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FBLA: Region Kaylee Beckstrom and Tressa Betts won 3 in Desktop Publishing

On February 12, 2010, students from Spanish Fork High
School competed in the Regional FBLA Competition at UVU.
Taylor Koense took third place in Help Desk. Tanner Holt took fourth
place in job interview, and Kaylee Beckstrom and Tressa
Betts took third place in Desktop Publishing. Tressa said,
"It was a lot of fun. Before the competition, Kaylee and I
had to make a brochure and a flier. At the competition we
had to take a written test and we did well enough to get
third place."
FBLA stands for Future Business Leaders of America.
Students in the club learn what it takes to be successful
in the business world. Mackenzi Berns said, "It's a fun
club, and has been a good experience."

Wrestler Kaleb Ashworth

Kaleb Ashworth is a senior at Spanish Fork High School. He maintains a 4.0 grade point average. He is also the student body president. On top of all of this, he wrestles for the Dons and has been wrestling his whole life. Kaleb has wrestled varsity since he was a freshman. In his four years wrestling in high school, he has earned four region titles! This is very hard to accomplish four years in a row.
His senior year has been by far his best, in which he has only lost three matches. At the Southern Division Wrestling Meet on February 7, 2010 he earned first place in the 145 weight category. Another tournament this wrestling season in which Kaleb did exceptional well was the Best of the West Tournament at Tooele High School. He beat Zach Coffman of Tooele 8-2 in the finals to earn him another first place win. In the Rocky Mountain Rumble on January 19, 2010, Kaleb took second to Justin Penn from Delta. That is just one of his few loses this year.

At the new high school Maple Mountain, Region 8 Wrestling was held. Kaleb earned his fourth region title beating Zack Blackham of Uintah by technical victory 17-2. In this tournament, Kaleb was named Region 8 most outstanding wrestler in the upper weight divisions. He has made quick work at the 4A State Finals advancing to the Semifinals where he will wrestle Zack Coffman of Tooele again. If he wins this match he will advance to the Finals. Kaleb has had a great season so far and we wish him the best of luck these next few days.

Intern - Chantelle Jones

Chantelle Jones, a senior at Spanish Fork High School, is currently an intern at Brockbank Elementary school. She works in a kindergarten classroom with Mrs. Farr taking on tasks such as reading stories to the children and helping them master their numbers, letters, and word families. Jones’ favorite part of her internship is interacting with the kids. “I absolutely love children! I always have,” Jones exclaimed. She can’t help but enjoy observing how unique each student is and how they respond to different situations.
Interning in the classroom, Chantelle has realized what she wants to become when she graduates and goes to college. Her ambition is to eventually major in elementary education and get an endorsement for teaching kindergarten. “I wanted to do something to help others,” said Jones. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do; then, I thought what better thing to be than a teacher.” Besides the fact that she loves the children, a major motivation for her career choice involved a quote by Marcus Tullius Cicero. It said, "What greater or better gift can we offer the republic than to teach and instruct our youth?"

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NHS Delivering Valentines and collecting money for Haiti

The National Honor Society at Spanish Fork High School set a new goal for the whole school last week. They, as part of their Character Counts Week, decided to try and gather 900 dollars and personal hygiene items for the people in Haiti. They picked the number 900 because there are just barely over 900 students in the school, due to the boundary changes these past two years. They figure that if every student donated just one dollar, hygiene item, and wrote one letter, they’d have enough to make a difference to the people suffering from the terrible earth quake. The theme for Character Count Weeks “The Character Within” is being exemplified through these activities. NHS sponsored an assembly where motivational speaker Chad Hymas challenged the students to find the character within through reaching out to people in need such as the Haitian people. On Tuesday the 9th, the students involved in NHS went around to every class and reminded the students of their goals. They picked up some of the donations first thing in the morning on Wednesday the 10th, and continued to collect donations at lunch the rest of the week. NHS also created a Valentine for every person in the school to highlight the awesome people that are here. A quote from Helen Keller summed up the week, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” Pictured with candy and envelopes: Alex Singerman, Allie Winner, and Tyson Galovich

Job Shadowing Becky Ottesen, Taylor Harrison, and Brad Stone

Ever child knows what they want to be when they grow up, right? Wrong. That is why the seventh grade “Job Shadow” program is giving students a first-hand opportunity to explore different career options. Seventh grader Taylor Harrison, an aspiring pro-ball player, spent the day job shadowing his grandmother at Spanish Fork High School’s assistant campus supervisor, Becky Ottesen. Taylor spent the day with Ottesen giving parking tickets and driving a golf cart, which Grandma said was his favorite part. “Taylor has great leadership skills,” Ottesen says. After the day was over, Taylor is now considering police work as a career option.

