Eagle Eye Issue 6, May 2013 by Mark Newton

ee eagle eye

TASTE OF VISTA A time well spent with friends and teachers.

First glimpse at the Aerie yearbook. Page 50-51

Mountain Vista High School • 10585 Mountain Vista Ridge, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126 • May 17, 2013 • Vol. 12 Issue 6

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F RIDAY May 17, 2013

Yearbook signing, music, time capsule, and FREE Sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;MORES!!!!

MMMMM!!

Our last Hoorah as a class!

SENIOR SUNSET CELEBRATING THE CLASS OF 2013

Starting at 8 p.m. and ending after sunset, join your fellow classmates and friends up on the MV Turf in celebrating the memories of the last four years in high school! Also support Ensemble in the auditorium at 7 p.m.

( BEGIN

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E M E H T

Graduation

SUPPL K O O B

ee the

GALAXY

the

SENIOR ISSUE 21

PREGNANCY

POSED 11

Prom, Prom week, Mr. Vista, Dodgeball, Taste of Vista, Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rugby, Children Hour

46-55

Supplement Cover

the MAGAZINE 14

SPEEDING

Cover photo of junior Meghan Peaker by Mark Maggs

T EN

R A E

the Y

the

MAY 2013

Staff Editorial: Class of 2013

CHEATING

Eagle Eye 4 News

Graduation of the

Photo by Amanda Ellingson

Class of 2013

May 22, 2013

Photo by Jessi Wood

Photo by Gabi Capocelli

2 p.m. at Red Rocks Amphitheatre Speakers: ALEX HARGET

JON HEISLER GABI CAPOCELLI

“I think that its pretty cool that we get to talk and present our ideas to the whole class during our graduation. It’s neat that we get to have some say in what we want to address.”

“I’m just ready to move on with my life and to get on with bigger and better things. A lot of people are afraid but there’s really no reason to be afraid.” “It is such an honor to be able to speak. I’m excited for what the future holds for us all. I’m ready to go follow my dreams in the big city!”

THINGS TO DO BEFORE OR AFTER THE CEREMONY Grab a bite to eat 240 Union, restaurant with burgers, steak, etc. 240 Union Blvd. Lakewood

The Oven - Pizza E Vino 7167 W. Alaska Drive, Lakewood

Spend some time together Red Rocks Trading Post

Dinosaur Ridge 16831 W. Alameda Pkwy.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO @ VistaNow.org | “Graduating at Red Rocks”

Advertisements 5 Eagle Eye

CAMERAS monitoring Vista

OFFICERS at Vista; the district only requres three

TIPS TEXTED from Vista students through ‘Text-A-Tip’

TIPS resulting in criminal charges

LIVES district-wide saved due to ‘Text-A-Tip’

Sources: Officer Gardner, Principal Weaver, Deputy Vance Fleet, Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office

Measured

Security Officer Toby Vigil watches videos from Vista’s 32 cameras. Photo by Peter Leonard

Response

A review of current and proposed security measures DYLAN INGRAM he Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, like so many other tragedies, has led many to evaluate the safety of our schools and the students. Douglas County School District introduced several new potential programs to be evaluated for implementation shortly after the shooting. Currently, the District Safety Committee is considering safety policies involving parking lots, controlling entrance to schools, hardening doors and windows and having a greater number of visible patrols by police officers. Among the committee’s other plans is a school marshal program, based on the United States Federal Air Marshal Service, which is expected to be implemented during the next school year. Douglas County Director of School Safety and Security Dan Clemente described the program as a network of undercover police officers who would visit all Douglas County schools as an “invisible presence,” but with particular focus on elementary and middle schools, which currently lack a School Resource Officer. These undercover marshals would not be in uniform and would patrol the campuses of local campuses school hours to serve as a deterrent to outside threats to safety. “You don’t exactly tip your hand to what level of presence you have, so somebody can’t plan for an attack based on how many people they know are there,” Clemente said. Principal Mike Weaver said he would like new security policies to focus on students’ ability to report safety concerns. “I think [student reporting is] our first and best line of defense,” Weaver said. “[Information reported by students] hasn’t been anything major, but it’s been very helpful.” However, the Mountain Vista administration does not have the ability to directly change security policies without district oversight. “Any time there’s a situation [such as] any school shooting..., our stakeholders want to review [security] and want to know what’s going on, and so we re-talk, rereview, but we don’t implement our own policy,” Weaver said.

In other cases, district security staff and the Douglas County Sheriffs devise plans, which they communicate to school administrators. The administration explains these plans to teachers, and students primarily learn about them through drills. “I don’t see any sweeping changes to our district [security] policies,” Clemente said. “I would look for just improvement of our current programs and infrastructure.” Since 2003, each Douglas County high school has had a minimum of three on-site security officers, and Vista currently has four. At Vista, security and administrators review security policies yearly and conduct training every several years. In addition, Vista has 32 surveillance cameras, although they are not always monitored. “We’ve been ahead of the curve ever since Columbine happened,” Clemente said. In addition to administrators’ and law enforcement duties, programs such as ‘Text-A-Tip’ give students a role in reporting safety issues to help security personnel. “We actually do count on [students], who all help us out so much that when there is someone that does not have a [visitor] badge that’s an adult, [students] tell us, quickly,” lead security officer George Gardner said. Weaver acknowledged that students can abuse systems such as ‘Text-A-Tip’ but said he largely supports them. “I think it is a great first initial response that can go wrong [if misused],” Weaver said. However, Clemente said the district does not have a policy to train students to assist security officers. “I wouldn’t call it a ‘policy,’ but we’ve implemented an emergency-preparedness program called ‘Standard Response Protocol’ [...] with posters on the walls,” Clemente said. “There’s a code of conduct for students, but they’re generally based on behavior, not emergency preparedness.” Weaver described Vista security as primarily reactionary rather than proactive, but Douglas County School District and Vista are using new innovative approaches like student reporting, police involvement and others, to keep students safe in an uncertain world.

News 7 Eagle Eye

“

Principal Michael Weaver I am pretty skeptical about something like [the school marshal program]. I don’t think the possibility that maybe somewhere in a building there’s an armed marshal would be a deterrent to somebody who is so far along that they are going to take action against kids at a school. I think kids notice when there is an additional presence. We get so many kids coming up to us asking about why a fire truck has pulled up or if there’s an additional SRO in the building. I think [for] some sort of marshal program, the ultimate purpose would be to serve as a deterrent for kids. I also think the resources could be used better. [The Text-A-Tip program] has worked effectively, not only in the school setting, but in the world we are living in. Keeping people aware and having that as

Opinion: Students are the solution

something that people unfortunately have to have in mind as they go about their day-to-day business and understanding warning signs and knowing where they can go to resources, I think that still is a huge part of it. Not sure [if it is] “efficient,” but I think [student reporting] is a great first initial response that can go wrong. I think that clarity of awareness is necessary as the next step. I think that maybe a lot of kids don’t know where their best resource is, if they do hear or know something. So I think we can always do more, but I think our next step, which is a reasonable step, across the board, [is to ensure that] one-hundred percent of our kids and our parents knew that if something happened, or if they had heard something, they would know: “Here are the steps that I do in response to that to help out not only myself but everybody.” I think it would be nice to have more than the 4 security staff. I don’t know if that’s quite enough. But I think at this time with the security staff and the measure we have in every building is probably a good balance for where we are right now.

”

AJ STOWELL s a high school student living in the post-Columbine era, I can safely say that school security in the majority of the country has improved. That is a fact. Yet with every additional lock or camera, there is still the question of whether our school is completely secure. To clarify, safe and secure refers to any criminal activities, intrusions or attacks on the welfare of the school. Locks, cameras, and more security officials, to some extent, are effective deterrents to criminal behavior. However, the few instances where these measures do in fact help are isolated and rare. If someone is driven enough to actually commit a criminal offense on school property, in the presence of students, an extra camera or locked door will not stop them. The real solution resides within the school

“

Security Officer George Gardner The policies that we have in place here at Mountain Vista cover pretty much everything we need. One of the problems we do have, though, that the kids could help us with is stop putting rocks in the doors because it hinders us from being able to secure the entire building. A police officer has to go through about two months of tremendous background research into who they are, and they have to do a [psychological evaluation] of who they are and what they are and then they have to go before a review board and so forth. So I think one of the ideas of getting guns and putting them in people’s hands in the school, if they get a concealed permit, is wrong. If you are going to carry a gun then you have to go through the same procedures

itself. The students are the fundamental key to preventing any issues of this nature from occurring in the first place. By using students as a primary source for their own security, it provides further preparation for these incidents, when and if they do take place. Students, in most circumstances, are the ones committing the criminal acts on school property. In fact it is very rare for an incident to occur from an individual that has no immediate affiliation with the school. To limit the student related issues on the campus, the administration can focus primarily on the mental stability and school-appropriate behavior of the students. This can be done by promoting personal visits to counselors to release stress and anger and encouraging proper mental mindsets for struggling individuals. School should not be a major stressor for the average student, but rather a supportive and learning environment that acts as a springboard for maturity both in ethics and intelligence. A safer environment within the school can also be created by using confidential systems to report suspicious behavior, as well as providing students with proper instruction for

and the same testing that a police officer would need to go through because that is so thorough that it weeds out some people that may have issues. I don’t want someone packing a gun in a school that has not gone through all of those programs. If you have an adult in this building that the students didn’t know, the students would tell us immediately, “Hey, there’s a stranger.” And we actually do count on [the students], who all help us out so much that when there is someone that does not have a badge that’s an adult, [because students] tell us quickly. And that’s imperative, too, that we, as a unit, as a family, all work together here to make sure that we’re safe so that, if the kids ever see something that’s not really right, they’re good at telling us. I think what we do right now at our school is probably some of the best that we can do. I just don’t think there’s much more we can do because I think we do a pretty good job, having the Sheriff here and having great admin staff that’s always in the hallways, and the security, and the teachers and the students—everybody being aware of things. I think we’re good.

”

actions when or if an event should occur. This will not only allow the school to become more safe and efficient, but also make a stronger core of students. Rare lockdown drills do not provide the needed information for instances of an attack or any other criminal offense against the school. Providing students with legitimate instruction and education before an incident occurs is essential to their own safety. By issuing classes, simple tutorials, or even pamphlets regarding proper action in certain instances, student lives could be saved. To prepare and prevent for the unexpected, schools must continue to rely on student informants. Text-A-Tip is a great example of effective communication between the administration and the student body. As seen through its success, the program has provided a swift legal response and saved eleven individual lives. So why stop there? If we shift more focus onto the actual students for information, it can create a more unified and well-informed school environment. By looking within the school for answers, the environment of Mountain Vista, and any other school for this matter, one will be able to create the safest possible environment.

Eagle Eye 8 Opinion

Budgets &

Me Off

Stuff That

TICKS

TYLER KRAFT & GABE RODRIGUEZ emember the time led to the drop off zone. I when the Douglas personally was locked out County School District of my car for an hour. As a cancelled school when there result, I was late on a snow was a foot of snow on the delay which wouldn’t have ground? Me neither. Remem- been a problem if there was ber the wicked blizzard of a snow day. 2013? Me neither. Remember Fast forward to Apr. 8. DCSD closes all of the how they closed school for schools in Douglas County it? So do I. DCSD has been for Apr. 9. because of the inconsistent, at best, with impending “Storm of 2013.” its snow day calls this past Too bad this storm dumped year and it has really ticked a staggering amount of zero me off. First, let me state the inches (according to The Old DCSD criteria for calling Farmers Almanac) on roads. snow days. If there is a blizIt was not even snowing zard warning between the hard at 4 a.m. in the mornhours of 3 a.m. and 2 p.m., ing, when they are supposed schools will be closed. If to decide about the snow there is a forecast of five or day. DCSD took the call out more inches of blowing and of the “Snow Team’s” hands drifting snow between the and called the snow day the hours of 3 a.m. and 2 p.m., night before, proving that schools will be closed. If at they are just as incompetent 4 a.m. there is more snow as the weather forecasters expected, schools will be that called the “Storm of 2013.” closed. On Feb. 23 and Feb. 24, And don’t get me wrong, it snowed six inches on the I love snow days but the streets (according to The Old fact that they are calling Farmers Almanac) with more them when there is hardly snow coming on Monday. any snow as compared to This meets the second critedays when there is a pretty ria point on the snow closure good amount is frustrating. decision criteria. DCSD called A little consistency is all I ask a delay on Sunday night and for. Right now, they are only said, “The DCSD Snow Team consistent with one thing is monitoring the snowstorm and that’s being consistently and will provide updates inconsistent in their snow regarding closures for day calls. Monday.” Too bad the “Snow DCSD needs to realize Team” was sleeping when that you can’t go to school if they were supposed to be you are in the hospital with monitoring the snowstorm. a broken bone because your As a result, students all car slid off the road. Douglas over the Highlands Ranch County wouldn’t get slaugharea, not just Vista, were tered like they did this year having trouble getting to on Twitter feeds and phone school and crashes crowded calls if they reevaluated the streets. At Acres Green snow day policies for the Elementary School, cars were next school year. sliding out on the hill that

