WHS Buccaneer

Superintendent Linda Smith Bids WCSD a Fond Farewell

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 14:49:00 +0000

by Owen Brantner

With the passing of the 2014-2015 school year at WHS, Mrs. Linda K. Smith will be soon departing from the district. After a thorough 29 years of working at the Williamsburg school district and influencing the lives of many, we all grasp onto a bittersweet farewell. When asked about leaving the school district, she replied, “Some days I’m looking forward to retirement, but some days I’m sad to think ‘How can I leave?’”

Linda Smith was a WHS graduate of 1975 and came back to her hometown to give back to her community. In 1986, she returned to be hired as a second grade teacher. Several years later, she moved to Title 1 math. In 1999, she was appointed as head teacher. Two years later she was appointed as principal, where she remained as principal for the following seven years. In 2008, she was promoted to superintendent, where she’s been up until her retirement in the coming weeks.

However, the 29 years of enthusiasm, hard work, and dedication have also had its fair share of difficulties and predicaments. “My biggest challenge at first was the financial situation the District was in.” She continued with, “This District, now, is in a good place financially.” The second most cumbersome challenge this district faces are all the standardized tests that everybody has to take. In her words “School has lost the identity of being fun. Too many tests!”

Through those years and experiences, she has quite the amusing stories as well as the memories she’s stored up over the years. “I have many great memories during the time I was the elementary principal.” She exclaimed. Of all of them, spending time with the Star Students was one of her favorite. The students never knew about it, but Smith kept a journal containing all the records of when certain students were a Star Student. And from kindergarten through 6th grade, every student from every grade became a Star Student as some point. No child was ever excluded!

As for her plans after retiring, she plans to spend time with the family, watch movies, and enjoy reading a good book. “Things I haven’t been able to do for a very long time.” She added. Through her occupational exodus, we cling on to the words of wisdom as well as the laughs and memories shared. Daily, she would remind us with this simple truth: “Keep smiling, it makes people wonder what you’re thinking.” From the District and here at the Buccaneer, we bid her a bittersweet farewell.

WCSD Superintendent Secretary Answers Retirement's Call

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 14:47:00 +0000

by Owen Brantner

With the 2014-2015 school year coming to a close, Mrs. Charlotte Irvin will leap into a long awaited retirement. For 29 years, she was a role model for kids in the elementary school as well as a hard-working secretary for Mrs. Smith: our superintendent who is also retiring this year as well.

Throughout the years, Mrs. Irvin has had her hands full as well as challenges to deal with. “Challenges...there are challenges everyday.”

She said, “You know you’re successful when others never even notice that there’s something wrong.” She continued, “You learn to work through them and make the best of every situation you are confronted with.”

For the past 29 years, Mrs. Irvin has been all over this district with multiple positions. When she was hired in 1986, she had the position of Pre-First Classroom Aide. For two years, she held the same position until she was moved to Chapter 1 Reading Aide.

In 1991, she was appointed Title 1 Aide for both math and reading. For nearly a decade, she remained as the Title 1 Math Aide until the mid 2000’s. Following that, she was appointed as a secretary in the Elementary school office until 2009. From 2009 through this year, Irving had the position of Secretary to the Superintendent.

When we asked about the memories she’s stored up over the years, one of her favorite were when Mrs. Linda Smith wore silver shoes and a purple dress to work.

“As a joke, a few of the teachers wrapped their shoes in aluminum foil and walked into Linda’s classroom.” She said. “We were all howling with laughter that day!” Charlotte added.

As she moves onto her retirement, Mrs. Irvin plans to spend more time with her family and grandchildren. “I also want to travel more and see more of the United States...” She included. “...In addition, I want to pick up a book and not put it down until I’m finished reading.”

As she finishes up the final days of her career, what awaits is a retirement full of joy, peace, and grandeur. And while we will miss hearing her cheery voice on the other end of the phone or getting a quick answer to a problem, we here at Buccaneer and the District as a whole wish you well on your retirement Mrs. Irvin!

WCSD Speech Therapist Talks About Retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 14:35:00 +0000

by Catie Sukala

Sometimes, the most important members of a school district are the ones who are largely unknown by most students and parents. Maggie Blalock, our Speech and Language Therapist, is a perfect example of this paradox. While she was integral to helping our students succeed, unless someone really needed her, it might be hard for many to put a face with the name. That does not change the fact that her presence has been felt throughout the district in many positive ways.

Maggie joined the district in August of 1996, so her retirement finds her in the midst of her 19th year of assisting our students to meet their goals. Each day her favorite part of the job was the students, teachers, and staff in the district.

“I’ve loved every minute of serving the students here at WCSD,” Maggie reflected. She also thanks the district, students, and parents for the amazing opportunity she has had over the years.

That is not to say that she will miss everything. It will probably be nice not to have to juggle meeting the needs of the students and teaching to the best of her ability every day with the enormous amount of paperwork associated with special education. It is her love for her students that kept her going and that most stands out to her colleagues.

“Maggie always sought out information not just on the students’ progress in speech, but also in how they were doing in classes, what struggles they were facing, and insights into their lives outside of her office. She really does her best to educate the whole student in front of her,” said Mrs. Elisabeth McMullin, an English teacher at the high school.

Students also noticed how dedicated she is to them. Graduating senior Roy Lynn said, “she was always willing to do whatever it took to make her students feel comfortable in her room and she went above and beyond. She got to know everyone on a basis deeper than just teacher and student.”