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Skills USA Auto Body Region Winners: Marvin Mancia, Shon Tomadakis, Chet Harmer, Korbin Seamons

Students at Spanish Fork High School are participants in CTE (Career Technical Education) which is a national organization that teaches students the basics in many technical careers that they are interested in. This program allows the opportunity for students to excel in areas such as collision repair, wood working, welding, photography, small engine repair, automotive refinishing, and job interviewing skills. Through the CTE program they allow students to demonstrate their skills by competing in a program known as Skills USA. Though many try out to be in Skills USA, only four from each school make it. Once in this competition the students are able to compete for prestigious scholarships in their area of expertise. This year the competition will be held on March 24 and 25. All Spanish Fork High School students are encouraged to come out and support the talented students chosen to participate in this exciting competition. The students representing Spanish Fork High School include Marvin Mancia, Shon Tomadakis, Chet Harmer, Korbin Seamons in Autobody and J. Ryan Partdige, Brooks Weirick, Taz Young, and Logan Mellor in Welding.

Science Dissection Eyeball with Karlie Abplanalp.

This week in Mr. Shepherd’s Medical Anatomy and Physiology class at Spanish Fork High School, students got the chance to dissect eyeballs, more specifically cow eyeballs. “It was interesting to see what an eye is made up of and how much it resembles an olive,” laughs Trevor West. The students were instructed to make an incision through the cornea and to pull off the lens in order to see what the inside looked like and also to be able to identify the parts shown on their diagrams. This is an exciting way to learn about the body, and students enjoy this class.

Projector

Spanish Fork High School has seen a lot of changes these last few years, most of them happening as this year’s seniors have gone through its halls. From Salem splitting off in the 2008 school year, to Maple Mountain splitting up its student body again this year. However, losing more students isn't the only thing that has changed at SFHS. The school has had a total make over on the outside, but what's better are the things that have changed within the school. This year, SFHS is stepping up to the plate of looking to the future with new technology.
Many have thought that the school was behind when it came to the newest achievements in helping teach with the aid of electronics and new gadgets. But not anymore. They have finished installing new projectors in every room helping teachers make, and students take notes that have been typed up and displayed on a large screen, or to help show videos in a larger form rather than on a tiny tv. Another addition are the sound systems that teachers use to magnify their voices in the class room using microphones that hang around their necks. The final one, and one that many teachers would agree is the most challenging to get the hang of, is called the Starboard. The purpose of this device is to allow teachers to write on a board, also known as a tablet, with an electronic stylus that the tablet and software turn into writing on the screen which is displayed on the projector; this allows teachers to add notes, make corrections to things, and sometimes even get a few laughs out of the students while both older and younger teachers start to get used to writing on it.

Photography by Kaleb Davis

SFHS Girls Encore

For many choir students from Spanish Fork, their goal has been to become a part of the Spanish Fork High School’s "Encore Group". During the 2009-2010 choir Auditions, Mr. Bradshaw, The Spanish Fork High School’s Choir Director, assured everyone that he had decided, after much consideration, that there would not be an Encore ensemble group for the following year. Many people were saddened to hear this and disappointed that their dream of being a part of that group wouldn't be possible. "I was sad when I found out. I had been looking forward to the chance to be in Encore all through out high school," Karianne Nelson stated when asked what disappointed her.

A couple of weeks before the 3rd term would start, Mr. Bradshaw announced that he had decided to hold tryouts for an Encore group that following week. Students were very excited for this change of mind. When audition day arrived, students lined up to show their talents to prove that they had the dedication and focus to work hard and to become successful with only a couple of months worth of rehearsals before festival. Resulting from the very few numbers of men showing up to the auditions, Mr. Bradshaw made the decision that for the first time Spanish Fork High School would have an All Girls’ Encore Group. Andi Smiley, a member of Encore, stated, "I was most excited for the chance to work with people that want to work hard to become good. I was also looking forward to working in a smaller group." The Girls Who are now on the encore ensemble group are, Ariel Hansen, Terra Dillman, Christina Heywood, Karianne Nelson, Bonnie Miller, Morgan Hansen, Lydia Money, Andi Smiley, Betty Thomas, Raquel Adams, and Ashley Davies.

Intern Karen Diaz

This week’s student internship spotlight is Karen Diaz. She currently is interning at Parkway Health Center in Payson. She is interning as a CNA and is looking forward to a great experience at the nursing home. She hopes to learn a lot and also to incorporate it into her future career, which is to become a registered nurse. When asked what she hopes to learn in specific at her internship, she says, “I want to be able to learn from people who have been doing this for a while, so that I will someday be able to teach others what I know as well.” She is excited to be in a professional and enjoyable atmosphere at the nursing home. In regards to the opportunity to intern, she says, “I think it’s a great opportunity for students to be able to work hands-on in internships that they enjoy and that will ultimately help them with their future goals.” She hopes to start her fall semester at UVU to continue her education and to receive her degree in the career she’s chosen.