally with current Physician Assistants whom she has the opportunity to speak to and observe in the field. This internship has also impacted Lauren as a person and changed the way she goes about her everyday life. Lauren said, “I’ve seen people with years left to live and people with months left to live, and all of them have different outlooks on life. It makes me think about all of the decisions you make in your life and where they lead you.”

In addition to this time consuming internship, Lauren is also a student-athlete, dual enrollment student, and parttime worker. This internship has helped her learn how to manage her time, especially with juggling such a hectic schedule. Despite her workload, she recommends this internship to any students who are aspiring a career as a medical professional.

Becoming an Eagle Scout Victoria Stiles

Senior Daniel Cunningham has been scouting since first grade. For his final requirement to earn Eagle Scout rank, he chose a wedding venue as his service project and hosted fundraisers to finance it. His most successful fundraiser was a Zumba class last April, raising an impressive $1,225.00.

Senior Paige Rully joined Girl Scouts when she was in kindergarten, and in sixth grade, she joined Scouting America because it focuses more on outdoor and survival skills. “My favorite scouting activity is definitely the camping trips and cooking,” she explained.

Senior Jake Merritt joined Scouting America when he was seven years old. He decided to join because, “It looked fun staying in the woods, camping, and going fishing.” Jake feels most accomplished, “knowing that I finished at the highest rank and fulfilling a huge milestone.”

Photo by Jack Rully

Paige is looking forward to becoming an Eagle Scout. In order to become an Eagle Scout, she has earned 17 of the required 21 merit badges. Paige’s favorite merit badge is the swimming badge because it is very challenging, requiring timed tasks.

Of his 31 merit badges, Daniel is most proud of his camping badge, which required required him to camp ten nights and complete a service project at camp. Daniel appreciates all of the opportunities he gets being an Eagle Scout and is beyond grateful for the honor he has earned.

Paige’s goal for her service project was to, “Help others have a better view of the signs so they can learn more about the Kettle Creek Wildlife Sanctuary.” Paige put in brand new frames and signs, working with local vendor Barrett Signs, on Running Valley Road.

Photos by Daniel Cunningham

The wedding venue project included constructing and staining benches, weeding and mulching, planting and trimming shrubs, and filling an area with gravel. The venue serves the district court located in the Barrett Administrative & Recreation Complex.

Jake, who was inspired by his father, became an Eagle Scout on May 15, 2025. He states, "My dad is my role model, because he signed me up in the first place and taught me how to fish and tie knots.”

Jake earned 56 badges of 139. His favorite merit badge is the Fly Fishing badge, because it is a very unique experience, being able to go out and fly fish for trout. This merit badge required Jake to tie multiple flies, and catch a fish on a fly fishing pole.

RE BEFO

R AFTE

Photo by Jack Rully

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ACADEMICS ELEVATED th th

20 20

Anniversary Anniversary

SCHOOL TO WORK PROGRAM

Brianna Mirabile

Pocono Mountain School District's School to Work Program celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. This program partners with members of the community and Pocono Mountain Life Skills classes to prepare students for future employment and aid them in developing skills to become active members of their communities.

For any student with a disability, the transition from a classroom-based environment to working and living independently can be challenging. The School to Work Program allows students to gain the experiences and skills required to prepare them for this adjustment. With the aid of local businesses, students in life skills classes attend community worksites daily, where they experience working in a professional setting. Community workplace sites include: CVS, Toys for Tots, Skytop Lodge, Pocono Mountain Ecumenical Hunger Industry, Pocono Plateau Camp and Retreat Center, Paradise Stream Resort, and Gluco Lodge Personal Care Home.

There are three main components that comprise this program:

functional

academics,

community-based

instruction, and independent living skills. These skills are built into each student's workday through a number of tasks they are instructed to complete, such as sweeping, washing dishes, folding napkins, setting tables, cleaning, laundry, stocking shelves and operating cash registers.

These tasks give the students experience for future employment and living on their own.

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Seth Pojedinec

Mr. Jerry Greeley has been a teaching member of the program for all 20 years and was the one who initially started the program. He has worked alongside Mrs. Marianne Paige, Mr. Joe Franzo, Mr. Steven Werner, and Mr. Mark Robbins, who have been major contributors to the program's success.

Mrs. Paige oversees the program at Pocono Mountain East High School and has been a teaching member for 11 years.

Prior to her current position, Mrs. Paige was a paraeducator at East High School. Her experiences with her students motivated her to go back to school and become a special education teacher. She shared how incredibly impactful witnessing her students participating in the program is and that it is the “hidden gem” of Pocono Mountain School District. The success of this program requires many people to contribute.

Mrs. Paige said, “It takes a total team effort; the support of the school district and community is what allows the success of the program.”

Isaiah Melendez and Adrian Cruz

Karen Buchanan Seth Pojedinec and Charles Boasci

The most important part of the program is its vibrant and inspiring students. When talking to the students, many of them shared how excited they are about the program and all of the skills that they have learned.

