Mr. Josh Hakes, a technician at SJHS, is going to the army on October 18th to be a medic for fallen soldiers in the war. He flew out of Utah October 19th. According to Mr. Hakes, he is going into the active army. He will live on a base then go home then join the National Guard.

Mr. Hakes will be in boot camp in Jackson, South Carolina for 12 weeks, then 16 weeks in San Antonio for medic training. The next two years he doesn’t know where he will be. They will inform him where he goes when the time comes.

Students are sitting in their quiet manners class during Quest Time when all of a sudden they hear this sound, and then the room starts shaking. After thinking it’s an earthquake and beginning evacuation procedures, they realize it’s just Mr. Dahl’s guitar class rocking out.
   
Mr. Dahl, the teacher of the guitar class that meets during Quest Time, has been playing guitar for the past ten years.  He writes songs and performs local shows in Utah and Idaho. Over the years, he has recorded several CD’s
   

Quest Time is a new thing here at SJHS, and the time period is filled with many different activities.   One of these activities is Fantasy League Football, supervised by Mr. David Kindrick, science teacher at SJHS.  The program takes place on Fridays during Quest Time in Mr. Kindrick’s room upstairs.  Students who take part in Fantasy League make predictions on what teams they think will win during that week of football.  The students also pick players that play certain key positions that the students think will do well, then the players who do well are rewarded more points than players that play poorly.

There are a lot of activities during Quest Time; one of them is Family Finding which takes place every Tuesday with Mr. David Hansen, Utah History teacher at Springville Junior High School. Students do you want to know who you are related to?

Mr. Hansen decided to do this during Quest Time because it is educational, plus it is fun. Mr. Hansen said, “People seem to enjoy it because it is challenging, and a puzzle, and people seem to enjoy puzzles.” According to Mr. Hansen, Family Finding has become a fast growing hobby for people they have developed new site with lots more information about you family.

When students walk down the hallways of SJHS, there is noise and busy bodies, but once class starts a new sound can be heard in the southeast corner of the school. That’s where band class has begun. Students start the hour with scales to warm up their instruments and then move on to practice their weekly playing test. Then Star Wars theme songs and Swahili Folk Hymns can be heard.

Students at Springville Junior High have many ways of expressing themselves. One of these is music. There are several music classes at SJHS, but, until now, there has never been a bluegrass band. Bluegrass music is a genre of American folk music that can be played on many instruments, including the violin, viola, base, cello, ukulele, dulcimer, guitar, mandolin, and even the pennywhistle.  SJHS’s bluegrass band meets during Quest Time (SJHS’s new intervention/enrichment rotation program between third and fourth period) on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is taught by Dr. Samuel Tsugawa, who also teaches orchestra class at SJHS.

Mrs. Aleta Breakwell is a new English teacher at Springville Junior High School. Here is what Mrs. Breakwell did before she became a teacher and also before she came to SJHS. “Before I became a teacher, I worked as a copy editor but wanted to become a professional musician. I began my college career as music major, but I had to switch majors because I couldn’t get over stage fright,” said, Mrs. Breakwell. According to Mrs. Breakwell, once she changed careers from music to teaching, she found that it was really fun and never looked back. When she was first a teacher and before she came to SJHS, she taught English at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, and also at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.

Students at Springville Junior High have a new quest! Every year, Ms. Lori Caras, a seventh-grade science teacher at SJHS, gives her students the project of making a cell model. These cells can be made out of whatever students like. Students in the past have made really creative ones out of Playdough, cake, brownies, jello, clear glycerin soap, styrofoam, and so much more. “It’s an activity that’s been around for years,” Mrs. Caras said, “I believe this allows students to use their creativity and non-scientific abilities to develop something that will ultimately help them learn the cell organelles more easily.”

Greek mythology has been admired and studied for years, and it is now Springville Junior High’s turn to learn about this topic.  Mrs. Aleta Breakwell, an English teacher at SJHS, is teaching the eighth and ninth graders about mythology.

The class is also learning about some of the main gods and goddesses such as: Cronos, Zeus, Aphrodite, Athena, Hera, Hermes, and many more.

At Springville Junior High, students are learning how to become magicians. With the help of Mr. Brain Rice, eighth and ninth-grade English teacher, students can learn the secrets behind some of the best magic tricks. On Monday, October 25th, students have the opportunity to show Mr. Rice and other students a magic trick they have mastered.