Balderdash 2014 fiscal year debate

MICHAEL O’SULLIVAN he air in the political world is abuzz with talk of the three plans for the 2014 fiscal year. The decisions that are made in Congress on this spending plan will potentially reshape the economy as we know it, or further drag down a struggling economy. The federal fiscal year is a period between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30. The budget that is voted on is the government’s spending limit for this period. The president, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives all submit budget plans, but the presidential and U.S House plans stand as the most prominent. Let’s look at the U.S. House plan of Rep. Paul Ryan. In standard Republican fashion, the supporters of the plan hail it as a fast plan to save the economy. In specifics, the plan offers to reduce the debt solely through lowering spending. This means no tax raises. The Ryan plan focuses on the tenyear balancing of the budget, meaning that in just ten years, the plan hopes to equal all revenues and expenses in the government. Ultimately, the plan takes on the conservative look that America’s economic issues stem from debt and spending. It endeavours to stop these issues with simple cuts to current spending, rather than raising more revenues to balance the growing debt. The president’s plan for the budget looks entirely different. Where the Ryan Plan aimed at fixing problems by decreasing the money thrown at the problems, President Obama proposes a plan that will raise almost $1.1 trillion in new revenues from taxes on everything from cigarettes to closed tax loopholes. These revenues would help to finance new government spending and start a plan which the president believes would balance the budget and debt sometime between 2030-40, far more

time than the Ryan Plan. The president also apparently has little desire to compromise with the Republicans on any of the issues, even the hated tax raises on the wealthy, as he himself stated, “I’ve met them more than half-way” when asked about further compromise. In addition, in the president’s plan, minimum wage will be increased to $9 an hour, while social security will switch to a chained consumer price index. While the first bit may appeal to teens in the workforce, the second bids poorly for senior citizens. A chained CPI basically means that payments would no longer be adjusted for inflation and cost of living changes, a move that could reduce the debt by $230 billion. Simultaneously, this will reduce the money that seniors receive to sustain themselves from the government. Both plans have their alleged merits and weaknesses, yet the question remains which one will attract enough support to carry the day? Overall, I tend to favor the Ryan Plan, mostly for its audacity in trying to fix the problems in only ten years. On the issue of which one will actually win though, I am certain. Neither. My prediction is that the parties will debate without gain for most of their allotted time until they are forced to cobble together a loosely built plan lacking any of the sweeping change envisioned by the originals. Basically, our government will slack on its homework until its too late to care about quality. When the deadline finally does roll around, expect the mad rush of leaders trying to deal with outcry from concerned citizens, outcry from government workers fearing for their jobs and outcry from the both parties trying to push their agenda despite the time crunch.

Opinion 9 Eagle Eye Photo by Ted Fitzgerald/Boston Herald/MCT

WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES

GABI CAPOCELLI

Finding clarity, understanding after a season of tragedy

t has been quite a tragic year for the United States, and especially for Colorado: the Aurora Shooting, Jessica Ridgeway tragedy, countless wildfires, Sandy Hook and the bombings in Boston. There have been many innocent lives lost in an endless season of horrific events. It only seems realistic that we sit and wait for yet another tragedy to strike our people. And ladies and gentlemen, it will. I recently read a very thought provoking comment on Facebook, “When you feel like you’ve lost faith in humanity, please remember to love this world and the people that are in it. For every horrible and senseless event that takes place, there are about twice as many beautiful moments and miracles.” In light of recent events, I have heard multiple people say they have lost faith in humanity. This is a devastatingly ignorant assumption. And that statement makes me lose faith in who we are as a people. The tragedies that struck have brought us closer than we’ve ever been. They’ve made us realize life here on this Earth is fleeting and it can be taken from us, simply and without warning. Suffering is a beautiful thing. It means we are human. It means we have realized how incredibly fragile our lives are. It means we are not going down without a fight. It is human empathy indeed that explains why no matter your

connection to the events, whether you had a family member who experienced them, you were there or the closest you got to understanding was your television screen, you felt something. These tragedies reached you, and for some, so very deeply. When you look around, there are multiple faces who have been carved by the pain that comes with losing a loved one or coping with death. We have had to explain the circumstances to our kids, realizing the the places they would think safest: public events, movie theaters and even their own elementary schools may not be safe anymore. We have come to the point where murder and kidnapping and mass shootings are topics of needed dinner table discussion. We must slowly chip away the innocence that still lies within them. It hurts me in the deepest of places to understand it could have been our family. We could have sent my pigtailed fiveyear-old sister to her elementary school on a sunny morning with a backpack bigger than she is on her shoulders and a kiss on her cheek that we didn’t know would be our last and only goodbye. It could have been her. It could have been you watching the Boston Marathon, at the movie theater, evacuating from the fire, looking for your missing child. I think that’s why it hurts so bad, because we have just squeezed by. We have been just

marginally saved from the deepest of suffering, knowing we may not be as fortunate the next time. Or, it might hurt even more knowing there were some who weren’t as lucky. We recently held prom on April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine shooting. It was quite a debate with students and faculty, as some people felt uncomfortable about having the dance on that day. In addition, there are a large number of decisions that stand before the Boston Marathon coordinators for next year: will they decide the effects were just too great to continue holding it? These disasters were tragedies and we must remember and commemorate the lives that were lost. But, we must also remember these memories have taught us something — at least they should have. Life is such an incredibly delicate beauty that can be taken away in an instant. We must use this fragility to understand the importance of cherishing the good we do see. We cannot let the evils of this world overtake the miracles that do occur. There are many beautiful moments, in fact more than we can count. By letting these tragedies dictate what we do with our lives, when we schedule events or how we go about moving on, we are falling victim to an even greater evil: an unwillingness to change. It is doing those innocently lost no justice by letting the evildoers of this world win: by letting

them get what they sought after: attention, fame and even recognition. We must fight their rise with all that we have and that means remembering that it is always hope that wins. It is always love that wins. We must stand up for change, we must stand up for justice and we must stand up for what is good because small beautiful moments matter. The world is becoming more terrifying by the minute, as largescale calamities like these spread, and the existence of brutal, unnoticed crimes continues to increase. There is no way to escape the evil of this world, no quick fix, no magic potion and certainly no slogan or advertising campaign to convince the world to do no more wrong. As a society, we have two choices, we can wallow in our sadness, lock ourselves up in our homes, scared for the next time evil will strike: and it will. Or, we can fight back. There is certainly hope in knowing that each of us has the strength within us to fight the battle of goodness everyday. We must fearlessly step out into a world which has got us scared out of our minds, heads held high, knowing that those who have died did not die in vain. Their memories live on in us, but more importantly, their lives have shown us the overwhelming capacity of miracles that still occur. There is so much good here on our Earth, we just have to open our eyes to see it.

Eagle Eye 10 Opinion

THE NEXT CHAPTER

VISTAj STAFF

Co-Editors In Chief Bridget Cooper Joanie Lyons

Photo by Jessi Wood

Copy Editors Taylor Blatchford Gabi Capocelli

Photo Editors Bridget Cooper Jessi Wood

Content Editors

Hannah Addison Wes Edwards

Social Media Editor

Riley McCloskey

Design Editors

Erin Kim Joanie Lyons

It’s time to write the next chapter of your stories, Class of 2013. Get your pens and paper ready.

ur lives are made up entirely of stories. Small ones. Big ones. In between ones. Each year, each day, each minute of our lives, we are constantly weaving together, typing up, revising, correcting, crossing out and rewriting our stories. Each of us has a story, a manuscript that catalogues what we have done, who we are and who we hope to be. Mountain Vista High School is a community of the stories of close to 2,000 students. It is our job, as journalists, to pull them apart and share them with our peers. If there’s one thing we know to be true, it’s that stories bind us together, they unite us in our human nature and connect us in our struggles and triumphs. Mountain Vista High School was built in 2001. When the administrators and teachers began here, they knew that the students and teachers would one day leave a legacy. Today is that day. In fact, every day at Mountain Vista is leaving a legacy. What we do here at this school is no less than amazing. For seniors, your stories and are about to drastically change and Mountain Vista High School will merely be a chapter in the

Advertising Manager

Shannon VanDok

Adviser

Mark Newton, MJE

novel you are writing. As VISTAj, we can honestly say that it has been a pleasure to be help you write and revise that chapter. Know that your lives and the things you have accomplished will forever be written into the story that is our school. As a staff, we just want to say thank you to the seniors that have made our job as journalists filled with excitement. Thank you for being so incredibly passionate. Whether it’ s DECA or choir or Spanish National Honor Society or lacrosse or marching band or cross country or swimming or UNICEF Club or Rock Climbing Club or any other club, activity or sport at MVHS, your passion is not only awardwinning, but inspiring. We are so proud of the stories we have been able to tell of the senior class these last four years. You have done some extraordinary things here at Mountain Vista. We know that your journey doesn’t stop here, in fact, it is only the beginning. It has been an honor and a privilege to have been a small part of each of your stories. Not only have we helped you write yours, but you have helped us write our own stories. Thank you.

Staff Members

Taylor Atlas Zoe Blandon Amani Brown Madeline Carlson Hannah Chatwin Logan Clark Caitlin Cobb Emma Cooper Gretchen Cope Cameron Cox Shelby Crumley Kenna Dougherty Amanda Ellingson Delaney Fitzsimmons Antonia Fornaro Dylan Freeman Libby Galligan Bailey Gambrell Scott Grimm Kenzie Haberkorn Chase Howell Amy Huang Dylan Ingram Mitch Kampmann Jason Keller Tyler Kraft Taylor Krason Ana Krasuski Peter Leonard Emilie Love Kelsey Luke Mark Maggs

Maeve McCloskey Whitney Merrill Devon Miner Roxy Montero-Atencio Rachel Nunnelee Michael O’ Sullivan Claire Oliver Sydney Ostdiek Anna Pippin Renee Probetts Peyton Reeves Alia Reza Ashten Ritchko Gabe Rodriguez Katie Simon Emma Singh Kara Stockton AJ Stowell Erica Tagliarino Anna Theis Shannon VanDok Cesco Viola Kelsey Warden Kyle Waters Taylor Yaw Kaitlin Zenoni

Web Team

Peter Cleverdon Eric Robinson Nicholas Lawrence Dylan Tran

Policy

Eagle Eye, a legally recognized public forum for student expression, is published six to nine times a year by the Journalism class for students at Mountain Vista High School. Expression made by students in the exercise of freedom of speech or freedom of press is not an expression of Douglas County school board policy. The views expressed in Eagle Eye do not necessarily represent the views of the entire staff, adviser, MVHS administration or the Douglas County School District administration. Board policy regarding student publications (JICEA and JI/JIA) are available in the journalism/publications room (U328) or in the principal’s office.

Letters to the Editors

Eagle Eye welcomes and encourages letters to the editors. This is a chance to express your viewpoint on important issues. Letters should be limited to 250 words. Letters will be edited for splace and legal considerations, but not for inaccuracies, grammar or spelling. Letters must contain information pertinent to the students of MVHS. The staff retains the right to not publish any letter not meeting these requirements. Unsigned letters will not be published. Please submit typed letters in person to Room U328 or via mail or e-mail.

Contact

Eagle Eye, Mountain Vista High School, 10585 Mountain Vista Ridge, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126, Phone: 303-387-1500. Adviser email: mark.newton@dcsdk12.org. Publication email: EagleEyeEditors@dcsdk12.org

Cost

Single copies are free. Where available, additional copies of this paper are available for purchase for 50 cents each. Contact Eagle Eye for more information. Taking more than one copy of this paper is prohibited (C.R.S. 18-4-419). Violators, subject to prosecution and penalty under C.R.S. 13-21-123, will be prosecuted.

Open Forum Content

Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspaper Editors/ MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service and Creative Commons licensing. ©2013 Eagle Eye/Mountain Vista High School. All rights reserved.

P OSED

Life in high school can be filled with pressure and inclination to do things that have large consequences. Making mistakes is part of figuring out who we are and where our place is in the world. But, mistakes have more consequences than they used to. In fact, being young is no longer an excuse to break the law or â&#x20AC;&#x153;experiment.â&#x20AC;? Teenagers are being held more accountable for our actions by sometimes severe legal consequences. The Eagle Eye investigates choices that have these big consequences and uncovers the truth behind teenage pressures.