Some of the students have started to complete their own applications for jobs that they have individual interest in.

The students have successfully learned how to work in a professional environment and shared their hopes to continue working, start their own businesses, and live on their own.

The 20th anniversary of this program has been a road paved with hard work and contributions. This program has graduated 228 students. Throughout the past 20 years, this program has changed and grown, and the continued support of the school and community will continue to preserve this program.

Photos by Mrs. Marianne Paige

David Burgos

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ACADEMICS ELEVATED

Future Educators Club Victoria Stiles Future Educators Club helps high school students prepare for careers in education. They are part of the Attract, Repair, Retain Grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Pocono Mountain East High School has partnered with East Stroudsburg University since 2021 to offer this program.

The club offers field experience with young children and helps develop a stronger interest for a future in education.

Advised by Mrs. Sarah Garofalo and Mrs. Jessica Allshouse, this club provides plenty of field experience and is open to all students who are thinking about a career in education.

This club meets twice a month in room 135. They focus on a different activity or event each month. Mrs. Sarah Garofalo would like to see students get as many experiences in high school as they can. They complete field experiences in the fall and spring, attending different classes at Swiftwater Elementary School and Swiftwater Intermediate School. In October, they explored careers in special education at Colonial Intermediate Unit 20. The students had the opportunity to see professionals who work in speech and language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, mental health, vision support, hearing support, and adaptive physical education.

Mrs. Sarah Garofalo started this club because of the demand for teachers. “As a special education teacher, I see the need for younger teachers and teachers that want to work with kids and want to make a difference.”

Brianna Mirabile, a senior, has already learned a lot in the club. She is excited to go on college field trips, learn how classes are structured, and what teaching will really entail on the other side of the desk. Brianna is thinking about teaching English, but she, “Gravitates towards teaching young children,” which includes all subjects at the elementary level. Brianna was inspired by Mrs. Garofalo, a Special Education teacher and case manager at East, who introduced her to the experience sophomore year. “This club is so much fun, and it is not nerve wracking at all. Mrs. Garofalo is so sweet and so is Mrs. Allshouse. You could really talk to them about anything.”

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Brianna Mirabile, Paige Rully, and Olivia DeMilta

FBLA

FBLA OFFICERS

Nora Lewis

The Future Business Leaders of America went to Kalahari from November 1- 3, 2025, for the State Leadership Workshop. FBLA members had the opportunity to stay at Kalahari, make business connections, and enjoy the water park.

They spent the day attending workshops and forming connections. Workshops included topics such as business startup, sports marketing, and organizational tasks.

Photo by Mrs. Cosgrove Heidi Regan, Reporter; Emma Flood, Secretary; Madallyn Koehl-Ruocco, Historian; Lea Donicova, Treasurer.; AJ Formica, President; Alex Chen, Parlimentarian; Malik Bey, Membership Recruiter; Andrew Nyakundi, Vice President.

They also had the opportunity to meet the guest speaker, Robert Anthony. Robert has a prosthetic and competes in triathlons and travels to compete in Para Spartan competitions. He also competes in amputee soccer and in A2 sitting volleyball. In addition to his own inspiring story, he told attendees, “A vision without strategy is nothing, but an illusion.”

FBLA is a competitive group, competing in regional, state, and national level competitions. FBLA at East High School is an opportunity for those interested in the business world.

They meet every Tuesday in room 214 with the adviser, Mrs. Kimberly Cosgrove.

To contact her, email kcosgrove@pmsd.org.

Photo by Mrs. Cosgrove

Preparing For the Future in HOSA

P r e p a r i n g Fo r t h e F u t u r e i n H O S A Victoria Stiles HOSA is a new club this year at East High School. HOSA stands for Health Occupations Students of America, and gives students opportunities to develop leadership and technical health skills through a program of motivation, awareness and recognition. Mrs. Miriam Carson is leading the charge, and Junior Camille Hubbs is the originator behind it. HOSA meets every other Tuesday. Don’t miss out on this new opportunity to get involved and explore a future in health occupations.

Photo by Victoria Stiles

Bob Dave Wheeler & Anthony Martinelli

Google Classroom: ejmhonhl Photo by Victoria Stiles

Photo by Victoria Stiles

Mrs. Miriam Carson and Camille Hubbs

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

No Hate Tour Sammi Clarke

Mrs. Toleno, and the students of East High School, hosted the No Hate Tour on October 20 2025. She thoroughly enjoyed the tour, noting that they were true experts in their craft.

Mrs. Toleno was informed beforehand that someone among the staff would be under the bikers as they performed some tricks. However, she did not expect that somebody would be her. She remarked that she was extremely nervous during that part, but she remained calm under pressure and allowed the show to shine beautifully.

