Kristi Hatch
SJHS Staff Writer

In Mr. Shields’s eighth grade history classes, students have been debating and learning about politics as they determine who they think will win the 2010 Super Bowl.  On February 5, students used the Electoral College system to vote on who they thought would be this year’s champion.

Electoral College is the system that the United States uses when it’s time to vote for the president of the United States.  Each state gets a certain amount of votes, based on the population in that state.  This system brings a different set of results than using popular vote.  For example, if a few lower-populated states all vote Republican and one higher-populated state votes Democratic, Democratic could still win in the Electoral College, but Republican would win in popular vote.

Well, needless to say, Mr. Shields’s classes were excited and involved on February 5.  Before the voting, the classes had a debate. Half the class represented the Saints, and half represented the Colts.  Then each student picked a state out of a hat (some students got two so that all 50 states were represented), and then they voted.  Mr. Shields remarked, “The kids had fun with it. It was a little vocal and fun, and they got to campaign.”

The results are in, and the total (all the classes combined) Electoral College votes for the Saints was 1,255 (popular was 131), and for the Colts, 1,970 (popular was 175).  As it happened, there was one unusual score: in Mr. Shields’s third period class.  In popular vote, the Saints won with 27 votes to 23 for the Colts.  However, the Colts won in Electoral College, at 310 votes to the Saints score of 228.  Despite all of these students rooting for the Colts, the Saints pulled ahead in the game, winning 31-17.

Kaleb Barnum
SJHS Staff Writer

A lot of people in the world list weights almost every day; SJHS has a great teacher who is willing to spend his time and help kids work out. Mr. David Hansen, history teacher and weight lifting coach at SJHS, thought that there was a need to have a weight lifting program so students who have pent up energy can come and let some of it the energy go. Mr. Hansen thinks that lifting weight is a great way for students to physically exert energy in a good, positive way. Mr. Hansen loves to see kids come and do physical activity. It helps them meet their goals and look forward to something.

Mr. Hansen said, “It helps kids get stronger, and it gives them self confidence.” About 15-20 students show up everyday. They work hard and don’t goof off. A student like Kenny Roach, eighth grade student at SJHS, loves to work out. He says, “On bad days, weight lifting helps me get through the tough times.”  Weight lifting takes place after school except Wednesday. So people who don’t have anything to do after school, Mr. Hansen would love for anyone to work out after school with him.

The ninth-grade girls’ basketball team.  Front row, left to right:  Ashley Crookston (manager), Sarah Patrick(manager),  Courtney Lefevre, Ripley Tew, Maddi Staheli, Mackenzie Morris, Amanda Sly, BreAnna Elzinga (manager),  Ashly Endicott(manager),  and Assistant Coach Murdock.  Back row, left to right: Emily Daybell, Kara Stoddard, Sarah Ripley, Brooke Caswell, Amy Tingey, Cami Sumsion, Mindy Staple, and Coach Kindrick

Jacob Simmons
SJHS Staff Writer

Springville Junior High School got a lot of new additions to their teaching squad this year. One of the many was Mrs. Becky Murdock, who has proven to be a great new addition to the social studies department.

Mrs. Murdock teaches eighth grade U.S. History and ninth grade World History/Geography. She enjoys teaching both.  “I adore teaching. I love to see the light bulb go on inside my student’s heads,” she said.

Mrs. Murdock went to Brigham Young University, where she majored in Social Studies Teaching. “I switched my major four times and tried everything from Geography, Geology, to Archeology and Anthropology; trying to decide which social science to go into,” she stated. Finally she decided to go with social studies teaching, deciding she would get the “best of all worlds.”

Another element Mrs. Murdock brought with her to the junior high, is coaching.  Mrs. Murdock is the assistant coach to Mr. David Kindrick for the girls basketball team. She said, “I love coaching. Period.”

Mrs. Murdock doesn’t just teach and coach, besides that she loves to cook, spend time with her family, and play lacrosse.

Max Schreiner
SJHS Staff Writer

There are many unique sports played at Springville Junior High, and one of those sports is lacrosse. In lacrosse, there are ten players on the field at a time. For each team there are two defenders, two mid-fielders, and an attacker. The purpose of lacrosse is to score more goals than the other team.

Lacrosse is played in the spring by many members of Springville Junior High. One of those people is Jesse Martinsen, a defender on his team.  Jesse said, “I would say my favorite part of lacrosse is getting to hit people with a six foot pole!” As some people know, lacrosse is a high impact sport. You have to be in pretty good shape to play this sport, and you also have to be able to take hits from six foot poles.

Quinn Alleman, a former lacrosse player, said “scoring a goal is one of the greatest sensations you will ever feel!” So if you want to go out there and score a goal or hit someone with a stick, play lacrosse.

Andrew Sa’u, seventh grader at SJHS, enjoyed snowshoeing in PE.

