Eagle Eye Issue 4, Feb. 2014

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EAGLE EYE

VOLUME 13 // ISSUE 4 // FEB. 21, 2014 reflects on her experience being a student for a day.

BEFORE WE BEGIN 4 // Epic Photo

16 // Staff Editorial

Carson Simon makes a layup and Tori Tongen performs in a band concert.

Are classes focusing too much on testing and not enough on learning?

NEWS

SPORTS

6 // Marijuana

An investigation into the changes in student access to marijuana since legalization.

8 // Privacy

Administrators, state lawmakers take steps to protect students’ privacy.

10 // Briefing

News updates from around MVHS and Douglas County.

OPINION

12 // Commentary

How could the American education system be improved?

13 // Stuff That Ticks Me Off Copy editor Tyler Kraft shares his frustration with students comparing grades.

14 // A Day in the Life

English teacher Staci Stech

41 // Super Bowl Members of the Sophomore Class donate money for Make-A-Wish during the “miracle minute” at the H.E.R.O. Week assembly Feb. 7, 2014. Photograph by Gabe Rodriguez

42 // Briefing

THEME 18 Art

Senior Irania Carrazco uses art inside and outside of school to escape. by Shelby Crumley and Karin Wyks

20 Business & Technology

Marketing III students combine suicide awareness with entrepreneurship. by Whitney Merrill

22 English

30 Physical Education

PE classes are being cut across the country. How long will they remain at Vista? by Tyler Kraft

32 Science

Sophomore Sam Allen applies his passion to MVHS’ Science Olympiad. by Conner Davis

34 Social Studies

Sophomore classes raise awareness and money for causes around the world. by Reagan Fitzke and Joseph Ginn

Senior Alia Reza has taken advantage of MVHS’ many social studies opportunities. by Kaitlin Zenoni

24 Family & Consumer Science

36 Theatre

Senior Taylor Phillips plans to continue FCS beyond high school.

by Mackenzie Govett and Peyton Reeves

26 Mathematics

Students explain the various reasons they like and dislike math. by Amy Huang and Sydney Ostdiek

28 Music

Senior and freshman musicians compare band experiences. by Lexi Weingardt

Mountain Vista students react to the Broncos’ Super Bowl loss.

Sophomore Cheyenne Walker shares her journey as an actor, singer and dancer. by Amani Brown and Tori Soper

38 World Languages

French III students celebrate a traditional holiday by eating cake. by Lauren Borchardt and Tara O Gorman

An update of MVHS winter sports and events.

43 // H.E.R.O. Week Recap

We asked MVHS students to share their week with us via Instagram — this is the result.

EAGLE INK

44 // Literary Magazine

A preview of VISTAj’s student art supplement.

BEFORE WE END

47 // One Question, Five Answers What academic area are schools missing?


Kaitlin Zenoni

EP!C PHOTO THE MAKING OF A LEGEND Senior Carson Simon makes a layup at the game against Ponderosa High School Feb. 4. “Basketball comes naturally to me and I have been playing for a couple of years now,” Simon said. “All of my brothers play, and I want to follow in their footsteps, but I want to make my own legacy here at Mountain Vista as well.”

Photograph by Gabe Rodriguez // Eagle Eye Issue 418 // Eagle Eye // I//ssue 2 2

Gabe Rodriguez

Taylor Blatchford


EP!C PHOTO STORY TO THE MUSIC

Sophomore Tori Tongen plays the flute at an orchestra concert while seated in first chair. “I have been playing the flute for four years,” Tongen said. “I absolutely love the way the flute sounds. It is just so calming and soothing. I practice every day and I have worked so hard that this year I became first-chair flute.”

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Colorado Green Rush

AJ STOWELL WES EDWARDS

Recreational laws show limited impact on adolescent users Editors’ Note: The Eagle Eye has granted two Mountain Vista High School students anonymity as sources for the following article because both smoke marijuana illegally. One, referred to as “John,” uses a medical card to procure marijuana for his friends and himself, and the other, “Lawrence,” used to sell marijuana to his friends.