X 12

THE

JOURNEY

AHEAD With a child on the way, Michael Malgram and Jasmine Martinez explain their future

PETER LEONARD

BY PETER LEONARD AND AJ STOWELL

here’s the feeding. There’s the diapers. And then there’s the financial cost. Pregnancy is hard enough for adults. It’s even more of a challenge for two teenagers. Jasmine Martinez, a former junior at Mountain Vista High Schol, and her fiance, freshman Michael Malmgren, are preparing to have their child. “I wanted a baby. He wanted a baby,” Jasmine said. “We didn’t really plan on having it right now, but it happened.” The two, who met through a friend, were surprised to find out they were pregnant. “I was very scared,” Jasmine said. “I was actually really scared to tell him, so I had my old friend tell him.” “I was okay with it,” Michael said. “I’m pretty excited.” Now Michael and Jasmine plan on getting married. Since the legal age of consent in Colorado is 14, both will have to get their parents’ approval for the marriage. “My parents are still kinda like, ‘I don’t know’ about it. I guess because it is still kinda early,” Michael said.

AT A LOOK

Source: Office of Adolescent Health

STATISTICS ON THE DEVELOPED WORLD’S LEADERS IN TEEN PRE-PREGNANCY

372,175 NUMBER OF U.S. TEEN PREGNANCIES IN 2010

U.S. RANKING IN TEEN PREGNANCY IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD

BIRTHS PER 1,000 TEENS IN UNITED STATES

BIRTHS PER 1,000 TEENS IN CANADA

WENDY STRAIT:

An Adult Perspective on Teen Pregnancies

I have, in the 12 years that I’ve been (at Moutain Vista High School) seen numerous teen pregnancies. It is probably the hardest thing that a student and a family will ever go through. All of the options are difficult. It is the most emotional and hardest decision that a student and a family can be put in. The choices are not just simple ones. Most other teenage issues are resolvable. They, hypothetically, go away over time. They are fixable in some ways. Teenage pregnancy isn’t. You essentially have three options, and that’s about it. You either end your pregnancy, which has problems of its own, you can keep your baby or you can give it up for adoption. Teens are trying to plan their future and graduate high school. Whoever they have their child with may or may not be their lifetime partner. Even if someone is totally in love with that person at the time, five years from now is a long time and your feelings might change. It puts the rest of your life on hold in some ways. You can’t do all of the things that you did when you weren’t a mom or a dad. It puts a strain on the rest of your life and your decision making. It doesn’t mean it can’t be done, I’ve seen many families do it extremely well. Many of the kids that I know that kept their babies have gone to school and finished school and have gone to college. It just means your social life is completely different. Photo courtesy of Mindy Brouse “My mom is not in the picture, which I am OK with, and I don’t really talk to my dad,” Jasmine said. “My support system is really [Michael] and my friend Lauren’s mom. The couple says the main struggle, however, has been the backlash that they have seen in response to the news of their pregnancy. “I get dirty looks, all the time. I don’t even go [to Vista] and I still get dirty looks,” Jasmine said. “I get really angry. The decisions that we are making, we feel are right.” “I get bad messages on Facebook,” Michael said. “It’s weird. [One of them said,] ‘I hope your baby is a miscarriage.’” Both of them said the feedback is not necessary. “People don’t think it’s right that we are having a baby, but it’s not their life. It’s our life and we’re doing what we want to do. If they don’t like it, they don’t need to put their two cents in,” Michael said. “I feel like it is not needed.” Now they are looking to their future together, even if it’s on a path of uncertainty as they try to figure out their plans. “[My plan] is to finish school,” Michael said. “I’m not sure [about the future]. It doesn’t really affect me. I just kinda go on with my normal life style,” Jasmine said. “We are going to take it step by step.”

“Most other teenage issues are resolvable. They, hypothetically, go away over time.”

X 14

HIGH SPEED CONSEQUENCES Maddie Schroeder shares her story on receiving a large speeding ticket

BY HANNAH ADDISON

Photo by Wes Edwards Don’t underestimate cops because they will pull you over for anything,” senior Maddie Schroeder said about the consequences of her speeding ticket. During the second semester of her junior year, Schroeder made the decision to race one of her friends on Wildcat Reserve Parkway coming back to Mountain Vista. “A car pulled up, it was one of my friends. He wanted to race,” Schroeder said. “We decided when the light turned we were going to go.” She discovered too late that this was a bad place to race. “At the time I got pulled over, I was going 73 in a 45 mph zone. The cop said that I had a possibility of getting 14 points on my license. If I had been two (more) miles over, I would have had to go to jail,” Schroeder said. “I had two unauthorized passengers. I had eight days until I would have been able to drive one person. I was 28 (mph) over (the speed limit) and was weaving, apparently.” Because Schroeder was still a minor when she received the ticket, she could only accumulate six points on her license before it would be suspended. Her ticket was for 14 points. That is more than an adult (21 and over) is allowed to have over a 12 month period. Schroeder knew she had to do something to fix her mistake. “I talked to the school resource officer and the security guards. They told me to write a letter asking if they

Point System in Colora

9points

How many points drivers can get on their license by age group and amount of time

6 points

a minor driver (18-20) can receive over a 12 month period

12 points

a minor driver (16-17) can receive over a 12 month period a minor driver (18-20) can receive over a 24 month period

12 points

an adult driver (21 and over) can receive over a 12 month period

18 points

an adult driver (21 and over) can receive over a 24 month period

DEPUTY FLEET: “WE DO SEE A LOT OF KIDS WHO ARE SPEEDING AND A LOT OF TIMES THAT CATCHES THE ATTENTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.” -DEPUTY FLEET

ado

Source: www.pikespeaklaw.com

would give me a deferred judgement when I went to court,” Schroeder said. “When I got to court the judge said that I was very professional and knew what I was talking about and she knew I was sorry. She reduced it down to three points because she knew I had learned my lesson.” Schroeder said she would not go back and change what happened because of all the things she was able to learn. “I put it on cruise control on the exact mark of the speed limit because I recently just got another speeding ticket. I have no points to lose now,” Schroeder said. “I make sure that even when people do want to race me I tell them, ‘Sorry, I can’t.’ I don’t do any dangerous things in my car because even if I had a broken tail light I would go to jail.” Her advice to other students who do not think that speeding tickets are a big deal is that, “cops will catch you for lying, so don’t try to get out of a ticket,” she said. “Ask to see their radar gun every single time. If they clear the radar gun you can’t get a ticket.” Even though Schroeder has truly suffered the consequences of her actions she stated, “I would not go back a redo what happened because, I learned a lot from what happened. I really learned my lesson.”

A Perspective on Speeding Tickets from a Law Enforcement Officer It is a common belief that student drivers are targeted by law enforcement officers. Deputy Vance Fleet puts these rumors to bed. Deputy Fleet does not have a typical law enforcement officer job. His main focus is Mountain Vista High School safety, so he personally does not write as many traffic tickets as other officers. However, writing tickets is still a part of his job. “As a law enforcement officer, obviously safety is our biggest concern,” Fleet said. “I sit over in the west part of the lot to slow people down because, we actually have a lot of accidents in the west lot with kids going way too fast.” Deputy Fleet agrees that student drivers do get pulled over a lot, “[but] not because officers are saying ‘Ah-ha! There is a juvenile driver I am going to get them,’ but because juveniles typically are new drivers which is why we have the graduated drivers license clause,” Fleet said. “The clause is basically the first six months of students having their driver’s license they can’t have any passengers, then after that they can have one non-family member and then after a year they can have as many that is safe in their vehicle.” “This law is designed because juveniles are new drivers. They are new to, not just driving down the road, but bad weather as well. They may not be able to handle driving as adequately as an adult or experienced driver,” Fleet said. Fleet’s advice to student drivers who do not think speeding tickets are a big deal is “Slow down! Speeding is serious, it can drastically affect say you getting a job. Say you want to be a pizza deliverer and now you have a horrible rep on your license,” Fleet said, “not only is it a safety concern, but financially too. Typically insurance rates go up if you get a speeding ticket and its already high enough for juveniles. Basically there are tons of consequences.”

“I REALLY LEARNED MY LESSON!”

X 16

JUST A

BREATH Vista’s school dance policy is to Breathalyze every person who attends, while sister-schools ThunderRidge, Rock Canyon and Highlands Ranch don’t

BY JOANIE LYONS

“Before we did Breathalyzers, our criteria in finding out if someone was under the influence were very subjective,” says Assistant Principal Rob Ceglie. “We would try and talk with groups of kids before and at the end of each dance, smelling them while they passed, checking if we heard slurred words. There was no way to tell if someone had been drinking unless they were well over-served.” Ceglie says kids would consume a lot of alcohol before the dance in our student parking lot. “Then,” he says, “it would not hit them until about 30-45 minutes later or kids would bring in alcohol to the dance and we had problems on the dance floor with people throwing up and things of that realm.” So, Mountain Vista made a change to insure the safety of students before and after-school dances and required a Breathalyzer before being admitted. “Since the first time we did Breathalyzers four years ago, we have had zero incidences of alcohol-related emergencies and arrests in regards to dances,” Ceglie says. “We even have not had any problems with others driving home after the fact as well.” But even though Mountain Vista has decided to make a change in keeping dances safe, other sister schools like Highlands Ranch, Rock

Canyon and ThunderRidge continue to not Breathalyze. “I don’t think that Breathalyzing or not Breathalyzing is better than the other and vise-versa,” ThunderRidge Assistant Principal, David Weiss says. “I think that if you are out to find if students have been drinking, then it’s good policy. We’ve still caught kids drinking by just shaking hands and smelling at several dances. There have been several dances though where we have not caught everyone drinking. I think the fact that we’ve done it a few times, kids are a lot more careful about doing things before our dances.” “We’ve just really never felt the need,” Highlands Ranch Assistant Principal, Chris Ness says. “We do a good job at greeting students at the door. When you’re shaking hands you can smell things for yourself as people are coming in and we’ve never felt the need for it. I always go to all of the dances. It’s good practice to be able to tell if kids are intoxicated and I’ve always just greeted kids at the door. Usually, I can tell by their demeanor and how they’re acting/not acting, or just smelling them.” Weiss and Ness said they felt as though they did not need to do Breathalyzers, saying the overcrowding and resources were what was behind not taking time out to check if a person is inebriated before school dances. “You’re going to jam everyone up if you Breathalyze everyone at the

DEPUTY VANCE FLEET DEMONSTRATES HOW ADMINISTRATION USES BREATHALYZERS.

CARLY HAGAN

Hagan’s personal perspective on Breathalyzers and her experiences

I’ve been to dances not at our school six times. I’ve went to a sister schools dances (ThunderRidge, Rock Canyon and Highlands Ranch) for homecoming and Sadies my sophomore year, homecoming, Sadies and prom my junior year and homecoming this year (my senior year). I’ve also been to all of our dances here at Mountain Vista. Ever since I went to other schools dances, I thought it was so strange that they did not Breathalyze because you could just walk right in even though there were kids who would drink before going to the dances I went to. It was just so casual and normal for all of these kids that went to different schools to drink. Kids in my groups for dances would be drinking beforehand and I just thought it was so scary and dangerous that kids would be drinking that much before going to school. I’d ask them “What are you doing? We have to get into the dance,” but they would explain to me, “They don’t Breathalyze us like they do at your school.” I was just so shocked by what they said and when we got there, the dances were not monitored at all.

I AM GLAD OUR SCHOOL USES BREATHALYZERS BECAUSE JUST DOING A BREATHALYZER CAN SAVE SOMEONE’S LIFE. door coming in and two, it seems like a waste of possible resources and money because you’re not going to have every kid using the same adaptor, you’ll have to switch them out every time,” Ness says. “Nobody wants to swap saliva.” “The benefit of not doing Breathalyzers is there is not a jam at the door for the dance and were not buying hundreds of the plastic Breathalyzer tubes,” Weiss says. “Every single person who shows up to our dances must take a passive Breathalyzer,” Ceglie said. “If they try to enter the dance and the passive Breathalyzer detects that there has been alcohol in their system, there is no tolerance since everyone coming into the dance should be under the age of 21. Then we use an active Breathalyzer where kids actually put their mouth onto the Breathalyzer if there has been alcohol detected on the passive Breathalyzer. So, we do not have to buy tons of active Breathalyzers. We’ve also started to get better about the lines at dances when we Breathalyze. We did not even have a line at our past prom.” This past year, a serious accident occurred where one student got into a car, and broke his or her jaw, after drinking alcohol at dinner before a ThunderRidge dance. “[This accident] did not change my thoughts on Breathalyzers,” Weiss says. “She was never verified to be at the dance. It would have been

better if someone would have informed us. There are just going to be kids that slip through in dances like that. We do our best. Do I think that changes my viewpoint? Not necessarily. I feel as though students and parents should also be responsible for these kinds of situations. At several dances we have caught people.” Weiss estimated ThunderRidge has caught a dozen students under the influence at dances over the past four years. “There was no specific incident which made us change our policy four years ago to do Breathalyzers,” Ceglie says. “However, there was a growing number of incidences with every dance and it was happening like clockwork. By no means was it the majority of kids, but it could end up being five to 10 incidences per dance, which was way too many kids getting involved in this. Plus, because kids could drive under the influence made us think Breathalyzing would be a good idea. If anything, hearing about incidences where kids drink before dances just reaffirms how much we like our policies since we have a zero-tolerance for drinking.” “We made our policy based on what we think is best for us and our Mountain Vista students,” Ceglie says. “We want to watch out for our students and make decisions that are smart. Last thing we want is someone who gets into a serious accident before or after our dance.”