Hayde Blanco
SJHS Staff Writer

Mr. Michael Parker, the boys P.E. teacher, and Ms. Carrie Parker, the aerobics teacher, both did snowshoeing for their classes. Snowshoeing is where you walk around in the snow with snowshoes on. Snowshoes are web type shoes that make you walk on snow without sinking in. Mr. Parker tries to do it every year. He said, “If there is enough snow then we do it every year.”

Mr. Parker did games with snowshoeing. They did relay races and walking backwards. Andrew Sa’u, a seventh-grade student, said, “Walking backwards on snowshoes was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done through my experiences with snowshoeing.”

According to Mr. Parker, most of the students enjoyed snowshoeing. Kaleni Neiufi, a seventh grader, said, “I liked flicking snow at people with the snowshoes.” Andrew Sa’u said, “It was a good experience for me because I haven’t snowshoed before and I really did enjoy it!” Mr. Parker does snowshoeing because it is “active and fun!”

Jack Setzer
SJHS Staff Writer

It’s on the Utah License plates- “The Greatest Snow on Earth.” Mrs. Kaycie Sorenson, SJHS math teacher, agrees with that statement. “Utah ski resorts rock!” said Mrs. Sorenson. In the winter, many Utahns, and others from across the world, go up into the Utah Rockies and ski up at any of the several resorts.

“Hills are split,” said Spencer Duncan, an eighth grade SJHS student. “From hardest to easiest: Double Black Diamond, Black Diamond, Green Square, and Blue Circle.”

What do people like about Alpine skiing? “You can go super fast, but slow as well,” said Spencer. Mrs. Sorenson said, “There is no greater feeling in this world than the cold air rushing across your face as you fly down a steep slope covered in fresh powder.”

Jacob Simmons
SJHS Staff Writer

A great component to the quality teaching in both schooling and sports at Springville Junior High is thanks in part to Mr. David Kindrick. Mr. Kindrick teaches science at SJHS, coaches the girls’ basketball team, and also helps out with the track team.

Mr. Kindrick has been teaching for nine years, eight of those years at SJHS. The other schools he has taught at include East Hardy Early Middle School and Timpview High School.  Mr. Kindrick is currently teaching and has mostly taught eighth-grade integrated science. He has also taught body conditioning and study skills. “I really like the ecology section [of eighth grade science] because I get to integrate a lot of art,” said Mr. Kindrick.

Mr. Kindrick doesn’t just teach in the classroom; he teaches both on the basketball court and out in the field for track. McKenzie Morris, a member of the ninth-grade girls’ basketball team, said, “He is a good coach. He is very assertive and knows a lot about the game.”

Some of his favorite things to do outside of school are sports, puzzles, and reading. He is a big fan of science fiction books. Like most people, Mr. Kindrick also enjoys spending time with his friends and family.

Chelsea Ricks
SJHS Staff Writer

The Springville Junior High boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at played games on December 3, 2009. Both teams played against Murray Junior High School.

The girls played hard, but lost their game 33 to 35. The boys won their game 62 to 56. Cole Bertelsen, a member of the boys basketball team, said, “We played pretty good against Murray. Our defense was really good against the team.”

Jantzen Dalley had the most points for his team with a total of 18. Mindy Stapel had the most points for her team with the total of 21 points. Mr. Shaun Blakey, the boys basketball coach, said, “We would love to see more students at the games to support the basketball teams.”

The next girls and boys basketball home basketball game will be on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. They will be playing Payson Junior High.

SJHS students Kara Dunn and Makaiah Williams made the high school Winter Guard team.

Hayde Blanco
SJHS Staff Writer

Winter Guard tryouts took place in mid-November, and two ninth graders from SJHS made it in. Kara Dunn and Makaiah Williams worked hard to learn the routines and dances, and they were excited to make it into Winter Guard.

The girls had to go to the high school and learn an eight count flag routine and a dance. Then they had to go perform it for girls that were in Winter Guard but are now graduated and came back to help.

Winter Guard does many things. They do flag and rifle spinning and dances. They have competitions where they get to show off their dance and routines to the other schools. Their first competition is January 30th at Orem High School. They also do the salute at the basketball games.

The ninth graders like working with the older girls. Makaiah said, “It is cool to get to know the older girls and hang out with them.” Kara and Makaiah both love winter guard. Kara said, “Winter Guard is the highlight of my week.”

Team Captain Derek Boyer

Max Schreiner
SJHS Staff Writer

Twelve people made the boys basketball team this year, and two of those twelve were voted team captain. One of those captains is Derek Boyer. Derek has been playing basketball since he was born and has always loved it. This year he made the junior high basketball team by using his amazing shooting, dribbling, and passing skills.

On the day of the third practice before the team started practicing, Coach Shaun Blakey called everyone over and had them vote on team captains. He said “I want you to vote for someone who you think would be a good leader, be able to push you to your limits, and make us better as a team.” The vote was unanimous; Derek would be one of the captains.

Derek’s favorite thing about playing basketball is scoring! “I just love the feel of knowing I got my team points to help us win.” He also loves making a nice assist and having that sweet sensation just knowing that he was responsible for making that happen.