Maggie has some reflections of her own on her days at Williamsburg. “I have had many wonderful memories throughout these 19 years, but the one that gives me the greatest joy is the expression on a student’s face when he or she has acquired a new sound for the very first time or has achieved his/her IEP goal after many hours and sessions of practice and perseverance.”

In her retirement, Maggie has several plans. She loves contemporary Christian music and is hoping that she can become involved in that industry in some way (although she plans to be behind the scenes). She is also looking forward to spending as much time as possible with her daughters and their families.

It has been wonderful over the years to have Maggie’s calm and encouraging spirit in the district and we hope that her life is full of blessings throughout her retirement!

Kindergarten Teacher Trades Recess for Retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 14:32:00 +0000

by Jessie Clark

Williamsburg waves goodbye to two Kindergarten teachers this year. One of them is Mrs. Jaynne Bowers.

Over the course of her 37 year career, she has taught in many different levels. For a year and a half, she was in the first grade. Another year was spent with second graders. But the main focus for her was the 34 and a half years she worked with Kindergarteners. And as far as teaching Kindergarten, she really had no preference for that level at first; she just wanted to teach children.

Her favorite parts of teaching here were being able to watch the children’s progress from the beginning of the school year to the end because the amount of what they learn is amazing.

Six year old Andrew Clark says he is very happy to have had her as his Kindergarten teacher. He will miss her next year as he moves on to first grade. He said he likes the way she teaches.

Andrew especially likes how helpful and fun Mrs. Bowers has been to him. He enjoys a lot of the things they do in class but his favorite subject is reading. He said Mrs. Bowers helped him to really like it. She made it fun and enjoyable for him.

All in all, Andrew was happy he got to spend his first year of school with such a good teacher.

Jaynne also really likes how close knit this community is, and how pleasant the parents are to work with. She likes knowing she taught a lot of these children’s parents.

The close community allowed Jaynne to get to know her students and families well and also helped her to have a good sense of family history when she saw fresh faces every year in her classroom for the first time.

She is very happy with the time she has spent here and will miss it very much, however she is ready to move on.

“I see it as a new season in my life,” she says. And she is eager to get on with spending time with her own grandchildren.

Mrs. Bowers, we wish you the best of luck with your retirement!

Retiring Kindergarten Teacher Still Plans to Help Others

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 14:30:00 +0000

By Jessica Clark

Williamsburg is waving good-bye to more than just their graduates this year as several teachers enter retirement. As a matter of fact, two of our retirees are the teachers who greet students for the first time that many of them enter a classroom.

Mrs. Nancy Byler, the Kindergarten teacher of 24 years here at Williamsburg Elementary is very excited to enter retirement. She considers it a new chapter in her life. However, Nancy still wants to serve others, so she plans to expand the amount of time she spends teaching in her church.

As well as continuing to serve she want to reconnect and spend time with her retired colleagues, build those friendships, increase her family time, and spend excess amount of time in flower gardens.

While at Williamsburg she was very happy with her job. She especially liked working here because she was given kindergarten to teach, her dream job that she had wanted since she was a little girl watching Romper Room.

Also, Nancy appreciated the professional freedom she was given. She was given the freedom to make teaching decisions based on the students, she could teach them in the ways she thought would be most efficient.

Nancy’s students seem to have enjoyed the freedom she had to run her classroom in her own way. Six year old Anthony Neri says he had a good Kindergarten experience with Mrs. Byler as his teacher.

Anthony says that she taught him a lot and the class had fun while they learned. He specifically likes how she teaches Math. She gives help but at the same time gives them enough of a challenge that they learn from it.

He said he is very happy he got her as his teacher and will miss her very much next year as he advances in school and she enters retirement.

Williamsburg Community School District wishes you, Mrs. Nancy Byler, all of the best of luck with the new chapter of your life… Retirement.

Outgoing Sixth Grade Teacher Made Impact at WCSD

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 14:23:00 +0000

By Catie Sukala

"Mrs. Over was kind of a difficult teacher but in a good way.” Many teachers could not ask for a higher kind of praise than that phrase, which is how Jarrod Granlund remembers Cathy Over. Cathy, who has taught in the district since 1978,will be retiring in just a few days.

In the course of her career, Cathy substituted for the district and she taught second, fourth, and sixth grades. During that time, she built up too many memories to share just one. Jarrod definitely had some memories to share about her. He elaborated on his first comment by saying, “She was hard on us but she got us to do what we needed to do and she prepared us for coming up to the high school.” In Jarrod's opinion, one of the best things she did was have the points bank. “We would get points and could bank them until we spent them on things we wanted like pencils, pens, or gift cards. It was really good because it helped us to know what it was like to be responsible for saving up for something we wanted so that when we get a real bank account, we'll know what to do,” he recalled another high point from his time with her in 6th grade, “I also really liked learning about Williamsburg history.”

Mrs. Over's influence extends well beyond her classroom.“Cathy is very easy to work with,” said Brian McCune, the high school math teacher who coordinates curriculum with Mrs. Over between 6th and 7th grades. “She does an excellent job of adapting her lessons to meet the needs of students.” Mr. McCune echoed Jarrod Granlund's thoughts when he said that her students were well prepared for the work load his classroom has. “She is always able to give me a good idea of who is coming into my room and what needs would be seeing.”

As school winds down for the year, Cathy is getting ready to pass on that wisdom to the high school teachers one last time. As for retirement, we are sure that she has many plans, but one thing she is really looking forward to enjoying is not being on a schedule. We wish Cathy Over a great time in her retirement even as we know we will miss her when school begins next year!

