Pennsbury High School

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Location
Pennsbury High School
608 South Olds Blvd (West Campus) 705 Hood Blvd (East Campus) Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania
Information
Principal	Lisa M. Becker (Curriculum) David Bowman (Administrative)
Enrollment	3,598 ^[1]
Type	Public
Mascot	Falcon
Color(s)	Orange and Black
Homepage	Pennsbury High School web site

Pennsbury High School is a public high school located in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

With 3,598 students enrolled for the 2006-2007 school year, Pennsbury High School is the largest high school in Bucks County, and the fourth largest high school in the state of Pennsylvania. ^[1] Faculty and staff number approximately 260.

It is the only high school in Pennsbury School District, which has a total enrollment of approximately 11,600 students. ^[2]

Pennsbury's had a graduating class of 806 students in 2007, of which 92% were college-bound. The school also had four National Merit Scholarship finalists.

1 Senior Prom
2 Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School
3 PCJB - The Pennsbury Concert Jazz Band
4 School bus accident
5 Notable alumni
6 References

[edit] Senior Prom

Each year, the school holds a lavish senior prom, and months are spent preparing for the event. Students arrive to bleachers full of local families who gather to watch the parade of inventive vehicles and their dressed-up occupants. Ambulances, hearses, trolleys, classic cars, parade-like floats, Zamboni Machines, and shopping carts are employed by students who want to arrive at the prom in style. In 2004, the event was awarded "Best Prom" by Reader's Digest as part their "America's 100 Best" feature. ^[3]

The Pennsbury Prom, visit: PHS-Wonderland High

[edit] Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School

Bamberger's book documents the senior year of Pennsbury High School students.

In 2002, Pennsbury High School's prom tradition caught the attention of Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Bamberger. After writing an article for the magazine about the 2002 prom, Bamberger went on to write a book, Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School, which chronicled the senior year of a group of Pennsbury students. The rights for the book were bought by Paramount, and MTV and Tollin/Robbins Productions were to produce the film, which had tenatively been named Pennsbury. ^[4] In 2004, Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins signed with Walt Disney Studios ^[5], leaving the status of the project uncertain.

Bob Costa, one of the students documented by Bamberger in the book, spent his senior year spearheading an effort to get John Mayer to perform at Pennsbury's senior prom. ^[6] On prom night, May 16, 2004, the singer performed a three song set. Mayer followed in the footsteps of multi-platinum bands like Eve 6 and Maroon 5, who performed special acoustic shows at Pennsbury in 2003 organized by Costa.

[edit] PCJB - The Pennsbury Concert Jazz Band

The Pennsbury Concert Jazz Band has long been considered one of the finest musical ensembles in the country. Year after year it consistently earns some of the highest rankings at the festivals in which it competes. Since it’s beginnings in the early 1950’s, the musicians in this group have performed jazz music at a level not typical of high school age students.

According to a May 2001 article in the Yardley News, one of the earliest “bookings” on record for the novice band came on June 2, 1960 when the Pennsbury “Stage Band,” as PCJB was then known, appeared on Chubby Jackson’s early morning program, “The Little Rascals Show,” broadcast in New York, Ch. 7, WABC-TV. Time traveling back even further, to the early 50s, a group of Pennsbury musicians formed and called themselves the “Dance Band,” reminiscent of those popular bands from the big band era of the previous decade.

Area locals with an historical musical perspective may recall the Lambertville (NJ) Music Circus where top musicians in the jazz world had frequent billings. Dated newspaper clippings from the band archives highlight several appearances made at this popular venue by the Pennsbury Stage Band. It was directed by Pennsbury music teacher, Don Smith, who is credited with having formed the band around 1954. Music Circus impresario, St. John Terrell, called the Pennsbury band “one of the most interesting and tightly organized jazz bands” he knew. In an early band archive news clipping, on a May 1961 Lambertville Music Circus booking, a reporter wrote that “many of the high notes flowing from the brass bells amazed musicians in the audience, since musicians of this (high school) age rarely attain the music control to produce such difficult passages.”

From their first notes played in the band room at PHS, many PCJB alumni have gone on to successful careers as professional musicians gracing stages and recording studios around the world. Many others have become music educators inspiring countless students to achieve their own high level of musical excellence.

Past directors and assistants include - founders Don Smith and Bill Fabrizio, John Mack, Barry Vannauker, Gene Polaski, Mike Grothman, Kawika Kahalehoe, Mark Morris, Chris Bygott, Frank Mazzeo, Jon Rees and Mark Capriotti.

For more info see: PennsburyBands.org and ThePCJB

[edit] School bus accident

On January 12, 2007, seventeen Pennsbury High School students were injured when a school bus veered into a group of students as they left school. The bus "jumped a curb outside one of the school buildings, drove over a sidewalk, barreled down an access road, mowed down a fence and slammed head-on into the retaining wall." ^[7] All injured students required hospitalization for their injuries. The incident received nationwide media coverage.

Ashley Zauflik, the most seriously injured student, suffered a fractured pelvis, internal bleeding and a crushed left leg, which later had to be amputated above the knee. She was released from the hospital on February 22. ^[8] All other students injured in the accident have returned to school.

The NTSB announced they had "not found any major mechanical errors with the school bus," however did note that the brakes were out of adjustment. The vehicle, a Thomas Saf-T-Liner MVP-ER school bus, was involved in a similar accident in 1994. ^[9]

On March 13, 2007, Falls Township police concluded that the school bus driver slammed on the gas pedal instead of the brake. The driver was not driving his usual vehicle, and "the accelerator of the replacement bus was close in shape and location to the brake in the bus he normally drove." The school bus driver remains on paid leave, and officials have said charges will not be filed. The school bus driver disagrees with the results of the investigation, claiming it was mechanical failure, and his attorney intends to "conduct his own investigation of the crash." ^[10] The results of the NTSB's investigation will take 6-12 months to complete. A lawyer representing Ashley Zauflik indicated a civil lawsuit would be filed. ^[11]

Two days after police announced the results of their investigation, a fire damaged two Pennsbury school buses parked outside a school district garage. School district officials said it was too "speculative" to connect the two events, however they also deemed the fire "suspicious." ^[12] Fire investigators later concluded the fire was intentionally set. ^[13]