An opportunity to excel

Matthew Fitzgerald
SJHS Staff Writer

“It’s an enrichment program that goes beyond a normal class,” stated Mr. Hatfield, vice chairman of the Gifted and Talented Program. Four to six times a year thirty students from each grade at SJHS go on some sort of field trip dedicated to learning something new and out of the ordinary.

To get in to the Gifted and Talented Program, students had to score well on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in math and reading. Students can also get in from teacher nominations. The goals of the program are to take students that excel and find school maybe a little easy and help them have fun while learning something new. Mr. Hatfield and Mr. Hansen also want to help students becomes leaders to help others along in school. These goals are accomplished through many different activities.

For example, last year the program took a trip last year to Utah’s capital building to take a tour. They also got to meet Gary R. Herbert, the lieutenant governor of Utah! They go on an activity about four to six times a year. The activities usually last all day, so the students have to make up the work, but it’s usually no problem. When asked what his favorite trip was, a member of the gifted and talented at SJHS, Joseph Davies, said, “Probably the capital building in Salt Lake, it was fun, plus the fact that they had a really good cafeteria!”

Fire and Safety Drills at SJHS

Jaqueline Fry
SJHS Staff Writer

At Springville Junior High School, fire drills are practiced five times a year. Would you want to be in a fire and not have a way out? Preparation is a key, and practicing these drills really helps a lot of people, including teachers. “Students need practice--if there is ever a real emergency we want students to know exactly what to do when the time arrives. It’s better to prepare and not need it, than to have a real emergency and not be prepared,” Trent Mikesell, SJHS English teacher, said.

When practicing fire drills, SJHS has a routine. As soon as the students hear the alarm ring, the teacher has everyone line up, and they head out of the closest exit to their designated spots, leaving the door shut behind them. “Fire drills are for the student’s safety. They need to know the quickest and safest way to exit the building. Practice is so important for the students just in case a real fire does occur,” explained SJHS health teacher, Katie Abrams.

Reaction isn’t seen as a problem at SJHS, and the practices make perfect. The students always know what to do without a doubt when the alarm rings. “If anything ever happens, students will be able to react quickly,” stated SJHS journalism and English teacher, Tiffanie Miley.

The fire drills are during second period, so the teachers are very grateful that they don’t interrupt their classes. “I like having fire drills during second period so I don’t lose time in my English classes,” Tiffanie Miley says. It is agreed that fire drills are pretty great for the school.

Band geeks?! Band geniuses!

Mr. Booth conducting the 9th grade band.

Abi Santiago
SJHS Staff Writer

Some kids like listening to music, students that are in band enjoy working with their hands and creating the music. At SJHS, Band is a class where you can learn music, then later on perform it for an audiance. “It’s a class where you can focus on music and not on tests,” Jordan Gage said, “You’re using instruments instead of books and pencils.”

Mr. David Booth, the band teacher at SJHS, arranges the seventh grade class into two sections, brass and percussion together, and woodwinds. The beginning band students are in seventh grade. There are eighth and ninth grade bands also. All grades have concerts in December and May to show what they’ve been working on. Mr. Booth likes to pick all different kinds of music for the concerts, such as jazz, rock, and traditional.

The eighth and ninth grades bands go to a band festival in the spring at UVU. The ninth grade also attends the Nebo District band festival, which is also held in the spring. Mr. Booth conducts a Jazz Band made up of ninth grade band members. They perform in the spring. They play jazz music, classic rock, and Latin.

Mr. Booth has always been interested in music. He is inspired by all kinds of music, but he especially enjoys Classic Rock, Jazz, Latin, R&B, and Funk. Someone who inspired him to be a teacher was his high school wrestling coach and math teacher, Mr. Hilderman. “I really admired him. He was an excellent teacher, coach, and person,” Mr. Booth commented.

