On November 10, 2015, tryouts were held at SJHS for the girl’s basketball team. The basketball coaches are Coach Porter, a history teacher, and Coach Merrell, a special education teacher. The girls on the team are Mckelle Weight, Kim Bayles, Katrina Britt, Emmalee Smith, Alice Giatras, Jenica Freeman, Tanii Foster, Camille Davies, Hayley Herker, and Kailee Thurman.
Mr. Rencher, is a teacher at SJHS; he teaches Technology and Engineering to seventh graders as part of the College and Career Awareness program. He teaches Exploring Technology to eighth and ninth graders, last but not least he teaches Introduction to Manufacturing to ninth graders.
According to Cathay Poulsen, a seventh grade student at SJHS, Mr. Rencher puts humor into his teaching, which means his lessons are fun and easy to understand. He is a really good teacher. He is kind, and if you have any problems he takes care of them for you.
This year, at Springville Junior High, everyone is asking the same question; what does it mean to be a Knight? Mrs. Porter, a history teacher, said, “I think being a Knight is standing up for what’s right, and those you care about, even if no one else does.”
“We are all working towards the same goal, to become Knights,” said Bethany Stewart, an eighth grader. At SJHS, our main goal is to be effective communicators, responsible citizens, and successful learners. According to Mike Oman, an eighth grader, to be a Knight is to be able to accomplish our goals and follow the school statement.
Mrs. Comsa, an English and Language Arts teacher at Springville Junior High, has been working at SJHS for two years. She also taught at Villa de Paz Elementary, a kindergarten through eighth grade school, and was also a Special Education Instructional Coach at Pendergast Elementary in Arizona.
She loves teaching at Springville Junior High. She said, “SJHS has so much spirit! The faculty is wonderful to work with, and the students are awesome.” According to Mrs. Comsa, seeing students grow and progress here at SJHS is definitely fun.
Mrs. Riggs teaches the Creative Writing class here at SJHS during first period. Mrs. Riggs has been teaching for four years, and this is the second year she is teaching Creative Writing. She decided to teach Creative Writing because she knows how helpful it is to have someone else look at your work and give honest feedback, and she loves to write herself.
Mr. McKell is a new history teacher here at SJHS. Mr. McKell is transferring schools and leaving SJHS for Payson Jr. High. His students were shocked when he told them on Monday, January 4, 2016. Mr. McKell is a nice, funny and overall good teacher. His students are dreading Thursday, January 14, 2016-- the last day Mr. McKell will be at SJHS.
Connor Snapp, an eighth grader in Mr. Mckell’s US history class, said, “Mr. McKell is funny and is always nice.” Even though this is Mr. McKell’s first time teaching at SJHS, Connor will miss him, and he wants him to stay. According to Connor, Mr. McKell teaches well, and he is not too strict.
On Monday, November 2 an assembly about the HOPE Squad took place. Along with that, the Super Knight Assembly took place. The HOPE Squad is a group of students at the junior high who are here to help you. This assembly was to introduce the HOPE Squad to students, and it was also to teach students about being an ally.
According to Ms. Droz, the assembly was fun to plan. Ms. Maughan, a ninth grade teacher, said, “Assemblies always take time and effort to plan, but it’s fun to see how they turn out.”
Once upon a time we got a new principal. We also have a new Dean of Students. This new Dean of Students is Mrs. Shepherd. She was appointed when Ms. Miley went to the high school.
According to Mrs. Shepherd she interviewed and was asked by Mr. McGuire, the principal, to be the Dean of Students here at SJHS. Before she came here she taught history and German at Maple Mountain High School.
At Springville Junior High Mr. Shields, a history teacher, helped his eighth grade students prepare for a test. In class Mr. Shields took his students out in the hallway to play a review game, where they had to match explorers with what they did that made them famous. Mr. Shields got this review game from Mr. Hansen, another history teacher. This review game helped the students memorize things better. Mr. Shields has been doing this game for six years and thinks this game is a good learning opportunity for students.
Ms. Jensen is one of SJHS’s seventh grade English teachers. This is her first year at our school. She used to teach down in Cedar City. Ms. Pina, a seventh grade English teacher, said, “Ms. Jensen is awesome!”
“I chose to be a teacher because I think education is one the most important things in the world,” said Ms. Jensen. Learning is a lifelong skill, according to Ms. Jensen. She chose to teach English because reading and writing are skills that are used all the time.
Ms. Jensen’s hobbies include hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and rock climbing at her cabin in Island Park, Idaho. She also loves to cook. She said, “I’ve been known to bake cakes in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep.”