The Pirate Scoreboard Oct 27th - Oct 31st

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 18:58:00 +0000

Article By: Miranda Bell

With the first shot at the playoffs in over twenty years riding upon the outcome of the game, the Blue Pirates were ready to give it everything they had on the evening of Friday, October 31. The nearly two hour trip to the game did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the fans or the appetite of the team for one last win this season. Homer Center’s Wildcats’ determination did not match it’s performance on the field - particularly in the second half. Williamsburg played well in the second half (most notably on defense) and ended the night with a 32-13 win over Homer Center at Memorial Field - quite a treat for our school on a Halloween night. Coach Bob Hearn gave a voice to the feelings of most fans, many of whom made the trip to watch the game live, when he told the Altoona Mirror, “it’s so big for the community.”

Williamsburg was on the board right away, driving 63 yards on seven plays for a touchdown on it’s first possession of the night. Quarterback Tyler Shaw finished the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run 3:13 into the game, making the score 7-0. On the next drive, Shaw showed the Wildcats’ defense that he can pass the ball just as well as he can run it in when he threw a 16-yard touchdown perfectly to Mike Biddle, pushing the Pirates lead to 14-0 with 4:23 left in the first quarter.

Wildcats’ coach Greg Page noted to the Altoona Mirror, “You work all week on what the other team is going to do, and you try to instill this in your kids, but sometimes I think we forget the other team is making plays, too.” His team certainly seemed to prove his point because it took the Wildcats until the second quarter to respond to the onslaught by the Pirates, making the score 14-7.

Safety Bryce Young made an interception, preventing the Wildcats’ from scoring again and tying the game. “I was pretty lucky,” commented Young on the play, “it surprised me that he was there - I was in the right place at the right time and I was able to make the play.”

The energy and force from the first half clearly carried over to the second half for the Pirates. Marching 61 yards on four plays the Pirates scored from 20 yards on a quarterback sneak. Shaw ended the night with 134 yards and three touchdowns on 22 attempts (six yards per carry). Reflecting on his victory, quarterback Shaw said, “we did not have much time to think, so we just went out and played our hearts out.”

Shaw’s comments reveal something that the highlights of the game might overlook: from the beginning of the first quarter to the very last second, the progress of the game was a team effort. The Pirates will be looking to take that same approach and maximize their team dynamics when they face their first playoff opponents.

The Pirates and the Wildcats both advanced to the District 6 Class A playoffs and will play in the first round this Friday, November 7. Eighth seeded Williamsburg (6-4) will be stacked against Bishop Guilfoyle’s Marauders at Mansion Park in Altoona.

The Junior High football team ended their season with a disappointing loss against Northern Bedford 19-6. They ended the year with a winning season, however, and are looking forward to building on their successes next year.

Check out Heritage Conference Football's Facebook Page for more pictures from the Blue Pirates at Wildcats game!

The Pirate Scoreboard: October 20th - October 24th

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 16:27:00 +0000

Article by: Alyssa Weise

The Blue Pirates defeated the Northern Bedford Panthers on their home field Friday, October 24th 35-21. Tyler Shaw caught several interceptions and five touchdown passes. Andy Rhoads received five passes for 89 yards, received a 15 yard pass for a touchdown as well as having running for a 57 yard touchdown. Bryce Young received eight passes for 170 yards and also scored three touchdowns. The next game for the Blue Pirates is Friday at Homer Center. If you can’t make it to the game, The Renda Broadcasting Company will be broadcasting the game over internet radio at 6:20PM. You can access the broadcast by going to www.1160wccs.com and look for the link of the game broadcast.

The Junior High Blue Pirates also had a win this week against Moshannon Valley scoring 14-12. Chandler Gunnett scored a one yard touchdown and ran for a two point conversion. The next game for the Junior High Pirates is Tuesday, October 28, against Northern Bedford.

The Lady Pirates lost to the Tyrone Eagles on their Dig Pink night Monday, October 20th. The Lady Pirates lost to the Lady Eagles in the first and second games, 19-25 and 19-25. In the third game the Lady Pirates came back with a 26-24 win. In the fourth game, our Lady Pirates won again scoring 25-22. Despite getting down 11-0, the Lady Pirates dug deep and pulled in 4 points. Despite such efforts, the Lady Eagles won the match 11-15. Kaydi Brubaker led the team with 19 points and 4 kills, and 3 blocks. Despite an injury, Caitlin England pulled out 11 service points and 24 digs. The Junior Varsity Lady Pirates pulled out a win against the Lady Eagles losing the first game and winning the last two. Tyrone took the win 25-15 in the first game, but the Lady Pirates came back and won games two and three, 25-9 and 15-13. Jenna Kephart was high server with 12 service points including 5 aces. Olivia England chipped in 7 service points and 6 digs. The Lady Pirate JV team is now 8-8.

The Lady Pirates hosted West Branch for their last home game and their senior night. Our Lady Pirates lost in three games 25-8, 25-6, and 25-21. Kaydi Brubaker had 4 points while Caitlin England chipped in 3 points. Caitlin and Carly England each had a team high 7 digs. Congratulations to all Lady Pirate Volleyball Seniors! The Junior Varsity team also lost in two games 25-23, 25-10, Olivia England had 5 service points. Jenna Kephart had 4 service points, including 3 aces. Taylor Mikesic had 6 digs. The next game for the Lady Pirates is on Thursday at Mount Union.