Students at Springville Junior High love having Mr. Booth teach here, and they all love his hilarious sense of humor! “He helps the students remember things when they forget, and he’s a really good teacher!” Brooke Caswell says. Good job Mr. Booth!

Fiddler on the Roof Jr. - A Big Hit at SJHS

Kristi Hatch
SJHS Staff Writer

Excited parents, students, and friends lined up at Springville Junior High School on Wednesday, October 8 through Saturday, October 11, highly anticipating the start of the school play, Fiddler on the Roof Junior. Mrs. Walker, Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. Gleave, Springville Junior High School and Mapleton Junior High School students put countless hours of hard work and effort into making this a great production.

Students were nervous and excited before putting on the show. “It’s always hard putting on the first show because you don’t know if people will like it,” said Julianna Sheffield, who played the Fiddler. Malary Hatch, who played one of the mothers, said, “I was excited because I love putting on shows…I wasn’t nervous at all.”

Students thought that they did really well. “I think it went good. I tried my best, and I felt like I did a good job,” said Mike Bartholomew, who played one of the Russians. Students also thought that the audience liked it. “I think they really liked it. They gave us a standing ovation on opening night,” said Julianna Sheffield. Malary Hatch remarked, “They were screaming after every song, so I think they liked it a lot.”

Mrs. Walker, one of the directors of Fiddler on the Roof Junior believes that all the hard work of the students paid off, “There is great satisfaction in putting your whole heart and soul into a project. And we all did that!” Elizabeth Elliott, who played a daughter, agrees with her, “The audience enjoyed it, and if I can make people happy it’s worth my time.”

The audience really liked it, also. “I saw all of my friends and they did a good job,” said Holly Sumsion, an eighth grader at SJHS.

Everyone loved being in this production of Fiddler on the Roof, and many students are looking forward to next year’s play. Mrs. Walker said, “I think there will be many students who want to try out for next year’s play after seeing this one!” The students and directors put a lot of effort into this play, and they all are happy that they participated.

SJHS Flies into the Air

Shelby Mason
SJHS Staff Writer

At Springville Junior High School there is a tradition where the whole school goes out into the field and spells out a word in the grass. While the students are doing this a faculty member will go into a hot air balloon and takes a picture of all of us.

We have this tradition because “it is a lot of fun, and we hope all of the students realize that it is showing our commitment against drugs. We wanted to do something that would help them remember that we take a stand against drugs,” Mrs. Crandall explained.

We have been doing this tradition for the past ten years and this year the word “Pride” was spelled out. In past years we have done words like, “Unite,” “Live,” “SJHS,” and “Spirit.” We use words that show that Springville Junior High is a great school and takes a stand against drugs.

The hot air balloon that we used this year was owned by the Bank of American Fork and was operated by Erwin Oertle and Brian Kelly. Our vice principal, Mr. Knudsen, and Mrs. Crandall went up in the air balloon with them to take the picture.

Mr. Oertle explained that when you go up the winds will carry you depending on altitude. This year they traveled to the east and landed in the high school soccer field, where a few teachers and students helped to put the air balloon away.

Make a Wish Foundation

Whitney Norman
SJHS Staff Writer

Springville Junior and High school have been helping the Make a Wish Foundation this month. Springville Junior High helped out by selling paper stars with the students’ names on them and putting the stars in the hall at lunch. They sold them for a dollar each, and Springville High helped out by having a Family Fun Night on October 13th at SHS.

Students from Springville Junior High at the Family Fun Night. Justina Carter, Hannah Reinheart, and Cynthia Esklund.

The Make a Wish Foundation is all about granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.

The Springville High School family night was a big success, and a lot of families attended and had a great time. There were games, food, and the number one favorite, the Haunted Hall. All the money that was raised from the carnival is going to the Make a Wish Foundation.

Kids participate in the "Haunted Hall," sponsored by the SJHS Service Learning class.

