![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
Squad Gets a Lift
Start of Basketball Season Ushers in New Era for Male Cheerleading at PHS
December 27, 2022
This season, three unexpected additions have been made to the basketball cheer squad. Sophomores Coy Busick and Peyton Baker and senior Braydon Hayes are making their debut as the first male cheerleaders since 2000.
Cheer lifting is a new concept this season, although it has not always been this way.
In 1986, there were six cheer lifters on the cheer squad. Tony Grabner, Randy Haley, David Bradbury, Tony Leone, Lance Payton and Glenn Leone were pictured in the 1986 Hillcrest along with the rest of the cheer squad. Nate Manship cheered in the 1999-2000 season as a junior, but graduated in 2001, and is known to be Paoli’s last male varsity cheerleader until now.
The three new members are excited to be a part of the team, and have many goals to accomplish this season.
“I’m excited for this season because this is a new sport and experience for me and so far it’s been nothing but fun and welcoming,” said Hayes.
They also have realized how big of an impact this may have on male cheerleaders in the coming future at Paoli.
“Not many people from around here are doing what we are doing this season. Hopefully, there will be more to come after us,” said Baker.
Busick was the first of this wave of male cheerleaders, and even came to a practice during last year’s season. It is a new experience for him, but he is up for the challenge.
“It will teach me to respect others more and will give me opportunities to see how others think things through,” said Busick.
These three have also already begun setting further goals for themselves that they hope to achieve this season.
“I want to be able to oneman, and I want to not drop someone,” said Busick.
These nerves are shared among the group, and as a result, they are extra careful when lifting.
“I’m nervous of what could happen if I were to drop someone, but other than that I don’t really get that nervous because I feel confident enough that my lifting will go as planned,” said Hayes.
The boys have already debuted during the boys and girls basketball season, but plan to take a bigger role in the team as the season progresses.
This is a new experience for the cheer coaches as well, and they must take on a new role as coaches.
“I have spent hours on Instagram watching college cheerleaders in order to learn how to best support our kids. We, as coaches, just want to create opportunities for students at Paoli to try new things, and this has been such a wonderful experience. The boys have brought their football mentality; they are incredibly respectful of our girls, and have been very cautious towards making the girls feel good and confident in the stunts they are trying,” said Cheer Coach Heather Nichols.
This story was originally published on PHS Media News on December 19, 2022.