The Lady Pirates ended their season bringing home a win against Mount Union Thursday night. The girls lost in game one, 23-25. The Lady Pirates came back in games two, three and four scoring 25-15, 25-22 and 26-24. Carly England had a team high 14 points including 5 aces and 13 digs. Caitlin England finished with 13 points and 14 digs. Cassidy Bowmaster had 8 points and 5 assists. Kaydi Brubaker had 8 kills while Olivia England finished with 10 points. Miranda Bell finished with 9 points. The Lady Pirate volleyball team ended their season 5-13. The Junior Varsity Lady Pirates ended their season with a lost. The Lady pirates won in game one, 25-23. They lost games two and three, 7-25, 13-15. Olivia England had 6 points, while Lindsey Brubaker chipped in 4 points. Darien Wombacher had 4 digs, while Taylor Mikesic finished with 2 kills. The JV team ended their season with an 8-10 record.

*Volleyball stats from Coach Loose

The Pirate Scoreboard October 13th - October 17th

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 16:23:00 +0000

Article by: Miranda Bell
The Lady Pirate Volleyball team put on a thrilling show last night on our home court against Moshannon Valley. The team battled back and forth with the Lady Damsels for five games. The Lady Pirates lost 23-25 in game one, then fought back and won game two 25-19. The Lady Damsels won game three 15-25, but again the Lady Pirates answered with a 25-17 win in game four. It came down to game five. The Lady Pirates battled until the end, but lost 13-15. Two players scored triple doubles. Cassidy Bowmaster had a team high 15 service points, 14 digs, and 13 assists. Carly England also pulled out the triple with 13 service points, 13 kills, and 13 digs. Caitlin England played strong defense and finished with 15 digs, while Kaydi Brubaker chipped in 11 service points. To round out the double digits, Olivia England ended the night with 10 assists.

The Junior Varsity team also had a long battled, but they pulled out the victory in the end. Game one the JV Pirates dominated and won 25-11, game two Mo Valley came back to win 21-25, but game three the Lady Pirates held on and won 15-13. Olivia England finished with 13 service points. Miranda Bell added 10 points and 4 assists. Kara Hostler had 9 service points including 6 aces. Darien Wombacher ended with a team high of 8 digs, while Lindsey Brubaker finished with 4 kills.

Williamsburg had an exciting victory over Glendale on Thursday, October 16. Williamsburg won in three games 25-15, 25-19, and 25-14. Caitlin England had 15 points including 7 aces and 9 digs. Kaydi Brubaker had 14 points and 7 kills. The record for the Varsity volleyball team is now 4-11.

The Junior Varsity team also had an exciting win, moving them up with a record of 7-8. Winning in two games, 26-24 and 25-15. Kara Hostler had 8 points and Miranda Bell also had 8 points.

The Junior High football team had an exciting victory over Clayburg on Thursday, October 17. They had a 30-24 comeback in the second half. Good job boys!

The Varsity football team had a devastating loss over Moshannon Valley on Friday, October 17, with a score of 21-48. The next game will be played on Williamsburg's home field, Friday, October 24. They will be playing Northern Bedford on our Senior night. Good luck,boys!
*Volleyball stats by Coach Loose

The Pirate Scoreboard Sept 29th - Oct 3rd

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 14:45:00 +0000

Article by: Miranda Bell

On Friday, October 3, our Varsity boys had an exciting victory against Juniata Valley 31-0 on our homecoming night. Despite the torrential downpour, they played a well-deserved game. Their next game is away at Claysburg on Saturday, October 11, 2014. Good luck, guys!

The Lady Pirate Volleyball team won a thrilling match against Mount Union on our home court. Game one and two were all Lady Pirates with scores of 25-17, 25-12. Game three Mount Union came out serving strong and the Lady Pirates lost 14-25. Game four the Lady Pirates dominated and won 25-18. Carly England posted her first triple double of the year with 11 service points, 10 kills, and 22 digs. Caitlin England had a whopping 21 service points including 8 aces and 23 digs. Cassidy Bowmaster had 15 service points and 13 assists. Great job,ladies!

The Junior Varsity team also won a nail-biter. Game one was a battle, but the Lady Pirates won 29-27. Game two was a Mount Union victory 16-25. The third game was all ours, with the JV Lady Pirates winning 15-11. Olivia England had a team high 9 service points, while Taylor Mikesic chipped in 6 points. Lindsey Brubaker lead the team on both offense and defense finishing with 3 kills and 5 digs.

The Lady Pirate Volleyball team lost on their home court in three games, despite the great support from their fans. 24-26, 23-25, 8-25 all Claysburg victories.Caitlin England and Amy Walker led the team with 8 service points each. Caitlin had 11 digs. Carly and Olivia England both finished the night with 5 kills each. Carly also had 11 digs.

The Junior Varsity team won an exciting game against Claysburg, 25-23, 25-13. Olivia England had 14 service points in the win. Adia Litzinger had 9 service points including 3 aces. Lindsey Brubaker had a team high with 7 kills and 4 digs, while Taylor Mikesic ended the night with 4 assists.

The Williamsburg Cross Country team tested their speed against Juniata Valley and Mount Union on Tuesday, September 30 and had four placewinners. Devon Saylor took third with his time of 19:32, narrowly edging Noah Wheland into fourth place with a time of 19:51. Roy Lynn arrived at the finish just over a minute later at 21:00 and captured 9th place. Trevor Butler followed with a time of 22:26 with Silas Dishong close on his heels at 22:50. Both runners had some of their best times of the year at this race. Abbie Wheland also placed in her race, coming in 7th with a time of 25:57.Next up, the team will have a match against Bishop Guilfoyle on October 2. Good luck, runners!

