March 2014

Have you ever wondered what life will be like in a future grade, or just wanted to look back at the past, but you cannot really remember?  What do other people feel like at school?  Here are some sneak-peeks into other students’ thoughts about school.

7th Grade        

Catie Brunson, said that she was really nervous to come to Jr. High.  “There are so many classes, I thought it would be impossible to keep track of everything, but it’s actually really fun!”       

Gifted and Talented is an enrichment group put on by Mr. Hansen and Mr. Hatfield, both teachers here at Springville Jr. High. “I was selected in seventh grade by Mr. Hansen and Mr. Hatfield to be in Gifted and Talented based off of my test scores from elementary school. I really like the field trips we go on because they are really fun, but I also like the enrichment we do in the library,” Holly Hill, an eighth grader, said.

Have you met one of our teachers Mrs. Maughan? If not, you should. Mrs. Maughan is an English teacher at SJHS. She has been teaching here for six years! Mrs. Maughan said, that English has always been a subject she has liked. It was easy and fun for her in school, and she loves to read! When she was in college she was getting her English degree to become a lawyer, but then realized teaching would be way more fun!        

Do you like Valentine’s Day?  Well  SJHS students enjoyed Valentine’s Day and had their fun! Students received Valengrams in their fourth period class. Valegrams are little candies or a flower that have a small note attached. Students buy their friends a Valegram, and sign their name if they want to. They can also write something cute or something nice . They were sold at lunch for one dollar. 

But did students like Valentine’s Day? Alejandro Ayala, an eighth grade student at SJHS, said he indeed liked it, and that “it’s fun.”

 Mr. Hansen, a history teacher at SJHS, has organized a team of students from our school to compete in a mock trial competition against teams from other schools.  Mock trials are are an opportunity to play the part of lawyers and witnesses and argue a court case against opposing teams. 

Kaylee Middlebrooke, an eighth grade participant in mock trials, said,“Its very educational. You learn a lot about law, and how to communicate well.”  She said that she would definitely recommend it to anyone who is willing to dedicate themselves. Another student, Amaya Hunter, said that it is a great way to learn how the court process works, and how to work well with others.

Do you enjoy softball? Well at SJHS we have some freshman trying out for the high school team.  

Sydnee Morgan, a ninth grader at SJHS, has been playing softball since the fourth grade and has now been playing for seven years. Sydnee played accelerated softball, and was on a team called Rage.They went to St.George for games they were playing in.        

Shaylee Ferran, another freshman trying out for the team, has been playing softball since she was “six-ish” ever since T-ball. Shaylee is looking forward to being part of the team because they get to go on cool trips to play games. Shaylee said that they get to go up to St. George to play.       

 At Springville Junior High, we have many gifted people.  Some of our students are recognized by others as great artists.  Brynn Patten, a ninth grade student at SJHS, has been drawing for as long as she can remember.  “Drawing is very enjoyable,” said Brynn.  She likes to draw cartoon wolves and ponies. 

A lot of you may not know that we have a swim team here at SJHS. The swim team is made up of ninth through twelfth graders from SJHS and SHS.The ninth graders from SJHS are Jacob Anderson, Erin Caswell, Eleah Coral, Becca Daines, Brock Hargett, Sarah Larson, Abi Maccabee, Christopher Morgan, Abigail Morris, Savannah Simmons, Katelynn Vaughan, Adriana Vilalobos, and Sophie Wilcox.

We all know that SJHS has a new art teacher. But not many of us know that much about her!  Hopefully, after you are finished reading you will pass her in the hallway and instead of thinking, “That’s the new art teacher,” you will think, “There goes Mrs. Wallace, who was the oldest of seven kids and the badminton champion of her junior high.”       

Lara Wallace was born in Arizona and moved to Orem, Utah when she was four years old. Growing up, her favorite pastimes  were dancing, art (of course), and music. “My dad had a radio station at our house,” said Mrs. Wallace. “He was a DJ and we'd play music on it together.”       

 Future Farmers of America, FFA is a class where students get to learn all about animal, plant and food science.They get to go on really cool field trips. They get to go to dairy farms, Snow College, a turkey processing plant, and the Utah State Fair.If you love animals and want to grow up and work with animals FFA is a great place to start. You learn all about agriculture. You get to see where the food you eat comes from.        

Alexa Whitlock, a girl in FFA, says her favorite part of FFA is “raising my piggy.” If you want to raise an animal but not wake up early raise a pig. You can feed your pig after school.