His basketball idol is Michael Jordan because he had so much heart for the game and that’s what Derek wants to be known as, the guy with all the heart.

Kaleb Barnum
SJHS Staff Writer

Mr. David Kindrick, Springville Junior High science teacher, is coaching the SJHS girls’ basketball team. They seem to be in good shape, since their record is 1-2. They are on their way to going to district! The names of the girls on the team are: Mindy Staple, Sarah Ripley, Ripley Tew, Mackenzie Morris, Courtney LeFevre, Emily Daybell, Kara Stoddard, Amanda Sly, Maddi Stahlie, Amy Tingey, Cami Sumsion, and Brooke Caswell.

The girls are looking forward to playing their next game so they can get redemption. Mr. Kindrick said, “We are really athletic and willing to work hard.” Cami Sumsion, ninth grade student at SJHS, said, “The basketball team is way awesome!” The girls’ basketball team is looking forward to finishing their season and how it turns out. Keep up the hard work!

Jantzen Dalley, team captain

Max Schreiner
SJHS Staff Writer

Twelve people made the boys basketball team this year, and two of those twelve were voted as team captains. One of those captains is Jantzen Dalley. Jantzen loves basketball; he has been playing basketball since he was in third grade and has loved it from the beginning. This year he made the junior high school basketball team. Before the third practice, the team voted on team captains for the year. Mr. Shaun Blakey, basketball team head coach, told the team, “You should vote for someone who you think will be a good leader, will be able to push you to your limits and make us a better team as a whole.”

Jantzen said, for him, basketball is the best sport because, “It’s a high intensity, quick paced, fun game,” When he went to one of the games last year he said he thought the intensity level was a lot higher than his accelerated games which made him look forward to playing on the team even more than before.

His basketball idol is Michael Jordan, with LeBron James as a close second. The reason Michael is ahead of LeBron is because he was the best there ever was, and Jantzen wants to be the best there ever was.

Hannah Packard, Amberly Austin and Ashli Averett, 9th graders at SJHS, show their Red Devil pride.

Andrew Garza
SJHS Staff writer

This year, three ninth-grade students at Springville Junior High made the Springville High School girl’s basketball team: Ashli Averett, Amberly Austin, and Hannah Packard.

“I think it is really cool and great experience to be on the high school basketball team,” said Ashli Averett, one of the freshmen that made it to the girls high school basketball team. Ashli said, “I watched my sister play for many years. She had a lot of fun, and learned a lot. I hope to get the same experience.” Ashli also said, “Basketball is a lot of work, but it’s so much fun. I love it.” Ashli’s siblings, dad, and cousins have played high school basketball, and she said they are the ones who help her and teach her new skills.

Hannah Packard, another freshman that made the high school basketball team, said that she thinks high school basketball is a good opportunity and a privilege. Hannah said,“Basketball is one of my favorite sports.” Hannah has also been to many high school basketball games and wants to be like the people who play in them. She likes basketball because of the “Intensity-it’s a sport where you think and need skill.”

Amberly Austin, the other freshman that made the high school basketball team, said, “I think it is a big accomplishment to make the team as a freshman. It is something I have wanted to do since I was little.” Amberly said she went to some games last year and liked it because the intensity level is a lot higher. Amberly also said, “I like basketball because it is a fun sport and it is also a team sport.

Two PE students playing pickleball in Mrs. Anderson’s class.

Jack Setzer
SJHS Staff Writer

Every year, girls’ PE teacher Mrs. Kelly Anderson has her students play a sport with a paddle and wiffleball. The sport is called pickleball. “Most students seem to enjoy it,” said Mrs. Anderson. The girls are all done for this year, but they play pickleball every year.

Students use different strategies. “In rallies, I always aim for the person who looks bored, because they probably aren’t paying attention,” said Jamie Devenish, a seventh grader. Eighth-grade student Darby Farr said, “If they’re far back, I hit it softly, and if they’re close, I hit it hard so they can’t get it.”

“I would play pickleball at least twice a day, no doubt,” said seventh grade PE Girls student Amanda Ripley, “If I had the time.”

Students watch the annual flag football game at SJHS.

Jose Martinez
SJHS Staff Writer

Every year at Springville Junior High there is a special event:  students vs. teachers flag football.  Each year, students think they will win but are always proven wrong.

“There are six teams, five student teams and one teacher team; the overall winner is the team that has the most wins,” said Mr. Brian Rice.  Even though it seems like the student would have an advantage with more student, the teachers are usually  the victors because they are bigger, smarter and more handsome than the students, as Mr. Rice put it.

The flag football game consists of ten minute games and whoever accumulates the most wins is the winner. “It was fun and unexpected,” said Dan Nava, student at Springville Junior High School.  Students have always been willing to challenge the teachers in everything, whether it is in sports, academic progress or just life. The students always want a new challenge.

“Hopefully the students will just have fun,’’ said Mr. Rice.  The game was held on Tuesday, November 10th and the teachers won again, undefeated.