Please note: the junior high football game will be covered in next week’s Scoreboard.

*volleyball information provided by Mrs. Loose

The Pirate Scoreboard Sept 22nd - Sept 27th

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 11:59:00 +0000

Article by: Alyssa Weise

Our Blue Pirate football team lost to the Tussey Mountain Titans in a hard fought game on Friday night 28-34. The Pirates were down fourteen points at the half, but in the second half the guys came back to tie the game. Tyler Shaw gained 97 yards on 14 carries and scored a touchdown. Michael Biddle received three passes for 104 yards and had two touchdowns. Michael also received a punt and ran 63 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.

The Junior High Blue Pirate football team also lost a close matchup on Thursday night 2-3. Everett’s punter was ruled down in the end zone resulting in a safety. Close to the end of the game Everett kicked a 15 yard field goal to come out on top 3-2.

The Lady Pirate Volleyball team won at Glendale Tuesday night in three games 25-9, 25-15, and 25-12. Caitlin England had 15 service points and 6 digs in the victory. Cassidy Bowmaster had a big night, earning 12 service points including 6 aces, 8 digs, and 8 assists. Carly England chipped in with 9 service points and 7 kills. The Junior Varsity Lady Pirates also beat Glendale in two games 25-19 and 25-18. Olivia England had 11 service points, while Lindsey Brubaker and Kara Hostler each contributed 5 points. Taylor Mikesic had a team high 5 digs.

Our Lady Pirates lost at West Branch Thursday night in three games 8-25, 10-25, and 20-25. Caitlin England lead the team with six service points. Caitlin also had a team-high 11 digs. Kaydi Brubaker had three kills while Cassidy Bowmaster had three assists. Olivia England came off the bench and earned three service points, all three points were aces.

The Junior Lady Pirates also lost against West Branch in two games 14-25 and 17-25. Darien Wombacher had five service points and Lindsey Brubaker had five service points including three aces. Olivia England had six digs.

Tyrone, Central, Penns Valley, and Williamsburg all took to the race course on September 23. Devon Saylor had nearly identical results as his last race coming in 8th with a time of 20:27. Abbie Wheland took 9th in her competition with a time of 27:20. Noah Wheland narrowly missed placing with his time of 21:50. Trevor Butler completed the course in 24:09 followed closely by Silas Dishong with a time of 24:32 and Roy Lynn finished just ahead of them in 23:41.

*Volleyball stats from Coach Loose and Cross Country Stats from Coach England

The Pirate Scoreboard for Sept 15th - 19th

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:23:00 +0000

Article By: Miranda Bell

The Junior high boys had no game for the week of September 15, their next game is at home against Everett, the game will start at 6:00 p.m.

The Varsity boys had an upsetting loss on their home field Friday night against Everett with a score of 48-13. The boys’ next game is this Friday against Tussey Mountain at home.

The Lady Pirate Volleyball team had another busy week. On Tuesday, September 16, the team lost on their home court last night against Bellwood,25-19, 25-15, 25-20. Caitlin England led the team with 12 service points, 5 aces and 19 digs. Kaydi Brubaker chipped in with 5 service points and 4 kills, while Cassidy Bowmaster added 4 service points and 7 assists. Miranda Bell was digging up the back row with 11 digs.

On Thursday September 18, the Junior Varsity Team also lost with scores of 25-17, 25-15. Miranda Bell and Olivia England each had 4 digs. Darien Wombacher had 4 points including 2 aces in the loss.

The Lady Pirate Volleyball team lost on the road at Moshannon valley in three games, 25 to 19, 25 to 19, 25 to 22. Caitlin England had a team high 13 service points and 22 digs. Carly England chipped in with 10 digs and eight kills. Kaydi Brubaker added 10 kills and Cassidy Bowmaster finished the night with 13 assists.

The JV team also lost on the road 25 to 10 and 25 to 20. Lindsey Brubaker had five service points. For varsity service points, Caitlin England had 13, Carly England had 4, Amy walker had 7, Cassidy Bowmaster had 4, Kaydi Brubaker had 3, Miranda Bell had 1, and Olivia England had 2.

The Cross Country team has competed four times so far this month. On September 3, we challenged Bishop Guilfoyle for the first meet. Trevor Butler finished with a time of 24:03; Silas Dishong came in with a time of 25:01; Roy Lynn ended with a time of 23:01; Abbie Wheland concluded with a time of 26:21; and Noah Wheland achieved the best time for our team with 21:18.

The second meet was on September 9 against Central, Bellefonte, and Bald Eagle Area. Trevor Butler executed the course in 22:13 and Silas Dishong completed it just over a minute later 23:14. Roy Lynn came close to beating his 2013 personal record by finishing in 20:35 which was slightly behind Devin Saylor at 20:29. Abbie Wheland took 6th place in her event with a time of 25:49. Noah Wheland came in 10th in his event with a time of 19:30.

On September 13, we went head to head with Forest Hills. Trevor Butler crossed the finish line with a time of 21:20. Silas Dishong came in at 22:05. Roy Lynn turned in a consistent performance at 20:37. Abbie Wheland finished in 24:35. Noah Wheland bested his personal record from 2013 for the second time this year with a time of 19:29.

Our runners came together with Bellwood, Central, Southern Fulton, and Juniata Valley on September 16 at the most recent meet. Noah Wheland took 5th place with his time of 19:45 and Devon Saylor finished in 8th place at 20:25. Abbie Wheland also placed, coming in 7th with a time of 25:03. Trevor Butler ran the course in 22:17. Silas Dishong ended the race in 23:11. Roy Lynn came in just behind the leaders with a time of 21:11.