“I believe that anything we can do to help a sick child is a wonderful thing. I believe that if we can make one wish come true, then they can have the optimism to fight any illness and believe they can survive it and that another wish might come true,” Mrs. Kathryn Crandall, a teacher at Springville Junior High, shared her personal feelings about the Make a Wish Foundation. Mrs. Crandall is one of those who helped with the Family Fun Night, along with SJHS students Ashli Averett and Cami Sumsion.

Thank you, Springville High and Springville Junior High for making a wish happen!

Reach For the Stars

Shayla Tanner
SJHS Staff Writer

Reach for the stars and help make a wish come true. Make-A-wish is a company that chooses a sick child or person, and asks them if they could have one wish what it would be.

This year Make-A-Wish is granting a wish for Joseph, who has Marfan syndrome, and has had several heart surgeries including one just recently. Every year students at SJHS has the chance to bring one dollar and buy a star to help make a child’s wish become a reality.

Joseph is 12 years old and has Marfan syndrome, a condition that affects the connective tissue. The purpose of connective tissue is to hold the body together and provide a framework of growth and development. In Marfan syndrome, the connective tissue is defective and does not work properly. Marfan syndrome can affect many body systems, including the skeleton, eyes, heart and blood vessels, nervous system, skin and lungs.

Joseph’s wish is to go on a shopping spree. One of the things Joseph is looking forward to is getting a wii. He loves playing games; his favorite foods include pizza and brownies, and his favorite color is blue.

SJHS Feelings on Current Election

Jacob Simmons
SJHS Journalism Staff

Obama or McCain? With just two weeks to go in the presidential election, students at Springville Junior High were asked who they would like for president.

Students at Springville Junior High were asked questions like, “Who do you want for president?” and “Why do you want them?” In response, 17% said they would like to see Barack Obama in office. 32% of students said that they did not want either of the candidates in office, and a crushing 51% said that they would like to see John McCain in office.

Some of the reasons were as follows: “McCain is the lesser of two evils for me; I believe Obama will do the following. A. Plunge Iraq into chaos B. Be a terrible president,” stated one student on their survey. Another said, “He [John McCain] is very, very patriotic and is someone that you can count on to follow through with their promises.”

The reasons for those that wanted Barack Obama as president were: “Obama’s speeches are very inspiring, and I love to listen to them! And he seems like a man who would try to get the best done for the people, even if it hurt him in the long run.”

Although McCain got the most votes of those who took the survey, the vote for neither of the candidates was high as well; the reason being some of those who voted for McCain or Obama claimed that they really did not want either of the two.

The polls from Real Clear Politics at www.Time.com show that in Utah there are more votes for McCain by 36.4%. Obama had 26.3% and McCain had 62.7% of the total votes. The nationwide average suggests that Obama is in the lead by 7.5%. McCain had 42.4% and Obama had 49.9% of the total national votes.

Scholastic Halloween Festivities

McKenna Gleave
SJHS Staff Writer

For as long as any of us can remember, SJHS has had a strict no costume policy when it comes to dressing up for Halloween. This year, however, the students were determined to change that.

Knights of the Round Table is weekly meeting with students, one representative from each homeroom class, where they discuss the issues of the school and make and brainstorm plans for the student body. Lately their main focus has been directed to changing the school's policy of no costumes in school on Halloween.

Students wrote persuasive essays to the administration in an attempt to convince them to bend on the old rule. It seems to have been delightfully effective. Not only did it reach out and help activate the students of SJHS and show great school spirit and involvement, but it also achieved its goal. Students will now be permitted to dress up on Halloween and show off all their unique costumes at school.

Principal Darrel Rolfe encourages the idea of inviting a little fun amidst the regular school schedule. He believes that when everyday rolls by same as the one before that you need a little break to switch it up. However, structure must be maintained. There will be several rules along with this great privilege. “No face paint, no masks, no fake blood, and students must follow the dress code for modesty and decency.”

The students of SHJS are all looking forward to sharing their personalities through festive costumes on this upcoming fantastical Halloween holiday!