With the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado, legitimate recreational dispensaries are popping up across the state, making the substance accessible to anyone over the age of 21. With the new legislation, VISTAj wanted to investigate the question: How will the recreational laws affect the presence of marijuana in high school? According to John, a Mountain Vista student who obtains marijuana for recreational use and resale through medical dispensaries, the answer is “it won’t for a while.” Better known as Amendment 64, the Colorado Marijuana Legalization Initiative was adopted as part of the November 2012 ballot. Laws in accordance with Amendment 64 took full effect beginning Jan. 1, 2014, legalizing the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for recreational purchases for Colorado residents over the age of 21. Before the Colorado legalization law came into effect, adolescent buyers had three major avenues which to purchase marijuana from: growers, deal-

Q&A with Officer Vance Fleet

Q: How will access to marijuana change with the new law? A: It’s going to be giving tremendous access...I think it’s just going to enhance accessibility and [make marijuana] much, much easier to get when it’s legalized for those that are 21 or over. We’ve already seen an increase. Q: How will law enforcement change as a result of the change? A: I don’t think we have anything in place. We’re going to operate just like we’ve always operated because the juveniles that we deal with — it’s still illegal. Nothing’s really changed, other than the fact that we’re going to have to do probably more drug offenses than we have before because kids are going to have greater access. And typically when we have easier access, your levels of criminal activity rise in that arena. I anticipate we’re probably going to get more of that…Nothing has really changed for the juvenile at all. Q: How will the role of parents change? A: There’s a lot of parents out there today that have parties and stuff that there’s alcohol there. If the parents have [marijuana], then the chances of the kids engaging in that activity is greatly increased. That’s just common sense. Q: Will drug use and possession in school become a higher priority now? A: Drugs are a huge concern in all schools in Douglas County. I would say all middle schools and high schools have dealt with it to some extent. Is it a concern? Yeah, it’s a huge concern. That’s why the school principals will have random drug sniffs and bring Douglas County K-9 unit in and sniffs and they do those randomly so it’s something they are concerned with. Obviously you don’t want to be high or under the influence while you’re at school. That’s not the environment for that. So, any type of that activity that’s going on in the school, administration and law enforcement will jump on that. It’s always been a huge concern and will continue to be, I think.

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ers and medical dispensaries through use of a medicinal marijuana license or med card. “[Dealing] is very friendly and quaint to do,” Lawrence, a Mountain Vista student who recreationally consumed and sold marijuana, said. “I think that when people hear the idea of a drug deal it seems very stereotypical to be in a dark alley, trying to be super discreet and everything like that.” The selling of marijuana has not fit this stereotype for many years, according to Lawrence, and can be purchased from a variety of sources. The Colorado Marijuana Legalization Initiative has had no effect on it thus far, Lawrence said. “[The sources of marijuana are] a little bit of both [growers and medicinal]. With marijuana, a lot of people can just go into the [medicinal] dispensary and that’s how their get their marijuana to sell. But there are also a lot of people that grow at their house,” Lawrence said. “It depends on who you go through.” With recreational facilities now selling to individuals 21 and over, there is the possibility of adolescents purchasing marijuana from those who are legally allow to possess marijuana. John said prices are just too high at the recreational facility level. “Since it just started and taxes are so expensive, you really can’t make a

Price per ounce $350

Data based on VISTAj research

$280

$210

$140 Street

Medicinal Dispensary

Recreational Dispensary

Price per gram

$35

$25

$15

$5 Street

Medicinal Dispensary

Recreational Dispensary


profit off on it,” John said. Aside from recreational growers and dealers, another major source of marijuana for people under 21 comes from medicinal dispensaries via med card usage. Obtaining a medical marijuana license, or med card, requires parental permission for minors and a doctor’s note documenting a legitimate medical ailment. “You basically need to have a connection,” John said. “You have to have a friend that knows [the dealer] and then goes with you to meet him. Or you can have a friend with a med card and you just go with him. That is basically how most everyone at Vista seems to get it, from either a street dealer or a friend.” These sources and dealers, John said, predominantly get their supply from medical facilities. “Right now most people are going to get their med cards, since it’s cheaper and the weed is way better,” John said. The price gap between recreational facilities and medical facilities is significant. Medicinal prices for a gram range from $5 to $10, whereas recreational dispensaries sell for several times that amount. According to Lawrence, the recreational laws might not even affect younger adolescents, a belief that contradicts many sources who actively oppose the new Colorado state law. “Obviously, I think [use] will increase,” Lawrence said, “ but I don’t think that it will increase in younger ages because it’s just like cigarettes