This week, the team faces Tyrone, Central, and Penns Valley on September 23. Good luck runners!

*Volleyball stats and information written by Coach Loose.

The Pirate Scoreboard for Sept 8th - 12th

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:46:00 +0000

Article by Alyssa Weise

Our Pirates opened their season with a win against the Claysburg Bulldogs 33-20. The Blue Pirates lost to the Southern Huntingdon Rockets scoring 13-15. Bryce Young and Vince Michelone each scored a touchdown for the team while Tyler Shaw added a point with a field goal. Friday September 12th the Pirates defeated the Glendale Vikings scoring 21-6. The next game for the Blue Pirates will be Friday September 19th at home against Everett.

Our Junior High Blue Pirate football team opened their season against Claysburg 15-0. The Pirates faced Southern Huntingdon Friday September 11th. They dominated the junior Vikings with a score of 29-12.

The Lady Pirate Volleyball team suffered a loss against the Claysburg Lady Bulldogs in three games. The Pirates came out fired up for game one, after a long battle, we lost 25-27. It was all Lady Bulldogs during games two and three with scores of 9-25 and 11-25. Carly England had 7 service points while Caitlin England added 4 service points, 6 kills, and 9 digs. Kaydi Brubaker also had 6 kills. The Junior Varsity team also lost to the Lady Bulldogs in two games 20-25 and 16-25. Olivia England had 8 kills, while Miranda Bell had 7 points, including 5 aces.

The Lady Pirates travelled to Tyrone on September 8th and lost in three close games 22-25, 17- 25, and 18-25. Cassidy Bowmaster led the team with 6 service points. Carly England had 10 digs and Kaydi Brubaker had 3 kills. The Junior Varsity Lady Pirates brought home their first win losing their first game 23-25. They came out strong in games two and three winning 26-24 and 15-10. Adia Litzinger had 9 service points while Darien Wombacher added 7 service points and 5 digs.

On September 9th the Lady Pirates played a marathon game on their home court against the Tussey Mountain Lady Titans. The Pirates lost in five games. In game one Tussey Mountain won scoring 23-25, but the Lady pirates fought hard and won games two and three scoring 26-24 and 25-23. In game four Tussey brought back another win 21-25. Despite long volleys and strong effort from our Lady Pirates, Tussey Mountain won the fifth game, 10-15. Carly England led the team with 18 service points, 9 kills, and 21 digs. Cassidy Bowmaster added 11 points, 10 assists, and 14 digs. Amy Walker finished the night with 5 points and 16 digs. Caitlin England also posted 5 points and 15 digs. The Junior Varsity team lost in two games 13-25 and 24-26. Olivia England had 8 points including 4 aces.

*Volleyball stats and information written by Coach Loose.

Chromebooks for Journalists - A Donor's Choose Opportunity

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:53:00 +0000

"What happened at school today?" "Nothing." This is a normal conversation about school between students and parents. Wouldn't it be great if students could show parents what's going on or if community members could check in to see noteworthy things happening at the school.

Our newspaper staff is self-motivated and enjoys interacting with others. We publish a "dead tree edition" of the paper 4 times each year and put it out in the community at local businesses. We also write weekly articles for a local community newspaper. Starting this year, we will publish articles on the school website at least once each week in addition to our regular publishing schedule.

Buccaneer is looking to add three of these for the staff to use this year.
Image courtesy of Google.

Our main drawback in getting an online presence is having technology that works and is dedicated to the newspaper during the class period when we meet. We are hoping that some generous donors will help us get that capability so that we can join the 21st century.

We are asking for 3 Chromebooks. Our normal newspaper staff has anywhere from 10-25 students. We meet during the last class of the day when technology use is at a premium. Three Chromebooks would let our editors and staff writers have their own access so that our articles could go up online as they are written.

Why Chromebooks? The price lets us get more technology for our dollars. The access to Google Drive will help our journalists share articles with each other and the advisor, have access both at school and off site, and get editing done quickly.

So how can you help? Visit our project at DonorsChoose.org to make a contribution. The deadline for funding is November 23, 2013 and we have $700 left to go. If you want to know more about how the process works, check out the explanation at Donors Choose. Thanks for supporting the Buccaneer!

Looking Back

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:53:00 +0000

It is hard to believe that the summer has gone by so quickly! We have tons of new stories to write even just after these first few days, but before we begin this year, we thought we might take a look back at the end of last year.

If you did not get a chance to pick up a copy of the senior spotlights, each of them is posted on the online, now. We have some pictures of the Graduation ceremony to add, too.

Keep checking our site to see our new stories and photos for the 2013-2014 school year. We will also be publishing the paper several times each year and putting it in various locations in town as we have done in the past.

Zachary Appleman

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:52:00 +0000

We know him around WHS as “Pearman” and Zach Appleman has built up quite a reputation as a person who you never quite know what he’ll do next. For instance, the craziest thing he said he’s ever done was ride the rolly chairs down the hallway with Austin. However, we’re pretty sure there are better stories than that out there with him in it. Why? Well, his advice to next year’s seniors is: “Have fun … and don’t get caught!”