Springville Junior High Presents the Halloween Dance

Shelby Anderson
SJHS Staff Writer

There will be a Halloween dance on October 30 at Springville Junior High in the boy’s gym; it will start at 7:00 p.m. and end at 9:00 p.m. The cost of the dance will be $4 without student ID and $3 with student ID. There will be costumes allowed, but students must not wear masks, blood, or any type of gore. There will be spooky decorations, fun costumes, and maybe even a food drive…

There are some consequences for the students that have tardies and sluffs. Mrs. Wimmer, the skill building teacher, said, “If any students have Morning Enrichment time, they need to make it up by the morning before or the morning of the day of the dance, or they will not be able to go.”

Catch Up with the Cooking Class

Mrs. Crandall and some of her students cooking some warm bread.

Sarah Fawson
SJHS Staff Writer

The scents from the foods rooms move through the school, and everyone wishes that they could be there when warm bread leaves the oven.

Kathryn Crandall’s food class is for the students who want to learn more about cooking and foods that are healthy and good for the students to eat. Students also learn about which foods aren’t good to eat.

The foods class is a semester class, but some students wish it could be a whole year.

The heavenly recipes that Mrs. Crandall gets are sometimes her own recipes, but she also gets them from recipe books and from the internet.

The foods class is a great experience for students who want to learn more about cooking.

Spectacular Performance of “Fiddler on a Roof” from SJHS

Eric Mageno
SJHS Staff Writer

The world has come up with some interesting plays and stories, and this year Mrs. Walker, of SHJS, chose the story of “Fiddler on the Roof.” I went to see the play not long ago and interviewed some of the actors and some of the audience. The play went from October 3rd to October 11th.

“I really love to be in the play it’s a blast being with all my friends and also being able to create a good source of entertainment,” said Mike Bartholomew.

Kate Baxter, a student at SHJS, watched the play end explained, “I thought that the play was very professional for people as young as they are.” And everyone else that I asked thought that for how young they were they did an extraordinary job, and that it was worth their money.

Sara Mortenson, an actor in the play, explained, "I have been practicing since August 11, but others started later because they thought that it would be fun which it is.” The actors woke early just so that they could make it to play practice, some at five in the morning. The practice has paid off and the actors did a great job, and they did well because of their hard work and perseverance.

SJHS experiences the fun of Fall Break

Brooke Caswell
SJHS Staff Writer

It’s that time of year again! That’s right, this past week has been fall break for Nebo District. Have you ever wondered what teachers do during the fall break or if they just get a day off?

Fall break was held over October 16th and 17th. This means that students didn’t go back to school until October 20th. However, the students in Nebo District have Friday the 24th off as well.

During fall break, there are Utah Education Association meetings up in Salt Lake for the teachers. “The two days of fall break are not paid days for teachers, consequently, they are not required to attend those meetings in Salt Lake,” said Darrel Rolfe, principal of Springville Junior High.

“The most popular activity at Springville Junior High appears to be Disneyland. Everyone is going there,” explains Maddie Patten, student at SJHS. Students also went to movies and some even traveled to St. George, Utah for the break.

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful fall break and had fun on Friday!

Cooking With Crandall in Foods Class

Cari Grosland cooks up fun in Foods class.

Maddie Patten
SJHS Staff Writer

Day after day, delicious aromas waft from Mrs. Kathryn Crandall’s foods room. Students look forward all day to the classes where they can take a 45 minute break from schoolwork to test and taste their cooking skills. Mrs. Crandall uses recipes that have all been tried ahead of time over the past few years by either her or Mrs. Natalie Luke, another foods teacher. Many of the recipes are personal recipes from home that are fun, so Mrs. Crandall and Mrs. Luke bring them to school for the students to use.

