Springville Junior High students are excited for the new semester, but most kids are really going to miss a few of their classes. According to Maddie Joyner, an eighth-grade student, she is going to miss “the friends I won’t get to see as much.”  Another thing most students are going to miss is foods, an elective class.

But there are a lot of classes students are very excited for. Savannah McNitt, an eighth-grade student, is excited for “photography, because I get to take pictures!”  Maddie said what she’s most exited for is “foods because you get to eat your work!”

Every Christmas morning, little kids and others who wish they were little kids, wake up early to rush downstairs to see what presents are peeking out from under the Christmas tree.  They tear the wrapping paper off as fast as they can, after all, who cares about the wrapping paper, right?  This would describe everyone who completely loves Christmas and can’t wait to see what they received.  Coming back to school after the Christmas break is when many students compare what they got and what their friends got.  Every year there are certain items that it seems everyone has received for Christmas. 

This week is the last week that journalism will be available this school year. Students have enjoyed writing about different events from around the school. From student and teacher spotlights to school-wide happenings, the journalism students have covered nearly everything.

Ms.Tiffanie Miley has taught journalism this year. Ms. Miley enjoyed teaching the class and described her Journalism students as a group of great writers who are motivated to do good work. “I've been really impressed with what my journalism students have written this year--both in quantity and quality,” said Ms. Miley. The journalism students have done so well that Ms. Miley cannot think of a way that the students can improve in their writing.

Over the past few weeks, students in Mrs. Mary Rice’s honors English class have been working hard to create there very own renditions of a “Faustian Bargain.”

In the story Dr. Faustus a very intelligent scholar sells his soul to the devil and in return, the devil grants the man his every wish for a number of years. The students in Mrs. Rice’s class have been making their own versions of this exchange. They are making up stories that involve a character giving up something of long term importance for something of immediate gain. The ideas the students have come up with ideas that vary from a jungle scene to an ocean scene, and they involve all different kinds of characters such as lions, fish, and llamas.

With every school there is a principal behind it, one who runs the fundraisers, does the school assemblies, supervises students, and encourages staff members.  The principal behind Springville Junior High is Mr. Darrel Rolfe.

Dr. Sam Tsugawa conducts the Springville High School folk ensemble, which meets every Thursday after school.  This program is mainly for high school students, but two Springville Junior High students are involved. Emily Daybell and Dylan Larsen both play the bass. Anyone in the high school can join. All they have to do is show up. 

Members of the folk ensemble play violins, fiddles, basses, mandolins, and banjos. They play Bluegrass, Irish and Folk music. They use no music and play by ear. Dr. Tsugawa said, “We add on more and more as long as it sounds good.” Dylan said, “I like all the music that we play.”
 

In most classes at SJHS you will hear talking, laughing, and so on.  If you pass by Ms. Tiffanie Miley’s room during seventh period, it will be very quiet, which is just the way the Reading for Enjoyment students like it.  Inside, are students reading whatever books they want.  They join this class simply, as Sara Torsak, a seventh grader put it, because “reading is so fun!”

At Springville Junior High School there is the new skill building instructor, Mr. Josh Hakes. While he isn’t teaching any classes, he is helping out with skill building upstairs. He is only here half days, but he is still of great help and greatly admired by students and teachers.

“I am new to this school this year. I am majoring in math and getting a minor in science. I want to become a teacher,” said Mr. Hakes. Mr. Hakes is new to Springville Junior High School and has so far been enjoying his job, and as he said enjoys helping the youth. He is still in college and plans to be a teacher.

Many may not know it, but Mrs. Leslie Walker, the SJHS Choral Director, also is a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  For the recent Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert, The Wondrous Gift of Christmas, there was a children’s choir consisting of many childrens’ choirs from Utah.  One of those choirs, Hobble Creek Singers, is from Springville and is directed by Mrs. Walker.  Five of the ten children participating in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert are students at Springville Junior High.

A few weeks ago, the citizens of Springville woke up to a pristine ivory blanket of snow on the ground. Many people probably greeted it with a cry of joy, but others might have been thinking of scraping cars, shoveling sidewalks, and driving and walking on icy, wet roads. Some of the students at SJHS share this opinion, while others are more optimistic about the recent precipitation.
 
Celeborn Stringham, a seventh grader at SJHS, loves the snow. According to him, the snow is fun because you can go sledding, build forts, and have snowball fights (outside of school of course). There are a lot of other fun activities that you can do in the snow like ice skating, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and making snowmen.