He will always remember Mr. Over saying, “You want a free day? Did George Washington ask for a free day when crossing the Deleware?” That might be why Mr. Over is Zach’s choice for funniest teacher. Mrs. McMullin was the nicest and Mr. Farrell was the easiest according to him. On the other hand, Mr. Baronner was the scariest, Ms. Brantner the strictest, and Mr. Ling was the hardest … especially with Pre-Calc, the most difficult course Zach took in high school.

Zach calls himself a morning person, but just like his phone, he’s “always on” and ready to go at any minute. If all the electronics disappeared tomorrow, though, he is pretty sure he would go crazy. And that means he’s probably be driving the rest of us crazy, too. On the other hand, friendship is very important to Zach. If he could have one thing with him on a desert island, it would be a friend who he can trust. The worst thing to Zach about being a senior is leaving forever, partly because some friendships will be changed forever. We wish Zach luck … and hope he doesn’t go too crazy as he graduates!

Emily Auberzinski

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:52:00 +0000

This senior spotlight shines on Emily Elizabeth Auberzinski. Her siblings are Sarah who is 24, Ryan 21, Maggie 10, Abbie 8, Katie 4, and her little nephew Wyatt, who is 1 and a half. She has a cat named Callie. Her favorite drink is iced tea and her favorite school lunch is chicken patties. She loves listening to music. Emily likes to watch Pitch Perfect and The Walking Dead. Her favorite book is The Weight of Silence. She loves to vacation at the beach. Her favorite color is green and her favorite season is fall. Her plans for the summer are to be with her friends and family.

In ten years, Emily sees herself owning her own business and having a family. If she had the chance to move anywhere in the world, she would move to Rome because it’s beautiful. If she was an animal, she would be a bird because she will always be in the warm weather. Her dream date is a summer night on a beach, while exploring the boardwalk. Her biggest pet peeve is people chewing with their mouth open and the habit she refuses to change is biting her lip. The most important skill in a friendship is trust. The outrageous thing she would like to do before she dies is go scuba diving.

The quote she lives by is “Do one thing every day that scares you” by Eleanor Roosevelt. She is always happy to see her boyfriend because she loves him. Emily is most grateful for her family and her mother is her inspiration. If all electronics died tomorrow, she would never live. It takes her twenty minutes in the morning to get ready and she thinks she doesn’t get enough sleep at night. This is probably because she is more of a night owl than a morning person.

To Emily, the worst thing about being a senior is having deadlines. The hardest class she ever took was Pre-Calc. She thinks the funniest teacher is Mrs. McMullin; the nicest teacher is Mrs. Varney; the scariest teacher is Mrs. Long; and the strictest teacher is Mr. Over. If she was principal for the day, she would have flash mobs throughout the day. The advice she would give to a seventh grader is “don’t carry your entire locker to your classes.” Her advice to next year’s senior class is to “beware of deadlines.” When asked to comment on her senior year, Emily said she is ready to graduate! We’ll miss you, Emily!

Rachel Baker

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:52:00 +0000

You may know Rachel Elizabeth Baker as Rach or Lizzie. She is one of the 37 graduates of the 2013 class. It is a very small school and town, but we all know Rachel will move on to bigger and better things. Rachel would also like to give next years seniors some great advice, “Live your senior year up! You only get one senior year so enjoy it while you still have it!” Another thing Rachel said regarding next years seniors is that when it is all over every senior will miss participating in all of the sports and clubs that are so fun.

Did you know that Rachel would like to move to Hawaii-could you guess why? Well it is because of how beautiful of a place it is; also her favorite movie was filmed there. She would love it there in the summer because it is her favorite season.

Rachel knows that being a senior means you will have a lot of memories throughout the six years you spend in high school, which isn’t even counting the 7 years in grade school. When Rachel was an underclassman her most memorable moment was her first day ever here at WHS. Her freshman year she loved her first ever powder-puff game, it is a super fun thing to do. In 2010-2011 was the year our whole band went to Disney world, at this point in time Rachel was a sophomore, also that same year was when she started varsity cheerleading. When you’re a junior at WHS you can start going to prom that is also one thing that she remembers though her many years of being here.

Michael Berry

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:52:00 +0000

Have you gotten to know who Michael Berry is? Well, he is a 2013 Williamsburg high school graduate. Michael didn’t always attend Williamsburg and he was not sure about finishing school at WHS not so long ago. However, he was inspired by his son to come back to school this past year to earn his diploma.

Michael is always happy to see his son, Blaze; he makes Michael feel both happy and proud. You can tell by the way he came back to school for Blaze, he is grateful to have his son.

After Michael graduates this year, his summer plans will involve work, basketball, and spending time with his son. His favorite activities include sports and video games. Michael was asked which cartoon character best matches his personality, he chose Shaggy off of Scooby Doo; he said that him and shaggy both greatly enjoy eating. For the next year’s seniors, Michael would like to give them some really good advice: “Get your senior project done as soon as possible.”

Kaleb Booher

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:47:00 +0000

If Kaleb could be any cartoon character, he would be Elmer Fudd, because Elmer spends an infinite amount of time hunting, just like Kaleb wants to. Hunting is one of his favorite activities, along with riding dirt bikes and hanging out with his friends. Hunting plays a large part of Kaleb’s life: his favorite store is Cabellas, he enjoys wasting time by spotting, and in the future he would like to go on an African hunting safari.

In addition to his standard school studies, Kaleb also attended vo-tech where he has become a talented welder. His welding skills could certainly come in handy this summer, seeing as his main goal for the summer is to get a job and earn some money. In ten years, Kaleb would like to be living in his own home located in Montana with a nice diesel truck and a generally good life.