The foods class makes foods that include fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates and proteins. In the different units they do, the foods class learns about things like kitchen safety and nutrition. In the nutrition unit the class learns about eating healthy. They are taught which foods prevent which diseases, for instance, calcium prevents osteoporosis and fiber prevents colon cancer. They make fun things like fruit pizza, stir fry, fried rice, and breads. "My favorite thing to make is pancakes,” says Liz White, a foods student. When it gets close to holidays like Christmas, the class enjoys cooking holiday recipes.

Students at Springville Junior Give Mrs. Manwaring an A+

Mrs. Manwaring explains a science project to her science enrichment class.

by M. Dayton
SJHS Journalism Staff

Not many teachers get to build both mind and muscle, but Mrs. Kelli Manwaring, of Springville Junior High, is an exception. Every day, all day, she is on the go, whether it is teaching one of her five science classes or instructing her sixth period aerobics class. She is constantly doing something to open students’ minds and to teach them new things, things that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

As the school day goes by, many students anxiously await Mrs. Manwaring’s class. “She is so fun and brings out the best in others. She makes sure you are having a good time,” Savannah McNitt happily explained.

Mrs. Manwaring has a unique style of teaching that makes learning easy and fun for all students. No matter what has happened to the student in the past or what walk of life they come from, Mrs. Manwaring tries her hardest to connect with them and make their time in her class the best it can be. “She is always doing her best. If you can’t do something she works out an alternative,” Savannah McNitt honestly reported.

All the kids and teachers that know her have a deep appreciation for what she does and her ability to enhance the learning experience. “Science can be difficult, especially in textbook language, but Mrs. Manwaring translates it so we can understand science,” Emma Daybell happily stated.

Mrs. Manwaring is always there to lend a hand and to help out a fellow teacher or student. Whether it is helping students stretch muscles in their arms or their brains, Mrs. Manwaring always gives her best effort. No matter how there final grades turn out, the students at Springville Junior High give Mrs. Manwaring an A+.

Cross Country Meet

Springville Junior High school competed against Mapleton and Spanish Fork Junior High Schools in a Cross Country Meet on Thursday, October 9th. Both the boys and girls teams placed second.

Emma Graves, Leksi Rosenberg, Abi Santiago, Courtney Taylor and Caroline Krieger of the Springville Junior High Cross Country team get ready to start their race.

The start of the girls race.

Jantzen Dalley races to a first place finish at the meet.

Members of the Springville Junior High Cross Country team help clean up after the meet.

October Scientist of the Month

Emily Daybell is a great student who loves having fun. Emily has her heart set on graduating from culinary school and becoming a head chef at a five-star restaurant. There is so much science in cooking and baking, her love of cooking explains why she does so well in science.

She loves to play just as hard as she works. Right now she is a playing for her U-14 triple A soccer team and playing the bass for the school's orchestra. Know that she a tough cookie, not only does she dominate in soccer but she is up to the challenge of playing the bass even though it’s a whole 2 heads taller than her. She also loves camping in the high Uintahs with her family. She’s a straight A student that if you didn’t know her you would think she is shy and quiet. Even if you do know her, you most likely think she’s shy and quite. Even though she is a quiet girl she is very happy and does a great job in class, Congratulations.

New Computer Teacher at SJHS

Miss Jarvis

by Shelby Anderson
SJHS Staff Writer

Springville Junior High SChool has a new TLC, computer technology, and computer business teacher. Her name is Josie Jarvis. Miss Jarvis chose SJHS because she had “heard such great things about this school. I have always wanted to teach junior high, and I also knew that the community support at SJHS was very high, which is really helpful to a new teacher.” Miss Jarvis explained that that faculty, staff and students have been wonderful to work with. "Everyone has been so nice and helpful with any questions I have. SJHS has such an inviting and positive atmosphere that I really enjoy,” Miss Jarvis said.

Something interesting about Miss Jarvis is that on the weekends and during the summer she barrel races. You may ask if its teaching is going to affect her barrel racing but she says “I compete mostly on the weekend and in the summer, so having both of those off makes it a lot easier to make it to all of my competitions.” We are so happy to welcome Miss Jarvis to Springville Junior High!