X 18

CHEAT OR BE

CHEATED Students are feeling the pressure of school and resorting to cheating. But is it necessarily their fault?

BY KAITLIN ZENONI

Editors’ Note: All names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the students. As finals are fast approaching, students are cramming information from way back in January into their heads. Teachers call them assessments, students see them as the only thing standing between them and letter grades in the class. Finals week brings another level of stress to students that can make it feel like “you will never finish…or…know everything I need to,” said a freshman. Often, as a result, cheating often takes place. From the first day of kindergarten, students learn values and morals that apply to school, including not to cheat. In early grades, this rule was followed by the majority — there was no need to cheat. Enter high school and it is a whole other world. Grades count and are a key factor in acceptance to colleges. “School gets harder and so does life,” said one sophomore. School is used as an institution for learning. Learning takes place everywhere and anywhere, but it can feel that learning is not a priority. The priority for many students are their grades. “I would rather have an ‘A’ in a class and know nothing at all then try my hardest and only get a ‘C,’” said a freshman.

Photo Illustration by Peyton Reeves and Zoe Blandon

Photo Illustration by Kaitlin Zenoni

CONSEQUENCES FOR CHEATING You may have decided it’s worth it to cheat in school. But do you really know the consequences?

In high school x Automatic zero on an assignment or test x Parents will be notified and involved x Possibly documented in student record x Sent to administration

In college X Automatic F in course that goes on transcript

X Meet in front of student disciplinary board

X Lose all credibility with professors X Lose credit already earned X Put on academic probation X Expulsion and lose scholarship

High school students can become so fixated on a single letter that for some that letter is the deciding factor between an Ivy League school and community college. “You feel pressure to get a good grade and you feel like if you screw up on one test its all over,” said sophomore. There is no denying that cheating does not exist, but some believe it varies on subjects. “Classes where you are supposed to know facts are easier to cheat in because the answer is accessible,” said one junior. “When it is a math class or you have to show your work, the teacher can easily realize you do not actually know the answers”. With the Internet and all its features accessible in the hands of students through electronics, cheating is different than just writing on a hand. Cell phones can be used to contact other people taking the test, look up information, take photos of the test and even find an answer key online. “I’ve seen people write [answers] under their skirts, shoes, hands, anywhere they can find to fit more information,” said one sophomore. Teachers have taken precautions against the epidemic of cheating. Ultimately a student is the only one held responsible for the consequences associated with cheating. Nowhere on their transcript does it say, “The teacher never taught any of this information” or “The student had valid reasons to cheat.”

“I FEEL LIKE WHEN I DON’T CHEAT I HAVE AN UNFAIR PLAYING FIELD.” -SENIOR

“EDUCATION IS NOT JUST ABOUT REGURGITATING FACTS FROM A BOOK ON SOMEONE ELSE’S OPINION ON A SUBJECT TO PASS AN EXAM.” -SULI BREAKS

SCAN THIS CODE TO SEE SPOKEN WORD ARTIST SULI BREAKS’ OPINION ON THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

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Class of 2014

Don’t Forget to Leave Your Mark on Next Year’s Yearbook senior photos, fee, and quotes due

Oct. 1, 2013.

We invite you to to use one of our preferred photographers: David Sutphin Photography Studio, Element One Photography, Jacob Mueller Photography, Monty Nuss Photography, or Vision Photography. If you have already purchased a yearbook…

Pick it up during A and B lunches in U328. Please bring your ID. If you were on the fines list, you can come to the Finance window during A and B lunches to pick up your yearbook.

If you haven’t already purchased a yearbook and need to…

Bring $97.50 to Mr. Newton in U328. Hurry, there are only a few left. Also, yearbooks from previous years are on sale for $50 each. Please see Mr. Newton for details.

Eagle Eye / Senior Issue CARSON LINNICK

SHELLY MEYER

MEGAN RODRIGUEZ

TERESA CHEN

2013 (CLASS OF)

IT HAS BEEN A LONG JOURNEY, FILLED WITH SUCCESSES AND FAILURES, HELLOS AND GOODBYES, JOY AND SADNESS, UNDERSTANDING AND CONFUSION, TEARS AND LAUGHTER. THERE HAVE BEEN MOMENTS THROUGHOUT THESE LAST FOUR YEARS THAT HAVE DEFINED WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE STAND FOR. PHOTOGRAPHY BY KYLE WATERS, MITCH KAMPMANN and ASHTEN RITCHKO INTRODUCTION BY GABI CAPOCELLI

ABBEY SOLNET

“My defining moment

was becoming involved in DAMON RYAN activities. DECA has played a “My defining moment huge role in my life and seeing the success of my chapter and was when I realized I no longer those I mentored has been the cared about what anyone thought of me. I realized that the highlight of my high school career. My best memories here people who would accept me have come from simply getting the way I was were the people involved and finding a balance I cared about and the ones I of academics and activities.” wanted to spend time with.”

DEREK WITZKE

“My defining moment

has been joining the wrestling team back when I was a freshman in 2009. It felt like a new beginning, that I was about to become a part of something. And now, after four years with the team, I feel like I will always be with them. ”

ELLEN HAMILTON

“My defining moment

was when I joined the Rock EMILY SCHWARTZ Climbing Club sophomore year and I was the only girl. I went to “My defining moment the first day and was shocked at was getting into jazz choir. Being what I had gotten myself into. All the boys were welcoming able to wake up everyday and and they were surprised at my go to class with 16 people who risky choice to be in the club full simply enjoy making music made me realize what happiness of the opposite gender. The club helped me become stronger and was like. I am lucky to say that become more self confident. I my four years have been filled am hoping to continue climbing with making amazing music. Choir made me who I am today.” in college. “

MARISSA MILLS

“My defining moment was when I took an athletic training class sophomore year and it gave me direction with what I want to major in in college. Being a student trainer my junior and senior year gave me insight into what an athletic trainer actually does. “

KENDALL WEISTROFFER

VICTORIA SALINAS

“My defining moment “My defining moment in my high school experience would be starting the Jewish Student Connection. Through this experience, I have learned how people in our society can react towards change and (to) those who are different. This has taught me more than my 12 years in public school ever has. I have learned about our community, our perceptions of reality, how minorities are treated in American culture and the horrors prejudice and violence can take against a select group of people, even in the ‘safe’ community that Mountain Vista portrays.”

was when I started to attend Fellowship of Christian Athletes. God really used this club to change and mold my heart. This is a very unique club — like one I have never experienced. I’m sure we can all attest that high school is like a roller coaster, it has its good moments and its not so good ones. FCA has truly changed me into the person I am today. My outlook on life and perspective during difficult times has improved because of the experiences and friendships I have made in FCA. I now call those in the club my second family. “

LINDSEY HART

“My defining moment

was joining Mock Trial and feeling like I was part of a team. Mock Trial made me realize what a team actually means and the sacrifices that you have to make in order to be successful. I got to see the program grow. Getting involved has been the best decision I made.”

AMANDA BILES DEVIN MARCIN

CALVIN LEE

“My defining moment “My defining moment

was senior prom because I “My defining moment realized that I needed to make a was being cut from the soccer change. This year there has been team because it forced me to a lot of drama. I’ve lost a big part become a better player and of my life. At the dance, it hit develop a new love for the sport. me that we are graduating and I ended up trying out for the before I leave I want to let go boys team and played up an age of the past and make a change. group. I wouldn’t have gotten Seeing as I’m going to college, the same experience if I had just I think it’s time for me to move given up playing after being cut.” forward. “

was being in the show ‘Annie Get Your Gun.’ Being cast developed me as a person and taught me that no matter if I have a small part, in shows or in life, I can always make an impact and make people smile. Life is a stage and you always have a chance to express yourself, whether it’s to friends, strangers or your goldfish.”

Eagle Eye 28 Feature

The

Reporter Francesco Viola III reviews some of the latest school events and pop culture topics.

PROPS To the school for recognizing lesserknown clubs in the spring assembly. PROPS to film critic Roger Ebert for leaving behind a legacy of greatness. PROPS to the graduating senior class for making it through high school. FLOPS to the district giving us snow days when we should have regular days and vice versa. FLOPS to the “Duck Dynasty” spirit day for giving a terrible TV show more attention than it deserves. FLOPS to Comedy Central for canceling “Futurama.”

Hallway Talk

“How does an avocado get that big?” “Remember when we got in trouble for microwaving quarters?” “She gave me Starbursts when my throat was sore, so she was a good lady in my eyes.”

“Olympus has Fallen”

Photo 3 courtesy of The Guise Archives; Photo 4 courtesy of James Best

“Olympus has Fallen” is nothing more than an action movie. The movie isn’t a gripping commentary on the decline of the American government in recent years. It isn’t an interesting reflection on various global issues. Instead, it is a “Call of Duty” inspired shooter that bores the mind while trying to please the eyes. The characters are two-dimensional and wooden. No one in the film ever truly connects with the audience due to the writing. Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman do try their best to give the movie depth, but their talents are wasted behind a wall of explosions. I may not have completely hated the movie, as it did have some good action scenes and acting, but it is something that I would never feel like watching when there are more interesting and more entertaining action movies.

“Marvel Movie Universe” QQQQ

Marvel Studios has been consistently producing great movies ever since “Iron Man” was released in 2008. While it seemed as if “The Avengers” would be the pinnacle of what Marvel could accomplish, it doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, and I couldn’t be happier. Marvel has already started filming “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Thor: The Dark World,” and has recently released “Iron Man 3.” On top of all of this, Marvel is starting production of some of its lesser known franchises, such as “Ant Man” and “The Guardians of the Galaxy.” While it would be great if Marvel started working on more fan favorites, such as the Black Panther, Marvel Studios is still the best comic book movie studio of all time.

Bruno Mars

Whenever I ask anyone who their favorite music artists are, I almost always hear the name Bruno Mars. I hear that his voice is great and that he his lyrics are deep. Despite all the praise he gets, I still contend that he represents everything that is wrong with the music industry. Despite claims to the contrary, I don’t think his voice is anything special. It’s obnoxious and sounds as if it’s been through autotune. Whenever he tries to hit a high note, I want to find the closest ear plugs and put them to good use. His lyrics are cliché and have no depth. The worst offenders are his love songs. His lyrics don’t understand the complexity of the emotion. Instead, he says you’re beautiful in 20 different ways and then acts as if it is a love song. While he may be trying his best, and he may be a great guy, he is not a talented musician.

The Decline of Annoying Trends

4 in Popular Culture

QQQ

During the previous school year, it seemed as if pop culture was getting worse and worse. Phrases such as “YOLO” and “swag” dominated conversations, while people would also randomly start do the Gangam Style dance. The problem seemed to be growing day after day, but it finally seems as if these moronic trends are starting to die down. Swag is only used sparingly, and I hardly hear people say YOLO in regular conversation. The problem isn’t completely gone however. There are times when videos like the Harlem Shake become popular, but this has been happening far less than previous years. I’m not sure how long this peace will last, but it’s better than nothing.

Advertisements 29 Eagle Eye

helpful

challenges

kindness independent

new

integrity

foundations

responsible

trustworthy

goal strong

heart

leadershipheart essential

positive homecoming

passion

pride

inspirational

brent lackey

goals

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fun change

confidence

haley chambless example

CLASS Sharing their hopes, opinions for next year REPRESENTATIVES

TAYLOR PHILLIPS Taylor Phillips, 11, will be one of many returning member to leadership next as a Senior Cass representative. “I’m excited to continue all the awesome events we’ve been doing this year and also have the possibility of new events next year,” Phillips said. Not everything will stay the same though. “Things are already changing because we will be getting a new sponsor, which will give us a new dynamic,” Phillips said.

2014

ANDIE MITCHELL A new addition to leadership next year will be Andie Mitchell,10, as a Junior Class representative. “I’m excited to be a bigger part of the school and help out with activities,” Mitchell said. Andie Mitchell will be able to bring new ideas and a fresh take on things at Vista. “As a goal for next year, I want to change how freshman are always so scared and intimidated. I want to work to make them feel more welcome,” Mitchell said.

2015

role model awesome

laura londono

enthusiasm

trustworthy

hard working

brave planning ingenious

team work power

motivated

drive

courage

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2013-2014

friendly

chandler zastrow

strength

together fearless

pride

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strength

events Source: Survey of what students want in a leader based off of 20 students, five from each class.

