Jarom Hendricks and Seth Daybell making pies in Mrs. Luke’s foods class.

Julie Barbosa
SJHS Staff Writer

We’ve all seen those old black and white commercials. The ones with women in aprons standing over kitchen stoves. But not at Springville Junior High, where eighth and ninth graders have the opportunity to take foods class. However, they’re not alone with raw ingredients and dangerous tools, they have Mrs. Natalie Luke.

When you walk into foods class, the heavenly aroma of fresh baked goods and flour cling to the air, not the ordinary classroom smell of dusty books and chalk. Mrs. Luke has been teaching foods to eager students for seven years, and loves every hectic minute, “I love the interaction with fun kids who share their lives with me.”

The students don’t make boxed macaroni and cheese or toast, but make everyday meals. From homemade pasta to exotic sweets, these students have it all. They get to trade their text books and homework for food and fun. Mrs. Luke is there to educate them about a variety foods and the proper use of potentially dangerous tools, “I love to teach foods; It’s a skill everyone needs.”  Students couldn’t agree more. Ninth-grader Weston King said, “Its fun! Mrs. Luke is a great teacher!”

Katya Wagstaff
SJHS Staff Writer

Many people love to travel to far-off places for vacation.  People crave vacations because they’re a chance to get away from everyday life and either relax or go sightseeing.  Most people go to see sights that are famous for different reasons; perhaps they go to visit the Seven Wonders of the World including the Pyramids at Giza.  Perhaps what someone else dreams to see is the Eiffel Tower (“Tour de Eiffel” in French) in the City of Lights.  Whatever that special place may be, students, teachers and faculty members at SJHS love to travel.

Students at SJHS have a love of traveling to different places.  Julie Barbosa, a ninth grader, has been to Brazil and South Africa.  She said, “I love Brazil because it’s a party place and the food is great!”  Eighth-grade students Christopher Taylor and Spencer Duncan have both visited England.  According to Christopher, Oxford was a cool place to see because of the different old buildings.  Spencer said, “I like to go see the different places you can learn about Old and New London.”

As a teacher, the work schedule is different than “normal” office jobs.  Teachers have plenty of time in the summer for vacations.  Mr. Steven Robbins, a seventh-grade English teacher, has traveled to places all over the globe.  The most exotic vacation he has been on was to China.  Mrs. Natalie Luke, the foods teacher, has been to Ireland and Finland.  While she was in Finland, she ate reindeer!  Mrs. Lori Caras, a seventh and ninth-grade science teacher, couldn’t decide which vacation spot was her favorite.  She said, “Europe was filled with amazing history.  I loved being in a different culture and hearing different languages.”  Her other favorite vacation was Cancun.  According to Mrs. Caras, it was a relaxing place to visit.

Teachers aren’t the only ones who work in schools and have time to take vacations.  One of the newest faculty members to enter Springville Junior High is Mrs. Courtney Johnson, an assistant principal.  She said, “Last May, I traveled to Germany and drove down through Austria and into Slovenia.”  Slovenia is one of her favorite vacation spots because it is “easy to explore” because of its small size.  She also went through the Alps, one of the largest mountain ranges in the world.

These exciting vacations to far off places seem like you have to go to the other side of the world to experience.  But that’s not true, there are places in Utah that people across the world come to visit, and these places are practically in our backyards.  Utah is home to five national parks, which is more than any other state.  We also have many ski resorts to visit during the winter months.  This means that memorable vacations are right around the corner!

Brigham Stagg and Nathanial Mitchell cooking in Mrs. Luke’s class.

Spencer Duncan
SJHS Staff Writer

At Springville Junior High many students enjoy the Foods class.  Mrs. Natalie Luke, the Foods class teacher, enjoys teaching this class full time throughout the year.  The point of foods class is so students can learn how to cook food and to make it nutritious.  The students also learn about the properties of food.  Austin Jensen, an eighth grader at SJHS, said, “We take notes, go outside, exercise, and learn about nutrition.”

The class has made many things so far this year.  They’ve made things like pizza, shortbread, scones and shakes called Orange Julius.

Lear Burton, an eighth grade student at SJHS, said that Mrs. Luke was, “cool.”  Austin said Mrs. Luke, along with Ms. Emily Davenport, Mrs. Luke’s student teacher, were “Fun and funny.”

Lear said he joined Foods because, “I would be able to eat stuff.”  Mrs. Luke said, “I have loved teaching foods.  It gives me a chance to share something I love and to hopefully inspire kids to want to cook.”

Mrs. Luke lets her ninth grade students try to make foreign foods so they can, “appreciate healthy foods from all around the world.”  The Foods class students like to take part in this class.  Mrs. Luke hopes that students will love cooking as much as she does.

Kaydie Kerby
SJHS Staff Writer

Mrs. Kathryn Crandall, the service learning, foods, and sewing teacher, is leaving SJHS to go to Maple Mountain High School (MMHS). Mrs. Crandall is going to teach Clothing one and two, Designer Clothing, Child Development, and Adult Roles. Mrs. Crandall is an amazing teacher and loved by many students and faculty.  Mrs. Crandall said, “I have mixed emotions. I’m looking forward to new challenges at MMHS and the changes it will bring. However, I couldn’t be sadder because I will miss my friends here at SJHS.”

Not only are the students and faculty sad, but one of her closest workers and friend, Mrs. Natalie Luke, the other foods teacher and a CTE teacher at SJHS, said “Mrs. Crandall is so amazing.  It’s hard to imagine how she can do all she does and still stay sane! I appreciated all of her help as I began when a new teacher. She makes my day better.”

Mrs. Diane Bird, another CTE teacher and friend, said “I’m so sad that she’s leaving. She’s going to be missed. We have been friends since we went to junior high. She’ll make an outstanding high school teacher. I wish her the best of luck.”

SJHS is going to be different knowing that Mrs. Crandall will be gone. We will miss you Mrs. Crandall and good luck to you next year.

Autumn Hathaway
SJHS Staff Writer

At Springville Junior High School the students have an amazing food’s teacher, Mrs. Natalie Luke. She has been teaching for six years. “I never intended on teaching junior high kids–I thought they were too wild and crazy. But then I realized I was wild and crazy too, so it just fit,” Mrs. Natalie Luke stated.

She first became interested in teaching from her father. According to Mrs. Luke, it was just in her family genetics. Some things she wishes she could change about her job are spending more time to get to know her students better, such as attending their games and outside social life. She’d also like to have more time for new recipes in class.

Students shared their thoughts about her. Natalie Shaw, an eighth grade student in her foods class, said, “She’s the best teacher here, really nice.” While according to Jacob Davenport, a last semester student, the only word to describe her is awesome.

If you’re wondering what a teacher’s point of view is on what they think of their job just listen to this opinion of Mrs. Luke, “Are there days I dream of a nice quiet job? Absolutely! But I get the chance of spending my day teaching kids a life skill they can use. And I share in the ups and downs of teenage life… what could be more exciting then that?”

Mrs. Natalie Luke clearly loves her job, but what are some of her out of school hobbies? According to her, she loves to read, sew, and spend time with her family. She also loves throwing parties, playing in the leaves in fall and blowing bubbles.

It’s obvious to anyone who meets Mrs. Natalie Luke that she loves and cares for her students.

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.