being legal, you actually have to have the license to show you’re 21.” Lawrence began using marijuana during seventh grade and expanded from just using marijuana to also selling to a small group of friends and acquaintances. “It kind of became such a normal thing, always being around it, that it’s never seemed like a big deal,” Lawrence said. “So if someone comes up to me and says ‘Hey. I need two grams or I need $20 worth,’ you just call somebody [and] get it to them. It never seemed out of ordinary or anything like that.” Lawrence said teens’ access to marijuana post-Amendment 64 will not increase, simply because it was already extremely easy for teens to get their hands on the illegal substance. However, according to Mountain Vista Resource Officer Vance Fleet, Mountain Vista has already seen an increase in the presence of marijuana at the school level. Officer Fleet said he has several concerns about the legal marijuana: parents could potentially buy marijuana for teens, marijuana could be legally present in houses and then wrongfully used by teens and since possession is legal, it is much harder to investigate possession. Officer Fleet said there is no change for juveniles in terms of the law and that despite these new challenges, the police and school administration will “keep doing what we’ve always been doing, because it’s still illegal for juveniles.”

Photo Illustration by Logan Clark and Wes Edwards

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Student Data and Privacy

Administrators, state lawmakers take steps to protect students’ privacy

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DYLAN INGRAM // AJ STOWELL very text message, email, online post and even standardized test score is a traceable piece of data. As virtual communications and recordings continue growing in importance, school-level and district-level administration have developed new procedures for dealing with students’ public and private data. Mountain Vista High School Principal Michael Weaver said the school very rarely looks into the data transmissions students make. “I purposely do not follow [any student] on [social networks],” Weaver said. Weaver also said that although every student has been assigned a Gmail account through the school district, the school does not look into the emails sent from the district-curated accounts. “I would not know how to check and see any content on those, unless it was a direct email sent to me and we could check the thread,” Weaver said. However, Weaver said safety and security issues would prompt an investigation into students’ data.

Previously, Vista administration was encouraged to read students’ text messages if a student offered them as evidence of a dangerous situation. However, over the past few years legal restrictions on students’ privacy have become stricter. “Even if someone says, ‘Hey, I’ve got a bunch of messages sent to me that are inappropriate and mean or someone sent an inappropriate picture to me,’ we don’t in these offices have a right to look at those,” Weaver said. “We take them right down to [School Resource Officer Vance] Fleet, and he takes it from the legal side, from the sheriff ’s department.” According to Officer Fleet, criminal charges rarely result from such information. “A lot of times, I’ll read pages worth of Facebook stuff to see if there is something that rises to the level of criminal harassment and a lot of times, it doesn’t,” he said. As a result, Officer Fleet said investigations into students’ personal data transmissions often require him to focus on prevention and mediation. “We get into it not on a criminal level, but a lot

of times we’re proactive as far as preventing that situation escalating into something worse,” Deputy Fleet said. “I have no problem being a mediator going in between two students that are having some difficulties and maybe having a big sit-down.” Officer Fleet also said he conducts no regular investigations into students’ data transmissions. Instead, school security relies on students to submit anonymous tips through the Text-A-Tip and Safe2Tell programs. “It’s really up to the students to step up to the plate and [make reports],” Officer Fleet said. “I will look into that and do an investigation and find out what’s going on.” In addition to investigating personal data transmissions for security reasons, schools and school districts have recently begun to collect data about students and their performance in school.

Recent Board of Education

DCSD found in violation of Fair Campaign Practices Act

Administrative Law Judge Hollyce Farrell found on Dec. 24 that Douglas County School District violated the Fair Campaign Practices Act by paying for a report before the Nov. 5 Board of Education election. Julie Keim, who lost in the election to Judith Reynolds, filed a complaint against the district Oct. 30. The complaint primarily alleged the district had paid for and distributed the American Enterprise Institute’s report “The most interesting school district in America? Douglas County’s pursuit of suburban reform.” Keim believes the report encouraged voters to elect the “reform” candidates: Doug Benevento, Jim Geddes, Judith Reynolds and Meghann Silverthorn. The district hired a private attorney, who was paid with taxpayer money. The court found the report influenced the outcome of the election, violating the Fair Campaign Practices Act. No fine or other punishment was included in the ruling. Keim’s complaint also included several other allegations of what Keim called “bad behavior” by DCSD. The court did not find these allegations to be violations of any law. The Douglas County School District appealed the ruling Feb. 13.

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Photo by Wes Edwards


Photo Illustration by Gabe Rodriguez

In an interview with the Eagle Eye, State Representative Carole Murray, a member of the House Education Committee, described the current state of education as a “new data aggregation age.” “It’s valuable to collect performance data of students, but we just need to be sure that we manage it in a way that doesn’t abridge the student’s privacy,” Murray, a Republican, said. Murray has been conducting research in order to write a law regulating the student data collected regularly by the state and school districts. “We just want to be sure that the data is not shared with inappropriate persons,” Murray said. “So much of what they’re already doing is fine, but we want to get it in the law just to make it very clear because obviously data is becoming more and more important, particularly as it is applied to teacher performance and teacher evaluations.”