COLBY PETAU Colby Petau, 9, will be another returning face to leadership as Sophomore Class representative. “I’m excited for a lot of the changes to the class so I’m looking forward to see what will change,” Petau said. Even though next year’s leadership will have a lot of changes with new faces and a new sponsor to head the group, “I don’t really think the change will be huge. What we are doing now as a school is great so we really need to just keep doing that.”

2016

What Comes

Next Presidents of 2013-2014 Brent Lackey, sophomore. Chandler Zastrow, senior. Haley Chambless, junior.

Feature 31 Eagle Eye ANNA THEIS, HANANH CHATWIN, SYDNEY OSTDIEK This year’s student leadership worked hard to change Mountain Vista for the better by increasing spirit and incorporating every input. Departing Student Body President Laura Londono, senior, said leadership was all focused and united in pursuing its goals. “As seniors, we’ve gotten the job done and next year’s leaders will continue the legacy,” she said. Taking over for Londono next year as president will be Chandler Zastrow, junior. Zastrow, who said he has definite plans to leave his mark, has a clear vision of what he would like Vista to be like next year. “My goal is to have all the kids across the school to have their opinions be made about what events to have,” he said. He also has the privilege and opportunity to be a guide and friend to fellow class presidents and representatives. “Some of the presidents are new to the role,” Zastrow said, “and there are a lot of expectations, but I feel like with the rest of our team behind us, they’re going to show them what to do. I’m looking forward to having new blood.” Among the new leaders for next year is Haley Chambless, sophomore, Junior Class president. Chambless said the biggest challenges will be to get students involved and get people to share their ideas. “They have good ideas,” she said. “We just need to give them the incentive to share them.” She said she hopes to “get more involvement (from students and) have more activities throughout the year.” Zastrow anticipates challenges too in the upcoming year. “Next year I will need to meet expectations and be able to step into the shoes of student body president. I need to do the best job and make my senior year memorable,” Zastrow said. This year, the team was very successful at getting events and spirit days planned. Freshman Brent Lackey, a returning president as next year’s sophomore president, said he hopes to keep the trend going and get things done on time. He also aspires to make things like Wish Week bigger and make it a key event for the whole school to attend like Homecoming is. “If everyone gets involved, it would all be better,” Brent said. Haley Chambless, sophomore, also wants to up the Vista spirit community .“We had a ton of participation for Wish Week and I think people would definitely like doing things like that — more meaningful things,” she said. “They [the students] sometimes don’t care if they’re not a part of it, but people felt like they could help Jayden and the other Wish kids.” In order for fresh ideas to be added next year for spirit weeks, Zastrow said she is going to strive to increase the awareness of events. “ I think we need more assemblies outlining the specific dress-up days. The upperclassmen need to step up and do their thing because the underclassmen are going to follow their example. I want everyone to feel like they can dress up for spirit days and be a part of it,” he said. Lackey said he wants to improve next year’s assemblies with more class competitions. “There’s a lot of competition between the upper classes and it would be cool if the same thing could be for the freshmen and sophomore classes,” he said. As the responsibility falls to new shoulders, Londono reflected: “I know they are all great leaders who’ll put in a lot of hard work. That’s all they need to be successful next year.”

Eagle Eye 32 Feature

“The idea of writing and kind of combining the two things that I’m passionate about, which is high school students and what they’re going through, and fantasy, just kind of came together.” Photo by Bridget Cooper

The Mathematician of Many Talents

Balancing the roles of husband, father, teacher, coach, author

MAEVE MCCLOSKEY rian Wood is known at Mountain Vista as a math teacher, a basketball coach and an author. Wood started writing his books 4 ½ years ago and has been very successful ever since. Wood’s writing career started after thinking of an idea for a series. “I was a lifetime reader and I started considering it, and then I was kind of just actively thinking about writing a book,” Wood said. “I had some ideas running through my head.” Wood has always been a big fan of fantasy writing, and his teaching in high school helped him to get the idea for his character of the Trayvian James series. “I started thinking about writing a high school book and the inspiration kind of came to combine high school and fantasy,” Wood said. Wood said he doesn’t do all his writing without the help of others. “I have lots of people that help me, but my friend, who used to be an English teacher, is also a writer,” Wood said. “He definitely helps me the most.” Wood said that while writing his books, there are definitely some challenges he has to face. Along with being an author, he has his other work and is also a father, so finding time to work on his passion is a difficult task. “The biggest challenge now is probably that I have a daughter and

I don’t have very much time,” he said. “It’s not something you can do in a short amount of time like a 10- or 15-minute stretch. I need a couple hours, and there’s not always a couple hours available, unless I want to not sleep.” In the beginning, there were also challenges with getting published. “The average agent gets 200-300 letters a day and takes on about five clients a year, so the numbers are pretty staggering especially for someone like me that had never done any writing at all,” Wood said. “I just had a kind of random connection to a publisher through my buddy, and they asked for the manuscript and they wanted it,” Wood said. “I actually had a lot easier path than most people just out of sheer dumb luck probably more than anything.” Wood’s first book of the Trayvian James series was “Dream World”, He said he plans to finish the series with the fourth book next spring. Wood also has two other books in the works. “I’m writing a war memoir for a friend of mine that served a tour in Iraq, and then I’m going to write a book, no fantasy, about a high school kid,” said Wood. He hopes to get published in the future by a big publishing company.

Wood’s Book Signing and Book Reading

To release his latest book in the Chronicles of Trayvian James series, Brian Wood held a book signing at Tattered Cover Book Store in Highlands Ranch April 15. He was signing the third book of the series, “Perception,” which was recently released. The first two books in his series were “Dreamworld” and “Reality.” Wood said he wants to continue “writing the Trayvian James series because [he] think[s] they’re really fun.”

Photo by Bridget Cooper

Feature 33 Eagle Eye TAYLOR BLATCHFORD

Junior Anyssa Walker and senior Madison Yount sit in a small Highlands Ranch apartment, practicing playing and singing songs they have written and rewritten until they are nearly flawless.

When you’re recording an album professionally, it has to be perfect.

oth girls have been singing since a young age and playing acoustic guitar for years, as well as participating in school choirs and church worship services. “I don’t ever remember not wanting to pursue music,” Walker said. “I’ve always wanted to sing.” After meeting while leading worship at Centennial Covenant Church and singing together in jazz choir class, Walker and Yount decided to audition together for last year’s Goldust, Mountain Vista’s annual year-ending choir concert, with a cover of Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up.” At the end of last year, Walker also joined Yount to lead worship at Mountain Vista’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes club meetings. “Leading worship together is definitely more fun than doing it by myself,” Yount said. That fall, local music producer Ryan Zimmer contacted Yount and Walker, who knew Zimmer from Mission Hills Church, and asked if they would be interested in making an EP album. Both girls immediately wanted to and began the process of fundraising, using the website Kickstarter, which allows anybody on the internet to donate money to projects within 60 days. On Christmas day, their fundraising goal was reached: $1,500. “We were freaking out,” Walker said. “We called each other and were screaming.” They agreed that recording the album was harder than they had imagined because of the amount of time it took. The album was originally estimated to be done in February, but recording was a lengthy process with lots of repetition. “I thought you just put the headphones on and sing it one time and then you’re done, but sometimes it takes a really long time,” Walker said. Yount said now that she has gone through the process of recording, she can better recognize the small details in songs. “It helps you appreciate the things that people put in songs, because it takes so much creativity to think of things like that,” she said. Since recording, Walker and Yount have performed a show

at the Larimer Lounge in Denver, as well as a mashup of Michael Jackson songs for this year’s Goldust concert. Though Yount and Walker write songs and music together, often for hours at a time, they agree their best work comes when they write individually but share ideas. “With most of our songs, we start writing them on our own and then we bounce ideas off each other and we write it down,” Yount said. “We play guitar while doing it and it just kind of works out.” Walker said writing music serves as an outlet for her and Yount. “Sometimes, if I don’t understand how I’m feeling in a situation, if I write a song about it then I’ll understand afterwards,” Walker said. Yount said the inspiration for songwriting usually comes from things that happen in their lives. “My Dear,” is the title of the album as well as one song, and Yount imagines it as the start of a personal letter. “We hope that people that listen to it can relate to at least one of the songs,” she said. Though Yount will attend Colorado Christian University in Lakewood next year while Walker will be a senior at Mountain Vista, they are optimistic about the opportunities and connections being at two different schools will bring. In the future, Yount said she hopes to be able to play at venues like the Bluebird Theater and make a full-length album, which is more time-consuming and expensive. However, both girls want to keep the focus of their music not on themselves, but on glorifying God. “I don’t want to lose the fun factor, and I don’t want to lose God in the focus of what we’re doing,” Yount said. “Right now, I feel overwhelmed with all the attention that we’re getting and I just have to keep my eye on the goal. I want to be playing at bars and coffee shops but shining God’s light where people wouldn’t usually see God.” “As far as God wants to take us,” Walker said, “that’s as far as I want to go.”

Album Title: “My Dear,”

Release Date: May 28

To Buy:

Hard copies: contact Walker or Yount Digital copies: iTunes, Spotify, Rhapsody, Pandora

Cost: $5

Release:

May 29, 6:30 p.m. at Boyer’s Coffee, 7295 N. Washington St., Denver

Updates:

facebook.com/ anyssamadison

Photo by Taylor Blatchford

Something to Overcome. Senior Jacob BautistaBaugh shares his story of recovery from his former stepdad’s abuse and cyberstalking TAYLOR BLATCHFORD Editors’ Note: The name of Jacob’s stepdad has been changed to protect the family’s privacy.

acob Bautista-Baugh sat on the driveway between a silver Jetta and a silver Jeep Commander as his mother Aleza confronted her abusive husband inside the house. She had been pushed down a flight of stairs into broken glass and thrown outside the front door before forcing her way back inside. The 13-year-old didn’t know what to think, what to do, if he should try to intervene. Almost four years later, Jacob, now a senior, his younger brother and Aleza have escaped the abuse, cyberstalking, death threats and invasions of privacy from his former stepdad. Jacob moved in with Aleza and her boyfriend, David (not his real name), before eighth grade after living with his father in California for three years. An executive for a photography company and a board member for a nonprofit similar to Text-A-Tip that works with troubled teens, David seemed like a successful guy with a high salary, though Jacob noticed he was a heavy drinker and had a pot-smoking habit, with occasional uses of cocaine. “I was still young when I moved in, and I didn’t really know the world around me,” Jacob said. “Things were totally fine at first.” A few months after moving in, Jacob and his friends accidentally let out the family dogs while his parents were gone. When David came home, he screamed and cursed at the six eighth-graders, sent Jacob’s friends home and told Jacob to go downstairs and clean his room. “From downstairs I could hear my mom and him fighting, presumably about what had just happened,” Jacob said. The bedroom door upstairs opened, and Aleza ran out, tears streaming down her face. She grabbed the picture frames by the bedroom door and threw them down to the marble entryway at the bottom of the stairs. “There’s screaming, and then the picture frame shatters, and it’s like you can hear every single piece of glass across the floor,” Jacob said. “Then David walked out of the room, grabbed my mom by the arm and tried to push her down the stairs.” She grabbed onto his shirt so he had to use more force, and he pushed her down the stairs onto the broken glass from the picture

Photo by R frames. Then, he walked downstairs, picked her up by her arm and threw her outside the front door. “Time just froze and I didn’t know what to do,” Jacob said. “There was so much adrenaline in such a short amount of time and I didn’t know how to react.” He rushed outside to help her, and with blood running down her wrists and shaking hands, she decided she had to go back inside. Jacob sat on the driveway, and eventually she came back out and told him to pack a bag to go to a friend’s house for the week. “I walked past as David’s sweeping the glass from the floor, grabbed