On the crowd’s side of things, Valerie Cooper, 11th grade student, thought the tour was wonderful. She notes that she had been screaming to her lungs' capacity whenever one of the bikers did tricks. Her favorite part of the tour was when Trevor was showcasing his artistic tricks with his bike. Additionally, she enjoyed the performance so much that she stayed behind to get autographs from all the experts!

In the same fashion, Maile O’Connor, a junior, found the tour to be awesome and entertaining. Furthermore, Photo by Lance Folden, Lifetouch

she found the segments where they did jaw-dropping flips to be the most enjoyable!

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While the tour focuses on how to recognize and stop bullying, both Maile and Valerie took slightly different lessons from the assembly.

Maile explained, “You can do what you want to do in the future if you make it happen.”

Valerie learned that, “No dream is too small, and despite obstacles, if you have enough passion and will, you can make it happen.”

Like the Bikers, Mrs. Toleno emphasized, “There is no place for bullying. Everyone needs to follow their dreams and not let anyone interfere. More importantly, stay true to yourself despite everything.”

Photo by Lance Folden, Lifetouch

Photo by Lance Folden, Lifetouch

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Café Mural Kira DeLuca There is a new art addition to the cafeteria: a stunning mural in the East High School’s new Pride and Joy Lounge that was recently added this summer. The lounge was planned and organized by Ms. Jamie Bowman, assistant principal, and Mrs. Moniqua Santiago, school psychologist, and sponsored by the Scotty Spreads Joy Foundation. The foundation is in memory of Scotty Raymond, Class of 2024, and supports various organizations and causes that were dear to him.

The lounge is a place where students can spend their lunch period with seven others when they use Pride Points to enter a weekly raffle. To make it an especially inviting space, Ms. Jordana Wagner, art teacher, designed a mural to be straight forward and easy to interpret. She made the banner purple for Scotty, his favorite color, and added his name and a sun. “I think most people feel better when they are outside and can be in the sunlight, so even during the colder months, I wanted to bring that energy into the room,” Ms. Wagner explained.

Ms

. Jo

rdana W agn

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er

On one side, she made heart-hands, a symbol of love, and added, “Be kind,” because, “High school can be a rough place, and kids can be cruel to one another, especially in a time when everyone is connected all the time. You cannot get away from people and what they are saying. We, as a society, need to be kinder to one another,” she explained.

The right window features a Cardinal for school spirit and pride. For this side, she used color theory; using complementary colors and analogous colors. Ms. Wagner wanted the mural to feel fun and exciting, presenting a 70s aesthetic. “The reception to the work has been lovely, and achieving the goal of making people smile, that in itself is rewarding.”

Victoria Stiles & Brianna Mirabile The Cheer Clinic fundraiser allowed youth cheerleaders to participate in the first half of a football game with the varsity and junior varsity cheerleading teams.

This fundraiser partnered with the Youth Association of Pocono Mountain. The clinic hosted 34 cheerleaders this year, and raised approximately nine hundred dollars. The money raised benefits the East cheerleading teams.

This program enabled aspiring cheerleaders to learn skills and experience cheerleading under the Friday night lights. Additionally, it allows for current members of the cheerleading team to serve their community and learn valuable leadership skills. Sophomore Jenna DiCandia remarked that she enjoyed working with the cheerleaders, “I felt like a role model towards the young cheerleaders and they were so sweet and fun to be around.”

The cheerleaders and coaches had an especially successful turnout this year. Senior Kadance Buchma has participated as a cheerleader in the clinic for four years and this year, she had the opportunity to lead the clinic. Kadance said, “It was cool being able to lead the future generation. It felt like I was giving back to my team and my community.” In addition, Coach Cassidy Santos shared how memorable this experience. was for her; “The bonds that the youth and cheerleaders form are very special. It is also very special to watch the little girls flying and doing something new.”

With the clinic being a huge success, the team is now preparing for their competition season. Coach Santos said that the clinic, “Helps the team to bond and come together as they prepare for competition.”

The youth and high school cheerleaders both learned valuable skills, helping them to become dedicated and skillful leaders.

Participating in the fundraiser was a great Korynn McCoy and Emma experience for many of the cheerleaders.

Freshman Adrianna Purificato said, PME CHEERLEADERS “It was very exciting, but it was also nerve wracking. It came with a lot of responsibility, especially working with the kids, so I was stressed out at first.” Despite the nerves prior to the clinic, it was highly successful!

Maddie & Lila-Rae Theis

Photos Submitted by Lila-Rae Theis and Korynn McCoy

WINTER 2025 | ELEVATE | 19

INTERESTED IN

WRITING PHOTOGRAPHY DESIGN JOIN THE

TEAM Beco me a p ublis hed w

r photo iter, g & de rapher signe r!

Take the full-year elective DIGITAL

JOURNALISM For more information see:

Dr. Bracey in 222 Mrs. Baldauff in 239