Solanco townlively.com
MAY 10, 2023
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LX • NO 3
Author will speak at Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church BY ADRIAN ESCHENWALD
Student robotics team members (from left) Curtis Sheets, Kohen Fowler, Santiago Yu Jiang, Adam Noel and Adam Peffer and robotics teacher Todd Brown
Solanco students take first and second place at robotics competition BY ADRIAN ESCHENWALD
any people believe that a portion of jobs that current students will accept in the next decade do not exist yet. With the rapid advance of technology in recent years, especially in artificial intelligence, some teachers are seeking innovative ways to prepare students for the future. “Even if a student wants to get into a trade like construction or plumbing, they’ll be using computing,” said Todd Brown, who teaches the robotics class at Solanco. “Having knowledge of basic computer science principles will give the kids great skills for any field.” On April 25, students in Solanco High School’s robotics class traveled to Millersville University for the Sea Air and Land Challenge. The competition was created through a partnership between Penn State University and the United States Navy as a way to give students a hands-on education experience with engineering. Schools from eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware were provided with
is going to be perfect in the first try. There’s a high chance that you have to go back and tweak the code and some other things.” Noel plans to major in mechanical engineering at Penn State University next year and hopes to continue taking robotics classes. “The competition was a good learning environment. We got to see other people’s designs and are applying the same things that we do in class,” said Fowler, a junior. “We’re still working on solving a problem with technology.” Fowler plans to study computer science after he graduates from high school. At the beginning of the semester, Brown began teaching the students logical reasoning and computational thinking skills to prepare them for the process of designing a robot. In the robotics class, students work in the programming language C++ to give their robots commands and program functions. “It’s about critical thinking, but the competition gives kids an opportunity to think on the fly and perform in a crisis situation,” Brown said.
Eleanor Isaacson
she was born, Isaacson faced new trials and hardly spoke any English. Isaacson independently published “Dancing Fom Darkness” in 2017 after working on it for 60 years. A German publisher contacted Isaacson after the book’s release to ask her permission to translate the book to German. The German translation of the book is now carried in stores across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Although the book was not officially published until 2017, Isaacson has been sharing her life story for the last 48 years as a motivational speaker. See Author talk pg 4
Golf outing will benefit Good Samaritan Services BY ADRIAN ESCHENWALD
The 16th annual Engle Printing & Publishing Co., Inc. (EPC) Golf Outing will be held on Friday, June 9, at Crossgates Golf Club, 1 Crossland Pass, Millersville. Tee times will be at 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and members of the public may sign up to play in teams of up to four players. All proceeds will benefit Good Samaritan Services (GSS). GSS is a nonprofit organization that seeks to assist those experiencing homelessness in Lancaster and Chester counties. First operating under the name Good Sam Shelter, GSS was
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created in 1999, and it has continued to grow in the years since. The organization currently has five locations, which are located in Lancaster city, Ephrata, Coatesville, Phoenixville and Kennett Square. “We’re really grateful to EPC for partnering with us for so long. It’s a fun way for people to get involved,” said Rachel Shelley, marketing and communications specialist for GSS. “Fundraisers like these make our growth possible and have allowed us to assist more people than ever before.” In the past year, GSS has served more than 600 people in the local area. For more information, visit www.goodsamservices.org. See Golf outing pg 5
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criteria for the challenge 10 weeks in advance so they could begin preparing for the competition. Students have an option to participate in one of three divisions for the challenge: Sea, Land and Air. Teams in each division are tasked with using a combination of software and hardware skills to create bots that will navigate a scenario that emulates a real-life response from the United States military. Two teams from Solanco High School elected to participate in the Land division, designing bots to navigate a scenario where a natural disaster has occurred and debris is obstructing a roadway. The students needed to use their bots to deliver supplies through a simulated terrain amidst the aftermath of a hurricane or tornado. The two teams of Solanco students placed first and second in the Land division; Adam Noel and Adam Peffer acquired first place, and Santiago Yu Jiang, Curtis Sheets and Kohen Fowler placed second. “It was a lot of fun being able to work outside of class,” said Noel, a senior. “You learn that not everything
On Saturday, May 18, motivational speaker and author Eleanor Isaacson will visit Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church, 1068 Chestnut Level Road, Quarryville. Isaacson, who lives in Willow Street, will give a talk titled “Surviving Nazi Germany During WWII,” and she will offer copies of her book, “Dancing From Darkness,” for both purchase and signing. The event will be free to attend, but donations will be accepted. Isaacson was born in New Jersey in 1934. In 1936, Isaacson’s mother took her to Germany and returned to the United States without her. Isaacson grew up in Germany under Adolf Hitler’s regime and weathered the chaos brought on by World War II. In “Dancing from Darkness,” Isaacson describes what it was like to experience bombings and military occupation as a child in Germany, as well as how her faith in God helped her through difficult times. After the war ended, Isaacson returned to the United States at the age of 13 to be reunited with her mother. Although she had finally returned to the country where
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