Feature 35 Eagle Eye

a small backpack, biked over to my friend Matt Ballinger’s house and I the doorbell and walk away. Twenty-five minutes later, he was sitting on broke down,” Jacob said. “I cried. I cried for probably a good 45 minutes, I a couch facing the door when he heard a car pull into the driveway, and didn’t know how to react to what had just happened.” the car door open and shut. Suddenly, David burst through the door, He lived with Ballinger for the next few weeks, and evenscreaming and cursing, asking Jacob if he wanted to fight. tually Aleza made the decision to move back in. There were “I didn’t even know what to say. I just stood there in shock,” Jacob apologies from everyone, and at first, once again it seemed said. “I couldn’t even believe that a grown man is coming to a 16-yearlike things were fine. David entered rehab, but denied the old and asking him to fight. That was the closest he ever got to physipot-smoking and cocaine, saying that his problems are cally hurting me.” solely from drinking. David left, and later that day met Aleza back at the house and “He lied to his parents, the people at the facility and to handed her the phone. From inside, Jacob heard the two of them argueveryone involved, including myself at the time,” Jacob said. ing on the driveway, and then his mom said, “Ow, get your hands off “It seemed like after two weeks, he was a changed man.” me!” He ran outside, and David was holding his hands up, saying that However, David had lost his job, but was still on a twohe had been assaulted and was calling the police. Four police cars came year severance package: two years of full pay with no work. to the house, and forms were filled out by everybody to get everyone’s “From there I would say it went downhill, because he perspective of the story. David was taken to jail in handcuffs but bailed wasn’t working,” Jacob said. “After a while, fights proceeded, out the next day. and money was getting tighter because he was doing “We got a restraining order from him, but even the police said it was nothing but spending. Tension increased because there was nothing but a piece of paper,” Jacob said. “They advised us to move, but nothing keeping him busy.” with no money, barely a car and my brother and I going to school down Aleza and David decided to get married the next year, in the street, it was the most functional for all of us. We thought, how could a private ceremony in a San Francisco hotel. Though Jacob it get worse from here? What could he possibly do to make our lives any noticed there were fights, they worse? And of course, we were wrong.” got significantly worse a year A few weeks later, Aleza was in San “Through all of it, I’ve just after the wedding, and one day Diego for the weekend (after David had learned that it could be worse. cancelled her flight tickets, forcing her to Aleza told her son that she was looking for houses and wanted to I don’t regret that it happened, reschedule the trip). Jacob’s brother was move within two weeks. with his father, and Jacob was home by because it’s given me a lot of “I had no idea that she wanted himself for the weekend. to move or wanted to divorce. “On Friday night, as any kid would, I had character.” That came as a total surprise,” a few people over,” Jacob said. “It wasn’t a Jacob Bautista-Baugh, senior Jacob said. “It must have been party or big, just a few friends getting tomuch more of an abusive relagether. Everything was fine, I stayed sober tionship to my mom than it was to me, because I didn’t see and I didn’t really think much of it.” or hear much of it.” Sunday afternoon, there was a knock at the door. Jacob answered Aleza, Jacob and his younger brother moved out a week it expecting another friend, but it was two police officers, who asked if later, the end of Jacob’s sophomore year, with almost no there was a gun in the house. possessions to their name. “I told them there was one upstairs, and I didn’t think anything of it,” “Even though they had been married, David didn’t give Jacob said. “I let them into the house, took them upstairs and showed my mom any money, a car or any furniture,” Jacob said. them the gun. They told me they knew I had people over on Friday and “We had the mattresses that my brother and I slept on, the that there may have been drinking and smoking, to which I said that I contents of our rooms and my mom’s clothes, and that was wasn’t drinking or smoking at all, and I didn’t know how it pertained to it. We just didn’t want to do anything with him. We wanted the gun. I said that I had people over and everything was fine, and they to be on our own and start anew.” told me not to lie to them.” There were no other incidents for about a week, until The police asked for his mom’s phone number to tell her what hapAleza noticed that they weren’t getting any mail. David pened. After an hour of insisting that he was lying, the officers finally left. had forged her signature and rerouted the family’s mail to Later, Jacob found out there was an anonymous tip sent to the police his mother’s house in Wisconsin. He also hacked into both saying that he was drunk and high, pointing the gun at the sender and her and Jacob’s email and Facebook accounts, and deleted endangering their life. emails from her divorce attorney, as well as graphic death “When my mom heard that it was an anonymous tip a bell went off, threats he himself had sent. and she thought, it’s got to be David, because who else would do that?” “We called the Douglas County police and they literally Jacob said. “The gun wasn’t even out on Friday night, so that instantly said that they didn’t know how they could help us,” Jacob proved that it was false. I went through everyone who was there and said. “They couldn’t prove the cyberstalking because they none of them would have done something like that.” needed the specific IP address and proof that he was logTwo more anonymous tips prompted a visit from Child Protective Riley McCloskey ging into the computer.” Services to interview Aleza. Though the family presumes they were sent Later that summer, Jacob was getting ready for tennis by David, there’s no proof. practice one morning when Aleza came downstairs, panickThe restraining order ended a few months ago, but the family hasn’t heard from David since last summer. Jacob and Aleza are making a slow ing because she couldn’t find her cell phone. She thought she had left it recovery, with a new house, a new boyfriend for Aleza and a new baby in on the bed before taking a shower. the family. Even with all he’s been through, Jacob still considers himself “We called it three times just to hear it ring, and the first two times an optimist. it rang and the third time it was off,” Jacob said. “Instantly, my mom’s “Through all of it, I’ve just learned that it could be worse. I don’t first thought was that David walked into our house and stole it from her regret that it happened, because it’s given me a lot of character,” Jacob room. We called the police and said it was stolen, and again they said said. “It’s given me a challenge and something to overcome.” there was nothing they could do because we didn’t have proof.” After getting home from tennis practice, Jacob texted David, saying that if he stole the phone he wanted him to leave it on the doorstep, ring

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Living

in Shocks Kenzie Winslow Battles Trigeminal Neuralgia AMY HUANG & MAEVE MCCLOSKEY

Photo Courtesy of Kenzie Winslow

“

The one thing that I am afraid of is the Trigeminal Neuralgia and I can’t get rid of it without brain surgery, so I’d rather have brain surgery than live in pain.”

Freshman Kenzie Winslow was at lunch like any other student, eating, talking and laughing. All of the sudden, her head collapsed to the table, tears filled her eyes and she was fighting back the urge to scream. Winslow has Trigeminal Neuralgia, a nerve disorder commonly found in the face that causes stabbing and electric shock-like pains. About one in every 15,000 people suffer from Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN). Winslow is the one person who has TN in all of the Highlands Ranch schools combined. TN is mostly found in people over the age of 50, but in some cases TN affects young people, too. Trigeminal Neuralgia is triggered by things Winslow does everyday, such as shaving, eating, drinking, brushing her teeth, smiling, putting on makeup or touching her face. “I’m honestly scared to do anything — scared to breathe because that could set it off, scared to swallow because that could set it off,” Winslow said. “Since August 2012, [the pain] has been

really bad. It was probably every one to two minutes.” At age 12, before seventh grade, Winslow was diagnosed with TN. “Most people who are diagnosed get it when they are over 50, and I was diagnosed when I was 12,” Winslow said. “I felt a few bits of the pain, a few of the shooting pains, but my parents just thought it was a cracked tooth,” Winslow said when she started feeling symptoms. She had just experienced a really bad shock-like pain, and was taken to the emergency room, and was then diagnosed. “I try to forget about it, but it was a really big shock then just because I wasn’t expecting it,” Winslow said. Trigeminal Neuralgia definitely has had an effect on Winslow’s everyday life. “I’ve had to stop playing volleyball just because I couldn’t stand having to deal with the pain and having to do a physical sport,” she said. “School used to be the number one thing for me and now my health is first, obviously.” Winslow said she has lots of loving people supporting her. “Just the support from everyone makes me feel not so alone it it,” she said. “I still feel really alone with it, but having everyone else kind of understand helps. If I leave the room or start crying, they don’t judge me or anything.” Winslow said she also draws support from another

Feature 39 Eagle Eye

Photo Courtesy of Kenzie Winslow

DEAR KENZIE,

Students and their hopes for Kenzie “I just want to tell that I know after her brain surgery it will definitely get better [and] I know she can handle it, but I know she is ready to have it be over with.” ~Dot Ruoff, 9 “I just want to tell Kenzie that I love her so much and it she is the sweetest thing ever, and she is so strong to go through all of this and I can’t believe she is doing this all by herself. I just hope it gets better from here and that the surgery helps because I love her.” ~Olivia Penna, 9 “I’m proud of Kenzie for keeping a smile on her face and for staying so strong, and that everyone around her loves her and is there for her.” ~Erika Soderholm, 9

girl with TN who lives in Canada, named Kennadi. “She is really supportive because she can understand what the pain is and she is going through the same thing I’m going through,” Winslow said. “My mom and dad [have been there] as well, just because they’ve been with me from the start,” Winslow said. “They’ve been helping me with going to the different doctors appointments and they’re always there.” Doctors don’t know what to do anymore. “There’s not much they can do,” she said. “I’ve just been on a bunch of different medications to try to help and if they don’t help they try a new medication and if that medication works but then stops then they up the dose which is really all they can do.” She is battling TN everyday, some days it’s harder than others. Music, especially One Direction, help Winslow fight TN. “Music is really good at distracting me,” she said. She is catching up with her schoolwork. “My teachers have been

really helpful with helping me get back on track,” Winslow said. Winslow was recently in a remission for 42 days without the shocking pain, “[The remission] is awesome,” she said. “It’s a miracle.” However, she is once again experiencing a numbing, tingling pain.. Eventually Winslow said she will probably end up having to get NBD surgery which is brain surgery. “That sometimes helps,” she said. “It just depends if the surgery goes well or not.” She is courageous facing the situation, saying she wants to have the brain surgery. “I know that seems weird,” she said, “but I want to have it because honestly brain surgery is not scary for me.” TN is “the one thing that I am afraid of and I can’t get rid of it without brain surgery, so I’d rather have brain surgery then live in pain.”

“There is so much I want to say to her and the hardest thing for me is not being able to do anything for her when she is in pain, so I just want to say to her that I’m always going to be there for her no matter what.” ~Lauren Robinson, 9 “She is the strongest person I know and I love her to death and she is my best friend. She knows me better than anyone else and I’m so lucky to have her in my life.” ~Avery Walcher, 9 “Kenzie was my first real friend. She taught me strength and kindness and loyalty. No matter what happens I’m never going to forget that and I’m really thankful to her because of it.” ~Cheyenne Walker, 9 “Kenzie, I know you think your TN comes across as freaky to other people, but you have so many people behind you. You are so much stronger than you think you are, and it’s okay to let down your walls sometimes. Thank you for being one of the most amazing people in my life.” ~Akanksha Ray, 9

Eagle Eye 40 Feature

Vista Musicians: Never Defined’s debut

JASON KELLER wo weeks away from their first show, a nervous group of juniors anxiously practice on their instruments. Jeremy Jasper, one of two guitarists in Never Defined works with drummer Noah Bruce on a song that’s spent weeks in the making. Bassist Terrence Mullen quietly sits with Eric Guichard, Never Defined’s second guitar player and unnoficial leader. There’s a nervous energy in the air. In just two weeks, they’ll be playing their first show — and they don’t have a single song written. The beginning of Never Defined was rocky at best. “How this band got started, was that Eric Guichard promised the Mountain Vista Benefit Concert a live band to play, two weeks in advance. We weren’t even a band at that time,” Jasper said. “But then after that, he asked us to form a band, and we just went for it.” However, they are far from strangers. Most members of Never Defined have known each other for years and have played in bands off and on as early as fifth grade. “Jeremy and I have known each other since kindergarten,” Bruce said. “Then we became friends with Terrence and Emma in eighth grade,” Jasper said, “but we’ve been in bands off and on since fifth grade.” Never Defined’s individual members draw inspiration from a variety of bands and artists, but the band as a whole cites Rise Against as a major influence, both lyrically and instrumentally. “They write about major issues, so we want to follow in their footsteps, with less about unimportant issues and more like ‘Hey, these are the problems in the world,’” Bruce said. “There’s a lot of artists that talk about unimportant things, things that don’t matter. There’s so much music that doesn’t really have a point to it. There’s drugs, sex and parties. What we want to go for is something that sends a message about things that matter.” Never Defined is currently in the process of writing songs to record for their first EP. However, the creative process behind making a song can take time, sometimes up to several weeks. “The one I’m writing right now is taking a couple of weeks,” Jasper said. When in a band, it’s important to delegate authority. It’s one of the many factors that could make or break a band. Never Defined has no official leader in charge of songwriting. Most of it is done in one of their

Photo Courtesy of Elizabeth Mae Photography many practice sessions. Bruce and Jasper often take charge of the songwriting. Jasper said he and Bruce are like guidance counselors to the group. “We try to enforce practice at certain times, and if anyone can’t make it, we always try to make it up with them,” he said. Never Defined played its first official show at the Gothic Theatre to a crowd of nearly 150 onlookers Feb. 17. “Coming together and playing at a large venue like that was really cool,” Jasper said. “We also sold the most amount of tickets because we were just that excited,” Bruce said. Playing in front of a crowd however, was no small feat. “Go in prepared, but don’t over prepare. Like, don’t think about it so much that you scare yourself, because fear on stage is one of the worst things,” Jasper said. “It’s more of a math problem: Bravery + Energy Drinks = Good Show,” Bruce said. “It was something like five Monsters,” Mullen said. Where does Never Defined go from here? They’ve got years of playing together and a successful show under their belt, but there’s no telling what the future holds for these Mountain Vista musicians. “I definitely think that we’re going to go up from here,” Bruce said.

Visit the bands online:

F A C E B O O K

T W I T T E R

Sports 41 Eagle Eye CHASE HOWELL AND AJ STOWELL

Photo courtesy of Robin Kossoff Kosoff makes a glove save against the Washington Little Capitals at the National Championships. Photo courtesy of Ryan Charkos

Kossoff poses with his sister Marissa after a game.

Nick Kossoff leaves family to pursue his dreams AJ STOWELL & CHASE HOWELL

o junior Nick Kossoff the sport of hockey is much more than a game, but rather a lifestyle and a future career. Leaving his family behind, he pursued the opportunity of lifetime in the sport that he loved. “I did it for hockey. I’m planning on playing juniors next year and then off to college. But anything can happen. I just need to continue to work hard and get better everyday,” said Nick Kossoff. Starting at the age of three in his hometown of West Des Moines, Iowa, Kossoff took up ice hockey and . As a goalie, he found quick success within the sport. Throughout his younger years Kossoff gained motivation by looking up to NHL stars. “Growing up, Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes became my primary inspiration,” Kossoff said. Then, after more than 10 years of hockey in Iowa, Kossoff found himself at crossroads. “My previous organization had broken up so I needed a new team,” Kossoff said. “Then after looking around, I found the Colorado Thunderbirds.” In order for him to join the Thunderbird AAA program, he would have to move out to Colorado and become a billet with another family. A billet is an individual who takes board with another family or residence in order to play ice-hockey for an elite team. This decision would have him leaving both his friends and family behind.

Realizing the importance of the opportunity to play somewhere else, Kossoff took a chance for his future. “It was really tough to say goodbye. They were all disappointed that I was leaving,” Kossoff said, “but they eventually understood the opportunity that I would be getting and were happy for me.” After arriving in the state, he moved in with senior Matt Meier and the rest of the Meier family. Meier, like Kossoff is also a member of the Colorado Thunderbirds. “It’s a lot of fun living with them,” Kossoff said. “It’s fun because it’s something new and there is always new experiences for me.” Although he adjusted quickly to the new lifestyle at home, Kossoff also had to adjust to life outside the household. “The first few months of being here it was a little difficult, but soon I made plenty of friends,” Kossoff said. Away from home, Kossoff continues to miss his family. Prompting him to stay in close contact with them over the year “The hardest part has been leaving my family for so long,” Kossoff said. “I talk to my parents a few times a week and I also use Skype with them sometimes.” Since he left home, Kossoff continues to improve on the ice and make key strides towards his hockey career. Although he misses his family and friends at times, he continues to push himself to reach the career of his choice.

BREAKING DOWN THE BILLET • • • • •

How much?

Cost of housing/food per month: $300 Cost of hockey gear: $4,000 Cost per trip: $1,000 Cost of playing AAA: $7,500 Cost of travel: $6,000 Total cost: $22,100 Age

• • • • •

Where?

Family’s household : West Des Moines, Iowa Old high school: Valley High School, Iowa Current household: Highlands Ranch, Colo. Home rink: Big Bear Ice Arena, Aurora, Colo. National championship: Pittsburgh, Penn.

THE LEVELS OF HOCKEY

• Mite: 8 & under • Bantam: 13-14 • Squirt: 9-10 • Midget Minor: 15-16 • Peewee: 11-12 • Midget Major: 17-18

Skill

• AAA: Most Competitive • B: Moderate • AA: Very Competitive • House: No travel • A: Competitive

Eagle Eye 42 Sports

HOPING FOR A CYCLE Varsity baseball attempts to restore the glory achieved with new coach Ron Quintana

SCOTT GRIMM & AMANI BROWN

coach and I knew we needed to find a new In 2009 Mountain Vista’s baseball team, coach that I would be with for another three under coach Mark Goldsberry, made a run to years,” Klein said. become the state runner-up. Now, five years That coach turned out to be Q. “He’s helped later, they hope to make a similar run. me be a better man and work a lot harder in Goldsberry coached one more year at practice. Now that he came we’re a lot more Mountain Vista before moving on to become focused and do things right,” Klein said. the associate athletic director at Cherry Creek Two-year varsity player and senior Kyle High School. Dave Mumper, Mountain Vista’s Zeberlein recognizes the positive changes former athletic director, left the same year as throughout the program. “We’ve honestly put Goldsberry, leaving behind many Vista players in a lot of work all over and as a whole we are who appreciated Goldsberry’s work. much more dedicated,” Zeberlein said. Coach Ron “Q” Quintana changed the proThat hard work is starting to pay off, on and gram, hiring many new assistants. He impleoff the field, Zeberlein said. With seniors and mented an impressive weight program, which juniors now in their third year under Coach Q, many players embraced. While it took time for things are starting to come together. kids in the program to adjust to Coach Q, with only four wins 2011 in his first season, there has 4 wins 2010 been improvement every year 14 losses 11 wins since. While credit goes to the 10 losses work the coaches have put in, one thing has remained constant for the past four years: the players and the hard work 2013 they put in day in and day out 11 wins to take this program back to its 8 losses prior form. Senior Michael Klein has spent all four of his years at Mountain Vista playing varsity baseball and has experienced the transition from Goldsberry to Quintana. “I didn’t know him a lot but I knew he was a good Photo Illustration by Riley McCloskey

VISTA VICTORIES SCHOOL

PLAYOFF SEED

FINAL SCORE Vista - Opponent

Cherokee Trail

23rd

6-5

Cherry Creek

5th

5-2

Dakota Ridge

7th

7-1

Douglas County

24th

6-3

Castle View

28th

11-1

Even though last year’s varsity team came just short of making the playoffs, this year’s team still had high hopes. “We had high expectations within our team,” Zeberlein said. “We didn’t worry about what other people thought of us, we just wanted to play well. We knew the talent we had and we just wanted to play together and that’s helped us work our way to achieve our goals.” The team is currently have a 11-8 record with two of those losses from out-of-state powers. Vista beat top-ranked Cherry Creek, who was also fourth nationally at the time. The seniors have been in the program all four years. Ten seniors are on varsity. Seven of those seniors will play in college. Zeberlein said their experience and ability has allowed the Golden Eagles to have a successful season. 2012 “It’s everyone coming 10 wins together trying to play as one 9 losses for a common goal,” Zeberlein siad. “It’s all the hard work from the past three years and now everyone has come together and we’re playing really well.” Vista played well enough to advance to the 5A state baseball tournament. The team plays rival Chaparral High School today at 12:30 p.m. at Bishop Machebeuf High School, 458 Uinta Way, in Denver. Photo by Peter Leonard

The Mountain Vista varsity baseball team gets ready to play against Cherokee Trail High School in a March contest.

Sports 43 Eagle Eye

TWO PATHS FROM INJURY Photo by Peter Leonard

Photo by Peter Leonard

PERSPECTIVE

MONTHS REQUIRED FOR ADAMS’ RECOVERY

MONTHS

WERE ADDED DUE TO HER MINISCUS AND MCL

…to the field PETER LEONARD

enior Mariel Adams’ life revolved around soccer, a sophomore playing at a senior level. That was, until April 5, 2011. “It was a game against Chaparral and the girl was dribbling towards me. I was turning and she got me just right, so it was a contact injury,” Adams said. “She tore my ACL, strained my MCL and tore my meniscus in my right knee.” At first, everything seemed okay. The trainer had told her that she had not hurt her ACL, a common injury in women’s soccer that requires months of rehabilitation. It wasn’t until she went to the doctor’s office that she learned the whole truth. “The doctor was very positive,” Adams said. “He said, ‘It’s okay. This happens a lot in female soccer players. You’ll be back in six to nine months playing just like you are.’” To get herself back into the game, Adams did physical therapy three times a week, had a trainer and went into surgery to get her knee fixed. “It was really, really hard to sit out because all I wanted to do was just play and be a part of that,” Adams said. But Adams learned some key traits from all of the waiting and she says it made her a better soccer player. “I gained more technical skills by just watching and seeing different possibilities of playing when I was not actually in the game,” Adams said. It took her eight months to get back to playing soccer. “It was so amazing. I was so happy [to resume playing],” Adams said. Two years after the recovery she still looks back on it fondly. “It’s made me love soccer a lot more because I could see what life was like without playing and it’s terrible,” Adams said. “I’m so lucky that I’m able to come back and play again.”

…to the sidelines

DYLAN INGRAM

fter three years of toil, running in every single season imaginable, Chandler Zastrow wanted to make the varsity cross country team. Now the running is over, but the devotion remains. He had to stop running cross country when his labrum, the cartilage around his hip, tore from the bone. “Every single time (my foot) landed, it was excruciating pain,” Zastrow said. “I took three weeks off of cross-country practice just to see if it was a stress-related thing, and then I came back and [the hip] still hurt.” In August 2012, Zastrow consulted a doctor, who told him the real cause of the pain and that the labrum could be reattached so Zastrow could return to his sport. During surgery, the doctor discovered that the labrum had torn entirely from Zastrow’s hip, putting him at a greater risk of arthritis of the hip. “I can still run, like shorter distances, but practicing long distance like I did before is probably self-destructive,” Zastrow said. “My body wasn’t meant to be a long distance runner, I guess.” Zastrow admits that it was not the running itself (which he has characterized as painful even without the injury) that he had enjoyed. “It’s the people that you’re with,” Zastrow said. “It’s fun whenever you’re enjoying the time with them.” However, Zastrow hopes to remain a part of the crosscountry program as an assistant coach, helping to lead warmups, time student athletes’ performances, and more. “I’m going to be trying to help out others, trying to get them to [perform at] their full potential,” he said. “I just thought, ‘What else can I do in this sport that will still put me with these people?’”

HOURS

PER WEEK OF PHYSICAL THERAPY TO PLAY AGAIN

PINS

REQUIRED TO ATTACH A LABRIUM

7 PINS REQUIRED FOR ZASTROW’S HIP

YEARS

OF RUNNING FOR VISTA BEFORE THE INJURY

spring

supple

Kenna Dougherty

Mark Maggs Laura Londono, 12, speaks at the prom week assembly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think it was a lot of fun. [The assembly] helped the Senior Class get together. We finished up what we started with a lot of school spirit. It got all of us really excited to go to prom,â&#x20AC;? Londono said.

Ryan Bauch, 9

Thomas Van de Pas, Stephen Abeyta, 12

ement

Amanda Ellingson

Photo courtesy of Bridget Cooper

Photo courtesy of Kelsey Luke

Kelsey Luke, 11, smiles with her prom group in Jessi Wood front of a gazebo before attending the dance later in the night. “Prom definitley beat my expectations. I thought it would be fun, but it was next-level fun,” Luke said.

Prom Queen Bridget Cooper, 12, celebrates with her boyfriend and Prom King, Dan Lockard, 12, after they won the title of prom royalty.

Madison Payne, 12, and the girls from her prom group stand in front of their limo before getting into it and going to dinner and the dance.

Photo courtesy of Madison Payne Joanie Lyons

Was going to prom as

sophomore

stressful?

Actually,

wasn’t stressful

at all because it was my

first year and it wasn’t

like you were supposed to go. It was fun because

I just got to go and have

fun and not really worry

about it being senior prom or anyrhing.

let’s ask

Megan Massey, 10

CHANGEDprom PLANS gone wrong

ariel Adams, 12, Chris Hill, 12, and the rest of their group hoped that senior prom would be a night to remember; a last celebration before graduating high school. And it was, but not for the reasons she or anyone else expected it to be. Because they never made it to prom. The group was disappointed in the condition of their party bus, which Hill said was not the bus which the company depicted in its photos and detailed in the description on its website. “It was not the bus that we paid for, which was like a $1,600 down payment,” Hill said. “There were empty beer cans all over the bus, the cord to plug your phone in for music was just dangling from the

ceiling and the door didn’t close all the way.” While at dinner, Kat Schneider, 12, called the company and explained calmly that they wanted to get the bus that they actually paid for to pick them up from the restaurant or they wanted their money back, to which the employee responded by giving them five seconds to decide if they wanted to keep that bus or have no bus at all. He was going to send the driver away. When the five seconds were up, the employee hung up on them. “Then I called back and told them that they were stealing our money if they sent the driver away, and then Kat said we would just take the bus,” Hill said. The company decided that the best response to that was to take away their bus anyway and impound everything on it. But they had left nothing on the bus to impound. “We took all of the stuff off because we were going to try and get a different bus at dinner anyways, but we made it [leaving stuff on the bus] an argument so that they might cooperate with us,” Hill said. Hill proceeded to call the cops himself, stating that it was not an emergency but their bus driver had stranded them and basically stolen $1,600 from the group collectively. “About 10 minutes later, a cop showed up, and while we were talking to him he radioed in to have the bus pulled over, but then they radioed back that they just pulled over a bus for a hit-andrun,” Hill said.

Their driver had been wanted for a couple of days for a hit-and-run accident, and the driver was arrested during their dinner. Hill said that he and Schneider went in a cop car to get $1,400 of the $1,600 back from the company, who would not provide them with a new bus, and then they had to return to the restaurant where the rest of the group was still stranded, including Adams. “We were just stranded at dinner with no party bus. We had to call up our parents to come get us and bring us back to our cars which were at the place where we took pictures at,” Adams said. And getting their money back didn’t make up for the fact that they didn’t make it to their senior prom. “Personally, I was so pissed off because it was senior year,” Adams said. “I mean it was still a fun night, it just felt more like a night out, not senior prom.” The company does still owe them the $200 deposit plus more for the limos they should have provided. And the group can sue. “We could get a million dollars because of this in a civil case, just because they ruined our senior prom, they ruined our dinner, I mean Kat and I missed the entire dinner,” Hill said. It will be a night to remember for all of them, and one that Adams still has a hard time comprehending. “It was crazy,” Adams said. “Unbelievable.” Taylor Atlas

1. Shelby Rank, 11, poses with her prom date and her friends before going to dinner and the dance. 2. Christine Ottinger, 11, enjoys pictures with her group before attending the dance. 3. Taylor Brook, 12, stands with her group in fromt of their limo for a final picture. “Prom was an amazing night with my best friends. I couldn’t imagine a better way to start the end of senior year,” Brook said.

Photo courtesy of Shelby Rank

Photo courtesy of Christine Ottinger

Mariel Adams, 12, smiles with the rest of her group before they would attempt to attend the dance later in the night, not knowing how wrong it would go. Photo courtesy of Mariel Adams

Photo courtesy of Taylor Brook

Alia Reza

Victoria Salinas and Ashley Peterson, 12, attend Brian Wood’s book signing. “I wanted to be there to support Mr. Wood because he is a great teacher and I think he has a very bright future,” Salinas said. Gabe Rodriguez

...

“

Gabe Rodriguez

I’m currently writing the fourth book of the series

that’s coming out next

spring. That will end that

series and then I’m going to write a couple different

things. I’m writing a cou-

ple more. I’m writing a war

memoir for Mr. Flanigan’s

brother, Scott. And then I have an idea for a story

about a high school kid. I’m going to try and get a good publication about

”

the story about the high school kid.

what’s next

brian wood, teacher

* *

Autumn Gale shows her school spirit during Frat Friday for Prom Week. “I like to show school spirit for Mountain Vista,” Gale said. “I also wanted to show that we have more school spirit than ThunderRidge.” The senior girls prepare for their Tug of War match against other classes. They beat all, even the teachers. “We’re seniors so it felt good to win,” Karly Schwartzkopf said. “It felt good [to beat the teachers] because nobody really does.” Amanda Ellingson

THE LAST DANCE prom week and school spirit

enior Snap Palmer with the help of his sidekick, junior Tanner Smith, was crowned as the new Mr. Vista. Palmer and Smith competed against two other pairs (senior Micael Tantillo with his sidekick sophomore Jake Varra and senior Mark Hatcher with his sidekick junior Frank Davis) in this male talent pageant. “[Being Mr. Vista] feels pretty good,” Palmer said. “Everyone in the halls gives me crap for it and makes fun of me but it’s all in good fun. It was really fun to do it with Tanner Smith, who is one of my friends. For the talent portion, Palmer and Smith performed a dance and stole the crowd away as they did front flips and other dance moves that

“ I thought it was fun to be up there on the stage in front of all of the people who came out to support,” senior Snap Palmer said, “It was also fun talking backstage with the other competitors.” Kelsey Warden

were all original. “We practiced like five times for like an hour each,” Palmer said. “We also had to choreograph them to the songs.” The night was full of laughs and joy as the contestants showed off their skills. Palmer went home with prom tickets and good vibes. “It was an entirely fun time had I got third or had I got first I would have had the same amount of fun,” Palmer said. Gabe Rodriguez

...

1. Mark Hatcher, 12, and Frank Davis, 11, perform their dance during the talent portion of Mr. Vista. “I like to please the crowd and it meakes me feel like I’m a part of the school. 2. Michael Tantillo, 12, and Jake Varra, 10, point to their crowd during their debut of Mr. Vista. “It felt good to dance in front of the crowd,” Tantillo said. “I was kind of nervous at first but it was fun.” 3. Bryan Hancock, 10, runs with the ball in stick towards the net. “The best part was making friends with my team and getting better as a person,” Handcock said. 4. Christian Barker, 10, Hayden King, 12, and Brian Taggart, 12, run together to get a goal. “Beating Highlands Ranch was awesome because they’re one of our conference rivals,” King said. 5. The team celebrates its 10-9 win against Highlands Ranch. “Beating Ranch was probably the best part of the season because we won at the last-minute,” Sean Barich, 10, said. Courtesy of Tyla Stewart Kelsey Warden

Caitlin Cobb

Kenna Dougherty Jeremy Ansah, 12, enjoys his lunch at Taste of Mountain Vista. “Taste of Vista was OK because it was raining, so that was unfortunate, but I ate Costa Vida and it tasted pretty good,” Ansah said. Taylor Yaw

Kenna Dougherty

“

Taste of Vista is our biggest DECA fundraiser and we have to be really professional with everything we do. It’s pretty much a job. We have to start planning and getting ready three months in advance.

We do it all ourselves, so it’s really just a kids run

”

event. It’s pretty cool. We get to plan it and organize it all ourselves.

what’s exciting to

savanna shoemaker, 12

Victoria Salinas, 12, gets a smoothie at Taste of Vista. “I love Jamba Juice and it was awesome that we could eat it right at the school, “ Salinas said.

Bryan Perkins, 12, reads his yearbook. “The vendors this year were different and I liked how there was Anthony’s Pizza,” Perkins said. Mark Maggs

()

TASTE OF VISTA life’s a beach

aste of Vista, sponsored by DECA, was a diverting Mountain Vista tradition. Restaurants from all around Highlands Ranch came to vend their food for students to buy. Pie throwing, yearbook distribution and water pong were other activities that engaged the students. With only a week left of school for seniors, and a few left for underclassmen, Taste of Vista brought the school together for one last event. “I loved it, and I couldn’t believe how fun it was,” Evan Kilcoyne, 9, said. Along with getting all the students together, the event was also a great way to raise money for DECA, a club that allowed students to have hands-on experience with business and marketing. Some of the pro-

Evan Kilcoyne, 9, hits Assistant Principal Alan Long in the face with a pie. “I couldn’t believe I got to hit a teacher in the face with a pie. He thought I broke his nose, but I didn’t. He still loves me like a brother,” Kilcoyne said. Kenna Dougherty

ceeds raised went to DECA to help with competitions. “The proceeds go to helping us with different things that we need funding for,” Bradley Colbank, 11, said. A lot of work went into the planning of Taste of Vista, all of which was coordinated by students. “There is a lot of work that goes into it overall,” Colbank said. “It’s worth it, though, because it’s fun for everyone.” Kelsey Luke

...

1.Kathryn Cash, 9, gets a cupcake from Gigi’s Cupcakes. “Taste of Vista was fun becuase there were a lot of good vendors there and I got to eat good quality food for a change,” Cash said. 2. Caitliln Fitzsimmons, 11, gets a burrito from Costa Vida. ”I love Costa Vida so I was so happy I could get it at school,” Fitzsimmons said. 3. Austin Forge, 11, hands out food. “I like meeting new people and buying food is always good,” Forge said. 4. Karlee Schwartzkopf, 12, signs a yearbook. “Taste of Vista is always fun to sit around and sign each others’ yearbooks,” Schwartzkopf said. 5. Sean Rodgers, 12, sets up for Taste of Vista. “No other high school in Douglas Country or Colorado does something like this. I think it’s cool that kids run it themselves,” Rodgers said. Kenna Dougherty

Kenna Dougherty

Mark Maggs

Taylor Yaw Kenna Dougherty

Emilie Love

Hope Ruskaup, 11, and Colleen Kinstler, 9, sit with a worried expression on their faces during Act 1. “This play was so much fun to be a part of and I loved everyone in it,” said Kinstler. Emilie Love

Maggie Mather and Katie Sexton, 12, sit puzzled on stage during “The Children’s Hour.” “I am so happy I was able to spend my last memories of high school on stage with all my great friends,” Mather said.

Emilie Love

Eva Pavlakis, 12, and Charis Swartley, 10, tremble on stage. “This was my last performance on the stage that built me. It’s sad to say goodbye, but I know that I wouldn’t be who I am today without theater,” Pavlakis said.

1. Charis Swartley, 10, and Hope Ruskaup, 11, argue about silly things to young girls. “It was a great opportunity for me as a learning experience and I loved how much fun I could have with all my fellow actors. The seniors were a great inspiration to be during this show,” Swartley said. 2. Charis Swartley, 10, Hope Ruskaup, 11, and Eva Pavlakis, 12, discuss Swartley’s character’s new haircut. “I loved working with all my good friends and also being able to create new bonds with other students in the play,” Ruskaup said. 3. Melaina Cartwright-Mills, 12, looks sternly at her harasser. “I loved all the actors, and had a great time creating memories with my fellow seniors,” Cartwright-Mills said. 4. Nick Chavez, 12, stands contemplating his niece’s actions toward her teachers. “The best part about this show was how radically different the attitude of play was compared to several others we have performed, and how insane the challenge is that arises in telling the story of ‘The Children’s Hour,”’ Chavez said.

Emilie Love

1 2

Emilie Love

()

milie Love

SO MUCH DRAMA in so little time A

typical high school play goes up after seven weeks of rehearsals. However, this year Stage Flight Theater took a risk with The Children’s Hour by putting it up after just five weeks of rehearsing. But Jeremy Goldson, director, noticed a bright side to this. “Although this was a very short amount of time, I feel that it was such a great way for the students to get a taste of the real world in the theater industry,” Goldson said. Despite the hectic preparation, Goldson knew the theater students would be able to pull the production off. “Granted there was not a lot of margin for error. This show was the best it could be because of the efforts of the students,” he said. The students involved in the play said they had a great

time putting it up and were excited to perform. “This play was a great opportunity for me to grow as an actress, to have fun and help encourage me to continue to perform as a part of Stage Flight Theater. The relationships I developed with the graduating seniors helped me become more inspired,” Colleen Kinstler, 9, said. “[I was] so excited to be a part of such a great play, especially because it was my last,” Katie Sexton, 12, said. “You only get one shot to make it your best, I really wanted to go out with a bang — I wanted people to remember this,” Sexton said. Emilie Love and Amanda Ellingson

...

Photo Courtesy of Michelle Joubert

Cole Simonet, 11

Mason Pederson, 11

Andrew Pavone, 12, and Cole Simonet, 11, went in for the tackle in a very competive game. “Confidence is key. If you want to be a captain, you have to work hard because it’s based on performance,” Pavone, 12 said. Photo Courtesy of Michelle Joubert

Photo Courtesy of Michelle Joubert

Josh Thein , 9

Photo Courtesy of Michelle Joubert

Spencer Fairbairn, 9

Photo Courtesy of Michelle Joubert

Charlie Peisert, 11

Jacob Hume, 11

Donald Morrell, 12

Austin Whittier, 11

FOREVER STRONG making an impact

en’s rugby is often forgotten, but the sport is extremely complex, competitive and exciting. The members of the combined club team have bonded over their love for the sport and made friendships that will last a lifetime. The players may go to different schools, but this group of young men worked as hard as any other team. “I don’t really know why I was drawn to it (rugby). Everyone has their own thing and mine just happened to be rugby,” Donald Morrell, 12 said. Not everyone understands how the sport was played, but the passion of the players was something all athletes could relate to. “It’s a lot of fun and filled with great guys. We have a really great bond,” Zach Merrill, 11, said about playing the sport. Rugby appeared to be too complicated of a sport to some, Photo Courtesy of Michelle Joubert

...

1. Will Flynn, 9, defends the ball during practice. “I wanted to play because it’s like football during the off season. My dad played rugby in college, so it has made me want to play the game,” Flynn said 2. Zach Merrill, 11 picks up the intensity when he tackles an opponent. “It’s fun. Our coach is from South Africa, so he gives us a lot of really good advice on how to win,” Merrill said. 3. “My favorite part of playing rugby Photo Courtesy of Michelle Joubert is that after the first practice, we weren’t just a team, we were a family,” Sean Eisterer, 9, said. 4. Mountain Vista’s Harlequin Rugby team supports on the sidelines. Photo Courtesy of Michelle Joubert

1 Photo Courtesy of Michelle Joubert

however the players embraced the challenge. “I was drawn to rugby because it was something I had never done before. I ended up loving it so I stuck with it,” Charlie Peisert, 11 said. It’s no surprise that the team was successful in its season. After constructing a strong foundation, along with their competitive attitudes, the boys were extremely confident about their abilities. “We’re gonna make it to state this year,” Andrew Pavone, 12 said. “I have faith that we can win it all.” No matter what the conditions were, the players always worked to improve their skills and find success in their season. Devon Miner and Erica Tagliarino

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