News

Board of Education’s resolution addresses “over-testing”

PhotobybyWes WesEdwards Edwards Photo

Board of Education seeks to fill vacated seat

Douglas County School District Board of Education Director Justin Williams resigned from his office Jan. 6. Williams represented Director District F, which includes the Parker area. “I have served on the board for over six years and have really enjoyed being a part of such a wonderful school district with excellent people,” Williams said in a Jan. 6 press release. Williams said he resigned to fulfill his New Year’s resolution of spending more time with his family. “It is time to spend my time focusing on my primary role as a husband and father to my five children,” Williams said. The Board of Education formally accepted Williams’ resignation letter at its Jan. 20 meeting. Adult residents of Director District F can apply to fill Williams’ position by filling out the nomination form on the Douglas County School District website. The deadline to submit a nomination form is Feb. 21. The term will expire November 2015.

Photo by Wes Edwards

The Board of Education passed a resolution to oppose state and federal testing requirements “well below the standards” of the Douglas County School District at its Jan. 21 meeting. “Douglas County School District’s standards as reflected in the District’s [Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum] are more rigorous, more demanding, more thorough, and reflect higher expectations and aspirations for our students than any national standard now in existence, including the Common Core Standards which PARCC [Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers] is designed to measure,” the resolution reads. Director Craig Richardson also suggested the district may be “overtesting” its students with state and federal tests. Although the board has not decreased the testing load on Douglas County students, the resolution expressed an intention to do so. The Board of Education also raised the possibility of allowing parents to opt their children out of testing without a negative impact on the district’s performance on state and federal standards.

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Five Things Going on at Mountain Vista

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Registration deadlines are approaching for the 2014-2015 school year. Current freshmen’s forms are due Monday, Feb. 24. Current eighth graders’ forms are due Friday, Feb. 28. Current juniors’ and sophomores’ forms were due Tuesday, Feb. 18. Check with the counseling office with questions. Mountain Vista won the School With the Most Heart competition, a contest between all the Douglas County high schools to collect toiletries and hygienics. The toiletries will be delivered to homeless shelters for distribution. Mountain Vista won the competition two years ago and ThunderRidge won last year. Mountain Vista students raised over $17,000 to support MakeA-Wish Colorado over H.E.R.O. Week. Students donated money during an assembly and other events throughout the week. Seniors should check the community service list outside the counseling office to see if their name is on it. Students cannot graduate if they do not have 20 hours turned in to the counseling office. AP Exam registration forms, available from your AP teacher, are due by 3 p.m. March 10 to Mrs. McLendon in the main office.

Photo by Mark Maggs

ABOVE: “Wish Kid” Dakota walks into the H.E.R.O. Week assembly Feb. 7. BELOW: Mountain Vista juniors donate money to Make-A-Wish during the “miracle minute” at the assembly.

Social Media

@vista_now /vistanow @vistanow facesofvista

Photo by Gabe Rodriguez

OBITUARY // Mountain Vista sophomore Robert Klamo, 15, took his own life Jan. 31, 2014. According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s office, an argument between Klamo and his mother, Tatiana Klamo, ended in a murder-suicide. Counselor Michael Monnet said that Klamo loved music, enjoyed playing the guitar and creating his own instruments. Monnet said he was a top academic student and also loved spending time outdoors. Klamo is survived by two older sisters Sonia, a Mountain Vista senior, and Julia and an older brother, Michael. A private memorial service was held for family and friends.

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For additional resources on grief and loss, students should speak to their academic counselor or visit www.dcsdk12.org/grief-and-loss-resources.


NO W Stay up to date with all the freshest news from the MountainVistacommunity with VISTAj’s new app, Vista Now. • Watch the biggest events of the year • View recent posts straight from the staff • Keep up with our social media, whichhasallthelatestbreaking news

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United States Education Deserves a C-

Our education system has potential, but it needs to change.

