Author: Dilaila Perez-Colon

  • Travel Tales: Puerto Rico

    I spent two weeks in Puerto Rico visiting beaches, historic sites, local food places, and much more. I want to share some of these experiences with you and maybe even spark your interest in enjoying the many wonders of this island. With this, I introduce you to La Isla de Encanto, Puerto Rico. 

     

    “Bienvenidos a la Isla de Encanto” is the first thing you hear as the plane lands in Puerto Rico.  It is accompanied by the flight passengers’ cheerful clapping and whistles. Puerto Rico is known as “La Isla de Encanto” or “The Island of Enchantment” for its tropical looks, beautiful clear beaches, and amazing food. 

    Puerto Rico is filled with many amazing artisans and musicians. As you walk through El Paseo de la Princessa in Old San Juan, you can enjoy the shops of the artisans, many of which have jewelry, paintings, accessories, and more to look through. You can hear music in the background from musicians. Yauco Yarn Bombed is a tree that was crocheted over; it was an amazing sight.

    El Castillo San Felipe del Morro, El Morro, is a large fortress built by the Spaniards.  They began building it in 1539 and finished in 1790.   It is located in the city of Old San Juan. I enjoyed seeing the history of El Morro and all the relics of the past encased within this museum. Another important landmark of Puerto Rico would have to be “Parque de Bombas,” a building first built in 1882 to be an exhibition pavilion for the 1882 Exhibition Trade fair, but later became a fire station-the first ever fire station in Puerto Rico! In fact, it is listed on the National Register of Historical Places as of July 12, 1984. Now it is a museum, keeping this historical place alive for anyone to visit. Inside the museum, there are pictures of firefighters who used to work there and many objects of its history.

    Being an Island, Puerto Rico has many beaches to explore and enjoy. Some of these are Crash Boat in Aguadillas, Playa Vega Baja, and Playa Montones. My favorite has to be Crash Boat for its soft, warm sand, clear ocean waters, and the ability to be able to see the expansive horizon. Playa Vega Baja is also very wonderful as it is enclosed by rocks, so there is barely an ocean current. It’s perfect for younger siblings, reducing the concern of them being swept away by a strong current. I would recommend going to both if you get the chance! 

    My all-time favorite part of this trip has to be La Palguera, a bioluminescent bay. Visiting at night, you are boarded onto a boat and taken to the bay.   Then, a swimmer goes into the water and collects a bucket of water and hands it to the people on the boat, allowing everyone to touch the water and see the beautiful blue glow sparkle as you move your hand in it. 

    I enjoyed my travels to Puerto Rico immensely, and hold in my memory so many other stories and adventures from this experience with my family. I hope that this inspires you to visit Puerto Rico sometime, as there is much to explore and enjoy in la Isla De Encanto.

  • YSHS Winter Concert

    The Winter Concert occurred on Sunday, December 15 at 2 pm and consisted of the orchestra, band, and chorus. The YS Singers kicked off the concert accompanied by Haley Berkebile on the piano with their pieces “Glory Hallelujah, He is Born”, “Cold and Fugue Season,” “Ribbons and Bows” and lastly “A Hand for Mrs. Claus” which included the soloists Reece Busse, Marcella Rolle, and Ethan Wolfgang. After that, A Capella, a student-led group headed by Ruth Brown, Jonah Gibson & Madelynn Thomas, performed “Carol of the Bells.” Following that, the concert band walked onto the stage and after setting up, they presented their pieces “Fanfare and Procession on an Old English Carol,”  “A Christmas Carol,” and “Hanukkah Holiday.” For their last piece, the concert choir joined to put together “Jingle Bell Rock.”

    The concert choir led by Mrs. Stayer and accompanied by Haley Berkebile performed “Pat-a-Pan Salsa,” “The Snow Carol (Still, Still, Still)” and finished with “Candy Cane Lane.”

    The string ensemble led by Mrs. Thrush followed afterward with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The complete string orchestra then joined the stage playing “Christmas Medley” which included the songs “Joy to the World,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “Away in a Manger.” Rosie Gray introduced “Oseh Shalom” which included solos from Meghan Martin, Elie Purkanto, and Bailey Phinney. Jonah Gibson joined on the drums to play “Last Christmas” with soloist singer Willow Hoffman-Smith.

    Finally, to end the concert the symphony orchestra performed “Christmas Memories” which included iconic Christmas songs like “Frosty the Snowman” “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” “Here Comes Santa Claus” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The audience joined in to sing with a slideshow with the songs that Wade Stocker made. Even Santa Claus made an appearance, tossing candy canes to the audience, getting many excited claps.

    Overall, it was an excellent performance by all. The next concert is on March 12. I hope to see all of you there to enjoy our wonderful school’s instrumental and choral performances! 

    Written By Dilaila A. Perez-Colon
  • The Haunted Hallways of 2024

    The Haunted Hallways of 2024

    What are the haunted Hallways? The Haunted Hallways is a Halloween-themed event where the students and teachers of York Suburban decorate their doors and hallways and hand out candy to all the trick-or-treaters. Mrs. Oathout runs the NHS (National Honors Society), which coordinates this event with her officers Grace Connolly, Sophia Scarlet, and Aslynn Delridge. 

    The Haunted Hallways event ran on Tuesday, October 29th from 6-7 pm. Many clubs decorated hallways and doors including, but not limited to Student Council, Model UN, NAHS, FCCLA, Mini-Thon, Hope Squad, French Honor Society, GSA, Spanish Honor Society, Science Honor Society, TSA, Puzzle Partners & Diversity and Activism. 

    Some of the themes these clubs came up with were Founding Fathers by Model UN, Bluey by Student Council, M&Ms by FCCLA, Shine Bright Like a Diamond by Mini-Thon, Charlie Brown the Great Pumpkin by NAHS, Beach Barbies by Hope Squad, “Le Petit Prince” from St-Exupery by French Honors, Greek Mythology by GSA, Día de los Muertos by Spanish Honors, German Fairy Tales & Legends by German Honors, Mad Scientists by Science Honors, Wall-E by TSA, Pumpkin Patch by Puzzle Partners, and Coco by Activism & Diversity Club.

    Credit to YS Athletics Instagram

     

     

     

     

     

     

    When in an interview with Mrs. Fornadel, the National Arts Honor Society’s advisor, I asked if she thought the students enjoyed the Haunted Hallways, her answer was,“Yes, I think they do. I think it makes the students feel like kids again, being able to hand out treats to the little children of York Suburban.” Ms.. Reider, one of the Mini-thon’s advisors comments, “I think the YS younger students enjoy this event, and the YS high school students enjoy dressing up.” After speaking with Niyah Peterkin, a student asking the same question, she responded, “Yes, this is an event I enjoy because I like seeing all the effort and different spins each club and group put into it.” Both perspectives: teachers and students seem to enjoy putting on the Haunted Hallways. These teachers and students worked together to create a fun & entertaining night for the families of YS to enjoy. 

    Many clubs and groups put a significant amount of effort into making this event, and spend much of their own time preparing everything. Thank you to all the students and teachers who put the effort into making this event possible!