Mrs. Anderson and One Amazing PE Program

Mrs. Anderson

by Jaqueline Fry
SJHS Staff Writer

Many of the students at SJHS say that Mrs. Kelly Anderson teaches a wonderful PE program, and helps people become and stay fit. “We all need to exercise to be cardiovascularly fit,” says the girls’ PE teacher, Kelly Anderson.

Sadly for half of the girls at SJHS, last year Kelly Anderson was out for a semester due to severe stenosis of the spine in the lower region of her back. Basically, she had to have an incision about ten inches long and a very complicated surgery in her back. This school year, she is back on her feet and recovered. “I LOVE being back,” Kelly Anderson said.

The girls that go to Mrs. Anderson’s class have opinions too. “She really makes PE really fun,” says Alondra Lopez, a ninth-grader at SJHS. Another student, Brooke Caswell, agrees. “I love her. She is so nice and so fun, and she’ll help you do anything.”

Mrs. Anderson has a husband named Alan. She also has three sons. Matt is on a mission; Tim is going to college at UVU; and John who is an eighth grader at SJHS. She has one daughter, Melanie, who is a sixth grader at Brookside. Mrs. Anderson also has a dog called Dolly, a cat called Mim, and a bird named Tanzie.

Mrs. Anderson’s favorite color is pink, because it is perky and fresh. She loves softball because she loves pitching and hitting. Her favorite food is cheesecake, because it’s deliciously rich. Her favorite movie is Finding Nemo because the dad and son never give up looking for each other. She hates raisins, loves Diet Coke, and loves to read.

Mrs. Anderson has been teaching for twenty six years. Twenty five of those years were taught at SJHS, and the other one was taught at Gunnison, Utah. She has taught PE, Health, and weight lifting, and she has a Masters Degree.

Clearly students at SJHS love her and think she is great. “We do a lot of fun activities to help us stay fit,” says Sarah Fawson, another SJHS student. You could agree that Mrs. Anderson is a wonderful addition to SJHS.

Student Council works to improve SJHS

by Zachary Nemelka
SJHS Staff Writer

We have a new student council this year at Springville Junior High School. Throughout the year the student council tries to improve SJHS for the benefit of the students. They try to improve SJHS by getting new improvements for SJHS and fixing old things like the tennis courts for the school. “We all work together to make our school better. We also come up with ideas for our school. We also try our hardest to be an example and have fun,” Morgan Murdoch,one of the vice presidents, said. So they work to improve the school and have a positive attitude toward the school. “Definitely, we set a happy mood, which we all need these days,” Matthew Fitzgerald, another vice president, commented.

So with the ideas that the student council come up with they won’t actually improve SJHS unless we come up with the means to implement their ideas. “Really, there are so many different people to please, with so many personalities. Yup, you can imagine the results,” says Matthew Fitzgerald, with an exasperated look. If they are trying improve SJHS the student council will have to go through a lot of restrictions. Some of these difficulties include coming up with the same ideas and agreeing on them, and then getting money to improve the school.

If the student council is willing to work this hard to improve the school, they must enjoy helping the school. “Heck yeah!! Very fun, yet a learning experience full of good new friends,” Matthew Fitzgerald said with a big grin. If you enjoy something hopefully you with have a good time doing that thing and do the best you can.

Student council has eight people, and four serve per semester. The four serving this semester are Mytch Smith, Emma Black, Mike Bartholomew, and Taylor Jensen. Mytch Smith is the president and the rest are vice presidents. Josh Buhler, Dallin Droubay, Matt Fitzgerald, and Morgan Murdoch will serve next semester. Josh Buhler is the president, and Dallin, Matt, and Morgan are vice presidents. If the student council improves SJHS we will be able to have a more enjoyable year, and they will have done their job.