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or years now, it has been apparent that the United States education system is lagging, especially when compared to the rest of the developed world. According to the Programme for International Student Assessment, U.S. 15-year-olds rank 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math, among other developed nations. In spite of this, the U.S. spends more money per student than any other country on the planet: roughly $15,171 for the average high school teen a year. With all of the money we spend, it is ludicrous that the U.S. falls so far behind the rest of the industrialized world. It is clear that the U.S. education system needs to change. Government officials have developed various solutions that have not been able to solve the problem. In 2009, President Barack Obama created the “Race to the Top” program, designed to implement higher standards and better assessments in schools. However, the program has failed to improve education due to the narrow policy agenda and short time frame, preventing school districts from improving teacher quality. Due to this and other failures, some have concluded that the U.S. education system cannot be successfully reformed. However, this goal is in fact quite achievable. All the U.S. needs to do is copy the strategy its founding fathers used when writing the Constitution: steal the best ideas from Europe. Many European schools consistently outrank U.S. schools in almost every way. Switzerland and United Kingdom students outperform U.S. students in math and science, and Switzerland also beats us in reading. But the shining example of education in Europe that the U.S. should be taking notes from is Finland. Not only is Finland’s education system consistently ranked higher than any other country in Europe, its style of education is one that the U.S. could conceivably adapt to and benefit from, as opposed to systems in high ranking Asian countries such as China. But what is it about Finland’s schools that make them so great, and why should the U.S. want to become more like it? The answer varies, starting simply with what Finland is trying to achieve within its schools. In the U.S., schools are mainly focused on trying to improve test scores. The “Race to the Top” program tried to improve test scores, without actually educating the students. Schools in the U.S. often focus more on standardized tests and memorizing facts, instead of encouraging critical thinking of the material they are learning.

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VS.

Finland

This isn’t the case in Finland. Schools in Finland have very little testing, and very little homework for that matter. In an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, Finnish school principal and former teacher Kari Louhivuori said, “It’s nonsense. We know much more about the children than these tests can tell us.” Teachers are also not given nearly as many regulations as to how they teach. They have guidelines on what to teach, but what they consider to be the most effective way to implement their material onto their students is determined by them. By doing this, subjects that are completely different, like English and science, don’t have to be taught inside an ineffective filter that hinders the abilities of the teachers. With this ideology, teachers across the country would be able to perform far better than they do now. The teachers at Mountain Vista, for example, who are some of the most knowledgeable, dedicated and caring teachers in the country, would not be forced to try and instruct their kids within the confides of an incompetent district that continually pushes them away. The teachers of Vista, and teachers across the country, would better be able to help guide future generations with critical thinking and compassion, as opposed to the simple minded, tediousness of the current regime. But repetition and memorization aren’t the only problems that the U.S. has that Finland doesn’t. Another major problem in US education is the overly competitive environment. Students severely suffer in school because the focus is placed on doing better than your classmates

FRANCESCO VIOLA III instead of understanding and analyzing the material. In Finland, this problem is nonexistent because schools don’t put kids against each other in such a way. All kids are placed into the same curriculum, there are no gifted classes and there aren’t even any grades until high school. Even then teacher aids are hired by the school to assist struggling students. If these ideals were placed onto Vista, many of the problems that the students face, such as feelings of anxiety and overloads of homework could be easily taken care of. There would be less anxiety due to a lack of peer pressure and homework would be practically nonexistent. Despite all of this, the core reason that Finnish schools are superior to U.S. schools is a difference in ideology. In the U.S., schools are designed to get students to fit into the same generic mold. Teens are forced to learn a basic set of skills that might help them achieve basic jobs that they may not even want, but if teens want to take classes that apply to their interests, like business for example, they are forced to get P.E. and science credits even if those people have no use for them. In high school, a time where teens are about to go out into the world on their own, putting teens into a universal template will turn them into drones more than anything else. In Finland, schools are designed to get students prepared for life. Preschools, for example, focus on the development of social skills. Students also have more choice, being able to choose between academic and vocational tracks during their last 3 years of high school. Above all else, the most telling reason why a Finnish style of education should become wide spread is because in the areas where its style has been adopted, it has worked wonderfully. At MVHS for example, the award winning Stage Flight Theater Company isn’t successful because its directors, Jeremy Goldson and Michael Wright, force their casts to produce a show with a totalitarian authority. Instead, they allow their thespians to come up with their own ideas and try new things while still supervising everything that happens and provide instruction when applicable. Given all of the money the U.S. invests in education, the U.S. can become as great as Finland. All it needs to do is reallocate its resources and determine a new ideology on how to handle education: an ideology that hopefully won’t be multiple choice.


Stuff That

TICKS Me Off

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ot everyone cares about sports. Not everyone cares about politics. