Lesser known stories are revealed about the student body in this installment of the Eagle Eye. p. 12
under radar the
Vol. 14 Issue 3 12.18.14
EagleEye Mountain Vista High School | 10585 Mountain Vista Ridge, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
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Littleton • Parker • Castle Rock • Online
VISTAj STAFF Editors
Gretchen Cope Jacob Cushatt Reagan Fitzke Antonia Fornaro Tyler Kraft Tara O’Gorman
Gabe Rodriguez Daley Smith Tori Soper Erica Tagliarino Francesco Viola Kaitlin Zenoni
John Bellipanni Graham Carroll Conner Davis Taylor Desmond Max Dunevitz Sara Hainsey Christian Holton Amy Huang Gowri Kalyani Ana Krasuski Kit Miller
Hayley Mustin Kelsey Pharis Katie Pickrell Emy Pye Peyton Reeves Josh Romine Austin Sack Savannah Taylor Lexi Weingardt Maddy Worley Taylor Zakhem
Staff
Sophomore Jake Belknapp warms up with the men’s basketball team. p. 31 Photo by Gabe Rodriguez
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 space 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 Unsigned letters will not be published.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
Distribution
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. ©2014 Eagle Eye/Mountain Vista High School. All rights reserved.
contents FEATURES
LEADING OFF
6 graduation 10 all-state requirements Choir John Bellipanni shares his opinion on DCSD’s graduation requirements.
7 stuff that ticks Me Off
Editor Tyler Kraft discusses the problems of busybodies.
8 staff editorial
Sara Hainsey explains the overlooked parts of the school.
Seniors Kayla Reed and Ryan O’Connor have the opportunity to represent MVHS at a choir festival. by Lexi Weingardt
12 Technology student association
A look at Vista’s TSA chapter and its success as the largest chapter in the state. by Conner Davis
14 Giving back
Melissa Clark’s English II Honors classes fundraise for those affected by ISIS. by Katie Pickrell and Kelsey Pharis
NEWS
16 Sports Scholarships
A number of seniors commit to smaller colleges and universities for different sports. by Max Dunevitz
18 Gay-Straight Alliance Members of GSA strive to create a safe community for all students. by Amy Huang
23 sports briefing
Statistics for the winter sports teams, including varsity men’s basketball, are given.
Cover Photo by Erica Tagliarino
20 SCIence Department Science teachers have a limited number of classrooms, with some teachers having to share. by Josh Romine
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Junior Kirsten Burr dribbles across the court in the second quarter of a game against Dakota Ridge. Photo by Gabe Rodriguez
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Jaci Walker
State champions: Senior Jaci Walker (far right) performs with the rest of the poms team at state under the hip-hop category. “It was super nerve-wracking but so exhilarating to go out there and try and win over the judges,” Walker said. “When our name was announced, I was extremely happy and so beyond grateful. I knew that the hard work we had put in had finally paid off after our rough start.” Mountain Vista was announced as the 5A state champions among the five finalists at state. The poms team will compete at the national level in Florida at the end of January.
photo by Gabe Rodriguez 4
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Photo by Kaitlin Zenoni
Photo by Emy Pye
Photo by Gabe Rodriguez
Photo by Amy Huang
Photo By Conner Davis
Griffin Shreves
Achieving goals: Senior Griffin Shreves celebrates with the rest of the MV Unit during Mountain Vista’s first men’s basketball game of the season against Loveland High School. “My favorite parts of the season so far are my handshake with [Riley Nedved] and it’s also been fun watching [Ray Beresford] throw down some nasty dunks,” Shreves said.
photo by Gabe Rodriguez
Eagle EagleEye Eye Issue IssueThree One
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graduation requirements OPINION: john bellipanni
The Douglas County Board of Education conducts its monthly meeting.
DCSD GRAD CREDIT Timeline 2008: Graduation requirements in Douglas County stand at 25.5 credits. July 2010: Douglas County’s Board of Education appoints Dr. Elizabeth Fagen as superintendent, offering her a salary of over $280,000 annually, more than any other public-school executive in Colorado.
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t makes no sense why we don’t have those requirements,” said a Mountain Vista counselor, who asked his/her name not be used for fear of retribution. As Mountain Vista seniors begin applying to colleges, some may find themselves unable to attend the university of their choice because they are missing credits not required in Douglas County. Douglas County School District’s choice in 2012 during a budget “crisis” to lower graduation requirements has sparked controversy throughout the community. This controversy has not dissipated as the district has not budged on the issue. Cory Wise, Director of 21st Century Learning and Leadership at the high school level for DCSD, said there is reasoning behind changing the requirement. “[Changing graduation requirements] is a piece that started happening over budget cuts,” he said. At the time, Wise said, the DCSD Board of Education was asking itself, “What can we still afford to do?” Wise said the board now has more than sufficient funds to raise graduation requirements, but the funds have not been used for that purpose. “Do we go back and make [changes to] a requirement or are kids exceeding it as is?” Wise asked. “That’s what we’re talking about currently, starting this year.”
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The district’s requirements are hurting the district’s competitiveness according to the counselor. “The district is not matching up with what higher level expectations are looking for,” the counselor said, refering to Colorado’s Higher Education Admission Requirement (HEAR) standards. The HEAR standards are a collection of mandatory guidelines enforced by the Colorado Department of Higher Education. They apply to all Colorado four-year, public universities. Two discrepancies currently exist between DCSD’s graduation requirements and the standards. First, HEAR requires four years of mathematics. Douglas County requires three. Second, HEAR includes one year of foreign language. Douglas County requires none. Wise said there is no need for a change. “We are ahead of things without it being required,” he said. However, the counselor said, “It freaks kids out.” “Kids will get to senior year not signed up for a math class, then they start realizing halfway through first semester the school they’ve applied to requires four years of math,” the counselor said. Wise’s take on the requirements is different. “I don’t want to say what’s best for you,” he said. “I want to create a menu of options and let you choose what your goals are. You want to be university bound? You’ll probably do it anyhow.”
February 2012: The general public learns about the district’s $66 million fund balance (about $26 million of which is cash), which Fagen claims is not a surplus in an interview with 7News. August 2012: Douglas County’s Board of Education cuts graduation requirements by 1.5 credits attributing budgetary restrictions as the cause. December 2014: DCSD’s official website cites the district’s total 20132014 budget as $696 million. Choice is not always best for students. DCSD prides itself on its individualized options, a segway for its so called “worldclass education.” Wise claims: “[In Douglas County] when you graduate, you might not go to college, but you’re college ready,” yet DCSD’s graduation requirements are directly inconsistent with this statement. The fact that the district’s graduation rate is almost 90 percent further proves its validity is skewed. Maintaining low graduation standards is contributing to the impression that DCSD is a soft, mushy district that lacks rigor. This is the last thing college- and career-bound students need. It is crucial that DCSD’s Board of Education adopt requirements that resemble the HEAR standards in order to best afford all graduates the opportunity to attend college in Colorado.
Stuff that My business is my business and your business is yours. me off Keep it that way.
ticks Tyler Kraft
Photo Illustration by Reagan Fitzke
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`believe today’s society watches too much TMZ. Everybody always wants to know what is going on in other people’s lives. Most of the time, that business does not concern the people trying to find out. The TMZ mentality is very prevalent in Highlands Ranch. It seems that everyone always knows what is going on in every single person’s life at every single moment of the day. I believe a large part of this need to know is caused by social media. It seems that there is always something going on through social media programs such as Twitter. (Ahh, Twitter, the best way to start a riot in 140 characters or less.) It seems that many times, people will join in on a so-called “Twitter war” even if it does not pertain to them or anyone close to them. They just feel like they need to make their voices heard. So, they hit the tweet icon and their opinion is sent into
the blaze of a war. Now, before I say this next part, know that I am all for the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. I am, after all, a journalist. I believe the five freedoms are the best idea that the founding fathers came up with besides telling King George II they were tired of him ignoring them and they were forming their own country. The founding fathers did not put freedom of speech in those five freedoms for people to say stupid things. When people jump into things that do not concern them, they often jump in with an uninformed argument and end up saying ignorant things. I believe a prime example is that of Ferguson, Missouri. As soon as the ruling of the trial was announced, Twitter was ablaze with comments on both sides of the case. Most of the comments came without cause. As a result, Twitter wars broke out. Arguments on both sides were made all
across the United States. Quite a few of those wars occurred in Highlands Ranch. Each side did not know all of the facts and made arguments based on personal beliefs and “facts” they chose to see based on their preconceived position They did not know the actual facts because they had no connection to the case in the first place. Even if they wanted to find out the facts on how the court case went down, they could not. The official records of the case were released a day after the wars started. They were not involved until everyone else started talking. As a result, they felt the need to jump in on something that may not concern them in the first place. The problem of jumping into things that do not concern oneself is not only confined to students. There have been incidents of adults jumping into debates on social media that do not concern them at all. The issue of others constantly trying to find out information has driven some to privatize their accounts on several social media sites. Senior Kenzie Haberkorn is one of them. Haberkorn privatized her account in the beginning of the first semester of the 2014-15 school year after being in a Twitter altercation with another student. “I privatized it because there is so much less drama when people can’t favorite and retweet your stuff,” Haberkorn said. Now that she has privatized her social media life, Haberkorn does not have to worry about who can see her posts and who can find out what she is doing. “I like knowing that only specific people can see what I put out,” she said. The fact that people feel the need to make it so only specific people can see what they post is ridiculous. No one should need to worry about if his or her posts are being judged by someone else. It is understandable that people like to be informed about things going inside the school. Sometimes people can take their information gathering too far. If there is something going on that is none of your business, stay out of it. There is a reason why celebrities hate it when TMZ comes after them.
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under the Radar science dept. GSA operation give scholarships TSA Choir
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Everyone knows the big news events that happen everyday at Mountain Vista, but sometimes the most interesting stories are the ones that aren’t typically acknowledged.
Sara Hainsey
t takes a lot to create a strong foundation. At Mountain Vista High School many people dedicate extra time contributing to the success of the school. Most of the time, these people go unnoticed — they are “under the radar.” Gratitude could be expressed by the students more often. Unfortunately, the efforts of the staff and some students tend to go unnoticed. Vista is fortunate to have food service employees who dedicate their time to provide nourishment to the student body. They don’t have to be here, however, many of them choose to be here. The security guards at Mountain Vista try their best to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students. Most of them will try to
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negotiate and help solve problems when they arise. Often times, security guards go unnoticed unless someone is in trouble, however, they are constantly keeping the school’s best interests in mind. Some teachers spend extra time at school and at their homes, grading students’ work and thinking of ways to better the education received at Vista. Most of the classrooms have decorations around the room pertaining to whatever is being taught in the class. Decorating takes extra time, energy and creativity. Having a productive and functioning classroom is one of the main foundations of an educational constitution. Students create groups and clubs at the school to add to the diversity of
the student body. Activities have been created to better the school, get students more pumped up about sports games or dedicate time to helping with a cause that is bigger than “The Bubble.” Simple interactions between friends can also make someone’s day. When walking down the hallways, a simple smile from one student can be spread throughout the school. Holding doors for people with their arms full of books, loaning money to people who can’t buy lunch (or forgot their wallet) and helping friends with their homework are all great things that often go unnoticed or under-appreciated. It’s little things like these that keep Mountain Vista’s world spinning under the radar.
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the voice( Seniors Kayla Reed and Ryan O’Connor have the opportunity to represent MVHS in All-State Choir. Lexi Weingardt | Photos by gretchen cope
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riday, Nov. 14 was the day seniors Kayla Reed and Ryan O’Connor had been waiting for. It was the day that they found out that all of their hard work and practice had paid off: the two seniors made All-State Choir. “[All-State Choir] is a festival that goes on for three days and it’s nonstop choir. You go to rehearsal for two days straight and then it finishes with a concert on Saturday evening,” O’Connor said. Reed and O’Connor will attend the festival, which is being held in Denver from Feb. 5-7. In order to audition, students must
golden singing: Senior Kayla Reed sings in choir class. “I hope to have a new experience in a different choir setting,” Reed said.
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be in 11th or 12th grade and must be a member of their school’s curricular vocal music program. Students from all over Colorado audition and then wait anxiously to see if they made the cut. The tryout tests each students full vocal abilities. “There is a set of skills you have to perform,” O’Connor said. “You have to prepare and perform a solo song and then you have to do a series of scales, triads and intervals.” Each student recorded themselves performing the skills mentioned above and submitted a video online. Once their video was submitted, each student was scored
out of 50 points for their solo performance: 10 points for tone quality, 10 points for intonation, 10 points for accuracy, 10 points for diction, and 10 points for musicality. They were also graded for sense of tonality, intervals, melodic sight reading and rhythmic sight reading for a total out of 100 points. “The hardest part was definitely the skills because even if you know what you’re doing you can still make a mistake and sometimes it is uncontrollable,” Reed said of her audition. “The easiest part is, in the most basic sense, singing!” “[If I could], I would probably change
e(s) my sight reading because I hadn’t practiced sight reading in over a year, so those were my lowest scores,” Reed said of her audition. Students will start the event Feb. 5, with final auditions at Metropolitan State University of Denver from 1:30-5 p.m. The directors will also go around and help the students improve, as well as pick up the t-shirts and hoodies for their choir group. “The directors are really cool people,” O’Connor said. “They come from different universities and they direct us and give us a taste of what college choir could be like.” After final auditions, the students jump right into preparing for the concert. “I’m very excited. I got to do it last year, too, which was exciting. It is fun to be in a place where everyone really cares about music and is passionate about what they are doing,” O’Connor said. Reed said she is extremely excited for the concert, however she also is worried about missing school. “I’m least excited to be missing school and part of HERO Week because it will be very stressful,” Reed said. However, the students will not have time to worry about school while they are at All-State Choir. The students have a day stuffed full of non-stop choir on Feb. 6. All they have are five- to ten-minute breaks between their five rehearsal sessions. “It is a really special experience and it is something different than the choir class that we go to every single day,” O’Connor said. The final night the students perform a concert at Bellco Theatre at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver. “I’m definitely excited for the final concert because I know it’s going to be a wonderful experience,” Reed said. Reed and O’Connor said they are both excited to go and are hoping to gain a lot from the experience. “Hopefully I grow as a musician,” O’Connor said. “I hope to have a new experience in a different choir setting and meet new people all over the state,” Reed said.
“It is fun to be in a place where everyone really cares about music.” –Ryan O’Connor, 12 Eagle Eye
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state’s Bigg Sophomore Alec Yagey participates in TSA at Mountain Vista, the largest chapter in Colorado. Conner Davis | Photos by Conner Davis
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he phrase “strength in numbers” rings true for Mountain Vista’s Technology Student Association (TSA) chapter. Among those numbers, sophomore Alec Yagey is working to be more than another statistic that has to leave nationals empty handed. Just like last year, Vista TSA will be participating in the state competition where every high school TSA student who qualifies will be competing for a spot in the national competition. The Mountain Vista TSA chapter is the largest in the state. “It is a good feeling. When we go to the competition it is cool to see because all of the other chapters are talking about how big we are,” TSA sponsor Kent Allison said.
Not only is Vista’s TSA chapter the largest, but it also consists of returning students who placed at the national level last year. These students are seniors Spencer Culbertson, Lucas Johnson, Anirudh Mathukumilli, Spencer Pozder, Matt Price, juniors Elizabeth Chengrian, Cassandra English, Jordan Frerichs, Aubrey Harison, Claire Liu, and sophomores Graham Carroll, Delaney Livingston, Christian Stenberg, Madison Urbana and Yagey. Yagey, who competed at state as a freshman last year, won the Carbon Dioxide Dragster and Promotional Graphics events, sending him to the national contest for both. He did not make
it to the national contest for every event though. The events he missed the mark for were Promotional Design and Rubber Band Powered Car. “I am trying to not let [going to nationals last year] change my mindset because I did walk out of last year’s national conference empty handed, so I need to come out this year and give it a great effort regardless of last year,” Yagey said. This year, Yagey said his goals are more for the chapter as a whole rather than for himself. “We were the top team at state last year and we lost so many great seniors last year it would be great to come out this year with a great work ethic and try to place in the top three at state or even first again this
speed racer: Sophomore Alec Yagey works on his carbon dioxide car design. “I am hoping it does as well as it did last year,” Yagey said.
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gest year,” he said. When it comes to competitions, Allison, who was just named the 2014-15 Apple Award winner for MVHS, said it is an advantage to have so many members. “It is an advantage, but that’s not why we are so big. We try to be a fun club that works hard and plays hard,” he said. TSA at Mountain Vista began five years ago. There were a mere 11 students, only one of which was a girl. Now, Vista’s TSA chapter has grown to 77 members and 20 girls. “I am most proud of the work that the officers did to promote and invite students in and get them involved,” Allison said. “We have a great group of alumni that stay involved and help encourage students as well.” TSA competitors prepare for the state competition by meeting Wednesday after school and participating in build challenges. The challenges are made into a competition and the winners receive a notso-glorious prize of candy. “Most of the challenges are also similar to some of the competitions [at state],” Carroll said. The first build competition was early in the school year and the object of the build was to construct the tallest freestanding tower possible consisting only of plastic straws and tape. “[These] competitions at the beginning of the year to get students in the mindset of the club. It also adds a sense of competition that always gets students excited.” Carroll said. “It also makes people get in groups that they would not normally be in so they meet new people.” The state competition begins Thursday, Feb. 19 and finishes Saturday, Feb. 21 and the national competition begins Sunday, June 28 and ends Thursday, July 2 in Dallas. At the state competition, students from all around Colorado will complete in 45 events. Only competitors who place in the top three for each event will continue on to the national competition. The national competition last year hosted nearly 7,000 competitors from the United States and also from around the world.
“All of the other chapters are talking about how big we are.” –Kent Allison, TSA sponsor Eagle Eye
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operationg Melissa Clark’s Honors English II class takes their project overseas to the Middle East to help victims of ISIS. katie Pickrell & kelsey Pharis|photos courtesy of payton theobald
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hroughout the entire school, Mountain Vista reaches outside the community in many ways. The English Department has provided a chance for the sophomores in Melissa Clark’s Honors English II class to take the responsibility of fundraising for families affected by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria throughout the Middle East. Each year, the Honors English II classes are able to conduct their own outreach project. This year, Clark’s fourth period class has come together to raise money for victims
BRacelets: Wristbands that the lead group handed out to the other students as a way to raise awareness.
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affected by the expanse of ISIS. “The point was to try and help people in need around the world and try to help people outside of the Highlands Ranch ‘bubble’ we live in now,” sophomore Payton Theobald said. Period four students took the project as far out of the ‘bubble’ as they possibly could have, taking the project’s impact across the ocean to the Middle East. ISIS, though it roots back to al Qaeda, forming about ten years ago, has been constantly in the news more recently for terrorist attacks such as mass killings,
genocide and its strict rule under sharia law. “It was really cool to use [aiding ISIS victims] as our final [because] we weren’t just striving for a grade, we were working to help people in need,” sophomore Lexi Randall said. Providing aid to victims in the Middle East was an outlet for Vista’s students to make an influential difference in the world. “I think it is really awesome because the [victims] are people who are in need of our help,” sophomore Keegan Gay said. “It was an easy way to raise money and I
ngive know that we were able to do something to help them out.” One reason the class chose to help those harmed by ISIS was because they couldn’t necessarily think of any other group of people facing a more detrimental situation. “Our class’s lead group wanted to help [the] victims of ISIS because they need all the help we can give them,” Bonifazi said. After researching multiple organizations and settling on the idea of donating time, money and effort to victims of Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria, Clark’s fourth period remained in groups to raise all of the money the students could. “We gave all of the groups freedom to go out and fund-raise how they chose to,” Theobald, a member of the class’ lead group, said. Some groups held bake sales in the school, some asked friends and family for money and the lead group gave presentations to other classes, later leaving a bucket in the class hoping students would add any change they could spare. All of the money they raised will be donated to an organization called Samaritan’s Purse, a well known, international, Christian-based charity organization that helps people in need all around the world. Samaritan’s Purse has made recent news for airlifting 90 tons of aid to refugees affected by ISIS throughout Iraq and Syria. The money raised at Vista will contribute to the same cause, giving the victims tents to live, as well as food and water. Clark said the project helped the students realize there are larger issues in the world aside from the ones in Highlands Ranch. Additionally, Clark said the project broadens students’ perspectives, allowing them to see how just a small amount of time and effort can helps hundreds of people on the opposite side of the globe. Bonifazi’s group alone raised almost $300 of the total $1,200 from the class. “I love being a part of something bigger than me,” Bonifazi said. “My group raised the second largest amount of money [for] the victims and it was an honor to be a part of something so wonderful.”
“The point was to try and help people outside the Highlands Ranch bubble.” –Payton Theobald, 10 Eagle Eye
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NCAA BOun Seniors Brady Subart, Ray Beresford and Marc Mumper will take their athletic talents to smaller colleges. Max Dunevitz | Photos by Gabe Rodriguez
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housands of students nationwide compete in high school basketball every year, including more than 40 student-athletes at Mountain Vista High School. However, two of Vista’s student-athletes, seniors Brady Subart and Ray Beresford, will continue to play basketball past their high school careers. Subart and Beresford have committed to Western State Colorado University in Gunnison. Both are attending on a partacademic, part-athletic scholarship. “The biggest thing for me going is the coach. Coach [Bradd] Schaefer, he’s a great guy,” Subart said. “I feel like I can be part of something that’s bigger than myself.”
shooting hoops: Senior Ray Beresford goes up for a layup at the Vista-Loveland game. “We came out in the second half knowing what we had to do and finished strong,” Beresford said.
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Western State’s head basketball coach began noticing Subart and Beresford last year when he attended some of their basketball games. Subart and Beresford, who have been teammates for their entire high school basketball careers, impacted each other’s decision to attend Western State. “When I first moved to Colorado, [Brady] was the first person I knew,” Beresford said. “Ever since then, we’ve had a really strong connection, and we have good chemistry on the court.” Both Subart and Beresford had reasoning behind their commitment to Western State outside of each other’s
attendance. “I really like the coach, they have a really nice campus — it’s absolutely beautiful out there — and I like the vibe of the community,” Beresford said. “With everything put together, it was the best college for me.” Subart added: “There’s a whole new change of culture and the town, so its pretty exciting.” In Mountain Vista’s home opener against Loveland High School, Beresford and Subart combined for 50 total points — 27 and 23, respectively. In addition, Subart led the team with seven assists. Beresford led the team with
und three blocks. Subart has also played catcher for Mountain Vista’s varsity baseball team. Although he will be going to Western State to pursue basketball, he still wants to keep baseball a close part of his life. “I feel like I just need to find a balance between [baseball and basketball],” Subart said. “I still love [baseball] and I always will. Even though it’s my last year of high school, I don’t want to give [baseball] up since I still have a chance to play.” Although baseball will not be Subart’s main athletic focus in college, for senior Marc Mumper, baseball will be his main focus. Mumper committed to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix on a full-athletic scholarship. “I picked GCU purely on fit and coaches, and where I felt comfortable,” Mumper said. “I definitely felt at home there, and I could definitely see myself getting better and growing up.” Ron Quintana, the Vista varsity baseball coach, also helped Mumper in his commitment to Grand Canyon. “I think Grand Canyon is a great up-and-coming program,” Quintana said. “I’m very proud of Marc and I’m excited to watch him play at GCU.” “Coach Q helped me a lot. It was just nice to talk to him,” Mumper said. “I get to talk to him every day, so it was great to get his feedback and his perspective on what he thought about the coaching staff and the school.” Although Grand Canyon now is a Division I NCAA school, its baseball program just recently switched to Division I, meaning Mumper won’t have the chance to play in the college tournament until his junior year. During his last year at Vista, Mumper said he is looking for a successful season with much growth at shortstop. “Hopefully, we repeat what we did last year and make it to the Final Four, but that will be hard,” Mumper said. “I just want to have a ton of fun and just try to get better and enjoy my senior season.”
“I feel like I can be part of something that’s bigger than myself.” –Brady Subart, 12 Eagle Eye
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new allies Gay Straight Alliance is a new club this year that was started to create awareness for LGBT+ students. Amy huang | Photos by amy huang
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fficer. Leader. Role Model. Whatever you want to call it, junior Conner Humann is all of these for the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA). Humann along with fellow juniors Kyra Fisch and Kira Amels, lead GSA in its first year. The three juniors said they decided to start up the club at Vista because, Humann said, they “just felt like the school needed some place for everyone to be safe.”
allied bonding: Juniors Conner Humann and Kira Amels talk with junior Maleah Siegfried. “When we’re just hanging out and playing games and having fun, everyone’s just happy and having fun,” Humann said.
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“We wanted to let everyone who is nervous or scared or needs help come and let the school know people like this are here and we’re just like everyone else,” he said. The club meets every Friday in sponsor Lori Schewendeman’s room, L413, from 3-4 p.m. In a happy and relaxed atmosphere during meetings, members participate in several different activities, from playing games to watching movies to
having discussions. “When we’re just hanging out and playing games and having fun. Everyone’s just happy and having fun,” Humann said. Gay Straight Alliance helps students realize that whoever you are, you are welcome. “Everyone goes through their own stuff in life and we’re kind of united,” Fisch said. “[GSA is] really drama-free and a safe space where everyone understands what
es each other is going through, so there’s no animosity there.” “[The members are] a great group of people who are very accepting and awesome and hoping to make [GSA] a very accepting place in the school,” Amels said. An ally is someone who is straight but supportive of others who are gay, transgender, bisexual or lesbian. “We have a lot of allies — about half the members are allies,” Fisch said. Allies are not only students, but also teachers. “A lot of the teachers have been coming in and showing the students that they care, too,” Fisch said. Humann said teachers have played a major role in supporting the club. “There are so many good teachers that are so welcoming and accepting,” he said. Everyone is encouraged in this club. “We’re all very welcoming and accepting no matter who they are or what they identify as,” Humann said. “We’re openminded people and we want everyone to comfortable with who they are.” The club serves as a safe haven for students. “[Members] don’t care who you are. They just want to get to know you and have fun with whatever we are doing,” Humann said. A major theme in GSA is “no judgements.” “You have to be open to meeting people, because everyone is different in their own way,” Humann said. “Never make a snap judgment. You should never judge who they are before you meet them.” Fisch added GSA is a place where members can be who they are. “No one is going to sit there and judge you,” she said. Gay Straight Alliance leaders say the club has been successful in creating awareness. Over 50 people came to the first meeting and there are usually 15-20 people who attend regularly. In the end, Humann said club members hope “to get the school aware, to just get everyone who isn’t quite okay with the club or with people like this okay. We just want acceptance and awareness.”
“We want everyone to be comfortable with who they are.” –Conner Humann, 11 Eagle Eye
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on the mo Growing student populations are causing many teachers to have to share classrooms and materials. Josh Romine | Photos by Josh Romine
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he Mountain Vista Freshman Class this year has 594 students. These growing populations have many benefits, but also present challenges for the school. One of these challenges is faced by the Mountain Vista science department. “The building was originally designed with max capacity of just under a couple thousand,” Michael Weaver, principal, said. “Since we’re 400 kids above that, theoretically, it creates an issue.” The Science Department has 15 teachers, but only 12 classrooms. “It makes it difficult because you have to move your stuff back and forth,” Jody Lanterna-
Angry birds: Science students work on dissecting a bird. “If it’s a labbased class, we try to go about it in a way where it’d be least impacted by not having to set up labs,” Principal Michael Weaver said.
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Lewis, the department chair and biology teacher, said. The administration recognizes the problem. “When we’re going master scheduling and we’re trying to figure that out, it’s the biggest thing in the Science Department because if it’s a lab-based class, we try to go about it in a way where it’d be least impacted by not having to set up labs,” Weaver said. The teachers have found a way to overcome this challenge. “We’ve kind of assigned the rooms a subject area to try to make things a little bit easier. That way all the materials are there, to try to make that less of a challenge,” biology teacher Kelly
Click, said. Each room in the department is designated for a specific course. “That way [teachers] can share equipment, they can share materials and there is less physical items to lug around from room to room,” said Rob Ceglie, an assistant principal who also oversees the Science Department. This saves time for lab set-ups and other preparation tasks, but forces teachers to change rooms between periods. With expanding student populations, the situation has proved to be a learning experience for all. “We just have to get creative with how we do scheduling, and
ove how we do switching,” Lanterna-Lewis said. “You have to figure out ways to deal with it, figure out ways to organize your time and to make sure you’re being conscious of the people that you’re sharing with.” With a clever design, traveling teachers are minimized in the department, while still working to fit the master schedule. “[Department Chair Lanterna-Lewis] tried to keep things pretty even,” Click said. There are some advantages to traveling as well. “The social aspect [is an advantage]. You see what other people are doing and you get ideas,” LanternaLewis said. She explained how, otherwise, a teacher might stay in one classroom all day without any interaction with other teachers. However, with graduating class sizes on the rise, the problem could worsen in the future. “At least we’re all teaching in science-prepared classrooms. If we have to add in more teachers, we could end up having to teach science classes that are not in a science room,” Click said. “We’re probably talking about temps, and larger classes and solutions like that,” Ceglie said, in regards to expanding populations in the future. “The reality is, we are squeezed in as it is right now. This year the science schedule was one that was very, very hard to make,” he said. “We’re in about a five- or six-year growth period,” Weaver said, “and then it starts to run a natural cycle of diminishing. One of the things they do when they’re looking at building capacity and longrange planning, they don’t necessarily want to add a wing onto the building for five years that takes a year to build and costs you millions of dollars, and then all of sudden when it’s done, [enrollment declines],” Weaver said. The Science Department continues to that excel despite the setbacks, LanternaLewis said. “[We are doing well by] being flexible and realizing even when it’s not an ideal situation, it’s the best we can do with what we have and you just have to make the best of it,” she said.
“You can’t just throw some of those things on a cart and move down the hall to the open room.” –Michael Weaver, principal Eagle Eye
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Cate Lewis
State Runner-ups: Senior Cate Lewis is thrown into the air during the 5A state competition for co-ed cheer. Lewis said she was proud of what her and her team accomplished. “I was so incredibly proud of how we did,” Lewis said. “It was probably the best routine we have ever done.” This season the varsity squad took home the co-ed league title and JV placed in the top five. “This season we really focused on consistency and pushing ourselves,” Lewis said.
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Wrestling
Photo by Taylor Zakhem
The Mountain Vista varsity wrestling team is just getting into its season and started off 0-1 in league. The team only has four seniors competing on varsity. The remaining 14 spots are filled with younger talent. Their next competition is tomorrow at Central-Grand Junction.
Swim & Dive The Mountain Vista women’s varsity swim and dive team has started off its season 1-1. The team lost its first meet to Rock Canyon High School, but came back strongly in its next meet to beat Legend High School. The team’s next meet is today at Cheyenne Mountain High School at 3:45 p.m.
Women’s Basketball The Mountain Vista women’s basketball team is off to a rough 1-3 start at the beginning of its season. The team recently traveled to the Bahamas to play in a showcase tournament. The team returned Dec. 14 after placing second overall.
Sophomore Isaac Phillips takes a free throw in a game against Dakota Ridge.
Get Buckets The Mountain Vista varsity men’s varsity basketball team hopes to make its third straight Final Four apperance. The Mountain Vista High School men’s varsity basketball team entered the season surrounded by hype. After traveling to the Final Four in the past two seasons, the team is expected to live up to the high standards set by those past two teams. After the first three weeks, the team is looking as strong as ever. The team battled its way to the championship of its own Tip-Off Tournament. In game one, the team demolished Loveland High School, 82-62, and then continued to roll over Arapahoe High School, 73-48. In the championship game, Vista finished the first half leading Rock Canyon High School, 32-30. RCHS then came storming back in the fourth quarter, outscoring Vista, 20-
16, to win the game, 64-61. Vista was quick to shake off the loss and in its next preseason tournament came back to beat Kennedy High School ,95-45, Air Academy High School, 79-73, and Green Mountain High School, 83-62. In terms of individual statistics, senior Ray Beresford leads the team in scoring with 17.8 points per game. His best game came in Vista’s first game of the season where he scored 27 points against Loveland. Senior Brady Subart is second on the team in points per game with 15.3 and is the team leader in assists per game with 5.8. As the season continues, expectations continue to be high. So far, the results have been met. Tonight MVHS plays Lakewood.
With Junior Varsity Ice Hockey Player Timmy Starr What are you most excited about for this upcoming season? TS: I’m excited to get to know the boys and to really create a team bond. Our goal this year is to bond and I think if we do that, we can go really far in playoffs this year. How far do you think you guys can make it this year?
TS: I think if we really play together we can make it far. The first step is obviously to make it into the playoffs and then I think we can make it to the state championship. Who do you think is your biggest competition? TS: Our biggest competetion is probably going to be Monarch. Regis is always a good
battle, but I think we know how to beat them this year. What do you wish to accomplish this year as a junior on the team? TS: I want to work my way up to the first line because I am a first-year player and I really have to prove myself. Who are you most excited to play with and see play this season?
TS: I’m excited to play with my former teammates Charlie Friedman, Kaden Stewart and Wyatt Williams and play with friends Tanner Gillis, Levi Drake and Bryan Hancock. GAME NOTE: The Golden Eagles play their first game of the season tonight against Lewis-Palmer High School at South Suburban at 7:45 p.m.
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you are halfway Done with the 2014-2015 school year. Do you remember what happened the first day of school? We’ve got you covered.
Today is the last day to buy a yearbook for $69
You can purchase a yearbook for $79 from jan. 5-31, 2015
Go to www.vistanow.org/aerie-yearbook to purchase your book!