At SJHS the eighth graders made straw towers in their science class towards the end of March. The purpose of this experiment was to learn about Newton’s Law of Gravity. Some of the requirements of this project were that students could only use 20 straws, 33 centimeters of tape, and the towers had to be able to hold 20 grams of mass for at least 10 seconds. The towers also had to be free-standing, which means students couldn’t hold on to it at all.  According to Chris Webber, an eighth grader at SJHS, almost everyone’s was a 3D triangle. Chris Webber also said  “One of the challenges I faced was running out of tape definitely; it was hard not to run out of tape.” 

PE classes throw it all out there with disc golf.  Springville Junior High PE students got a chance to play disc golf during the month of April.  According to Mr. Parker, the boys PE teacher at SJHS, he thinks it’s a new fun experience for the kids.  Disk golf is coed.  Mrs. Anderson, the girls PE teacher, and Mr. Parker switch half of the kids at a time. While Mrs. Anderson teaches kids archery, Mr. Parker gets to teach the kids disc golf. Kids really enjoy disc golf, Rebekah Grigg, a seventh grader at SJHS, said, “Disc golf is difficult, but fun!”

Springville Junior High’s English, science, and math classes are currently taking end of the year testing, called CRTs.  According to Mr. Van Ausdal, principal at SJHS, CRTs are mandated by the state, which means they are a state requirement.  The students will be taking the tests starting on April 15 and going to May 16.  CRT stands for Criterion Referenced Test.  This is a test to show what students have or haven’t learned throughout the year.  According to Mr. Van Ausdal, the objective of these tests are to see students’ learning progress.  On the CRTs, students will receive a numbered score from 1 to 4.  If a student receives a 3 or 4, that student is considered proficient.

On Friday, April 19, Springville Junior High participated in a school math competition.  Mr. Anderson, a math teacher at SJHS, and students from all grades who volunteered, went to the school library and took the 2013 state math  test. This competition was for students who wanted to test their skills in math and also have some fun.

After working for thirty years, twenty nine of those years at Springville Junior High, Mrs. Anderson, the girls PE teacher, has made the tough  decision to retire at the end of this school year.  Mrs. Anderson said, “I am ready to try something new, I think I'm ready for a change.  Also, I always wanted to retire when I still enjoyed my job, not because I hated my job.” Mrs. Anderson loved teaching here at SJHS. According to Mrs. Anderson, her favorite part about working here was the students and the friendships with the faculty and staff. She said, “The thing I will miss the very most, however, is seeing a student succeed when they have been working hard on something, and kids saying the funniest things!”

Springville Junior High had their first track meet on March 29th at Payson High School. According to Ms. Gardner, one of the track coaches, our girls won and our boys tied for first place. We had boys and girls place in each of the distance events: the 1600 meters, 800 meters, and 400 meters. Julie Sumsion, a student in track, broke the school record in both the 1600 and the 800. She won both of those events by a long shot.

Ever heard of Rube Goldberg? Or a Rube Goldberg Machine?  Rube Goldberg was a famous, inventive, and creative man who designed wonderful machines that did simple tasks.  They were very complex and some even involved animals!  For example, he created machines that could curl a man's mustache, open a door, or even a self-operating napkin machine.  All of the tasks would be operated by chain reactions that moved parts of the machine.  Mouse Trap (a board game) is another example of a Rube Goldberg machine.   Of course these were never built until a few years ago.  For the past few years, Mr.

One, Two, Three: Ready set sew! At SJHS the sewing students made aprons towards the end of March for an Apron Competition. All of the sewing students were required to make aprons, but they got  to choose if they wanted to enter the competition or not. Mrs. Bird, the sewing teacher at SJHS, chose five of the students that wanted to participate from each of her classes. Students got to go out and pick the fabric of their choice. They pretty much got free reign on what they wanted it to look like. However, there were some requirements for the apron: it had to have at least two pockets and it had to be double-sided.

Ever wonder where ice cream came from?  Or where the story of Johnny Appleseed originated from?  In the eighth and ninth-grade foods classes at SJHS, students have been given the chance to learn about some of the most common foods, and where they came from, or their history.  Some foods they have learned about this year in both foods classes are ice cream, apples, jello, chocolate, and donuts!  “It's a fun way to learn about a food and to celebrate the end of the week.  The kids earn the days with good behavior and clean kitchens,” said Mrs. Luke, a foods teacher at SJHS.    

Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? Teachers! Springville Junior High had a teacher appreciation week during the week of March 25 to 29! The PTA put together a week full of activities for teachers to enjoy. The two PTA members in charge of teacher appreciation week were Mrs. Elison and Mrs. Patten. Many teachers enjoyed everything that the PTA did for them. Mrs. Gleave, a math teacher at SJHS, said, “Our PTA is amazing!  They were so generous and kind during teacher appreciation week.  They decorated the hallways with basketball banners and spent the week giving teachers basketball themed treats, gifts, and meals.  It was just incredible!”