He has worked his way up from seventh grade, and now Kaleb would like to give some advice to incoming newbies: “Keep your nose out of things that don’t concern you.” To the future seniors Kaleb says: “You’ve made your way this far, don’t let others push you around.”

Cody Bookhammer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:47:00 +0000

Working, working out, and working his moves with the ladies; now that Cody has finished school, this is what he plans on doing with his summer. Cody has always put his best effort forward, working his way to the top of the football team, earning him the title of MVP, and holding an officer’s position in ski club.

When Cody gets a chance he enjoys hanging out with his girlfriend, skiing with friends, lifting the iron, and hunting. Cody also enjoys drinking a Monster while watching Duck Dynasty. What doesn’t Cody enjoy? Cody hates it when people excessively shower or when people are disloyal in their friendships. According to Cody the dumbest yet memorable phrase of the year was definitely “YOLO.”

Cody has certainly made the best of his time here at WHS. He says that math class with Mr.Lingenfelter was one of his favorite classes, and will always remember Mr. Ling saying “Fitty five.” For all of those still attending WHS and students of the future Cody leaves behind these wise words of advice: “Always bring a pencil to class.”

Trey Bookhammer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:47:00 +0000

Where does Trey see himself in 10 years? Tatted, fresh out of the army, with a degree in medicine, and living in snowy Vermont. Vermont would be the ideal place for Trey, seeing as he loves to ski. If he ever gets trapped within his home by the snow he can always partake in another of his favorite activities, lifting.

There’s more to Trey other than just skiing and lifting though.Trey is a person of various interests including: the magazine Playboard, science class, “300,” and That ’70s Show. While in high school Trey was a member of ski club, the Blue Pirate Football team, Blue Pirate Network, NHS, and Buccaneer.Trey says that Music Theory is the hardest class that he’s taken, and although he’s heard some funny and inspiring quotes from teachers Ms. Harris has produced the best teacherism: “I am fired up.”

Trey has left behind a pretty big impact here at WHS, and all he wants to do now is relax and have fun until leaving for college.

Anna Crouch

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:47:00 +0000

Crazy, stressful, easy, and fast is how Anna describes her senior year. One word she forgot to add is memorable, because this year has certainly been filled with great memories for Anna. Just in this past year alone Anna has ranked up quite a few accomplishments including: officer of the NHS, editor in chief of the Buccaneer, member of the homecoming court, competitor at the District 6 track championships, and winning prom queen. However none of this would have been possible without Anna’s hard work.

When Anna is not playing basketball, throwing javelin, or working she enjoys spending time with her boyfriend Alan. Anna says that out of all things she is most grateful for her family and the love and support they have provided her with. One quote Anna tries to live her life by is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”

There are many aspects of WHS that Anna will miss, but most of all she will miss Mrs. McMullin’s English class, playing sports, and laughing with her friends. Anna has shown all of us here at WHS that with hard work and a friendly demeanor you can achieve great feats.

Jedidiah Dishong

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:46:00 +0000

Jedidiah Todd Dishong (Aka Yed) will probably be remembered by students and staff for his unique personality and athletic ability. I’m sure the lunch ladies will fondly recall the day Jed yelled at them and no one will forget how he dressed up like Spongebob for Halloween anytime soon. It’s no surprise his favorite show is Spongebob. If he could be any cartoon character, he would be Patrick Star because Patrick is a beast. Some of his other favorites include playing X-box and watching the Batman movies. He also enjoys watching Penn State basketball.

While he is talented at everything, Jed admits he has been disappointed with his grades sometimes. The hardest class he had to take was Pre-Calc. This may be why Mr. Ling was his hardest teacher. However, Mr. Ling was also the nicest. Mr. Farrel was the funniest (most likely for some of his famous lines), Ms. Harris was the easiest, Mr. Over was the strictest, and Mr. Barroner was the scariest. His most memorable teacherism was Mr. William’s “Get out!”.

Jed’s biggest pet peeve is Pearman, in general. He feels that the most important quality in a friend is trust. The highlight of his senior year is Eli Fay.

Sydnee Ellis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:46:00 +0000

Sydnee Alexis Ellis is always happy to see Emily Sollenberger because she’s her best friend. They never fail to laugh and have a good time. Sydnee says that Emily is what she would take on a deserted island to pass the time. This summer, they will be embracing the busy aptmosphere and city lights ,which Sydnee loves, on a trip to Philadelphia. Sydnee will then travel to Germany to visit Lisa Shafer, the exchange student that stayed with her family last year, in August.

It’s likely she will also make time for hanging out with friends, shopping at Urban Outfitters, playing volleyball, blogging, and wasting time on Twitter and Tumblr. It’s no surprise that if electronics died tomorrow, Sydnee would think it was the end of the world.

Some of Sydnee’s most memorable moments here at WHS are the Lifebook assignment, wearing brand-name tee shirts in Jr. High, and Mrs. Swope saying “Giddy up!” Swope was both the funniest teacher and her favorite. Mrs. Varney was the nicest, Ms. Harris was the easiest, Mr. Ling was the hardest (possibly because he taught Math- her most difficult subject), Mr. Williams was the scariest, and Mrs. C. Mock was the strictest. The person Sydnee is most grateful for is her grandmother, Mimi. Mimi has been there for her through everything, and she loves her more than anything on this earth.

Sydnee says that the worst thing about being a senior is that you’re accepted into college, have plans for the future, and you could move on but you’re just stuck waiting to graduate. She encourages next year’s seniors to focus on the future, not get caught up in the high school experience, make plans, and follow their dreams.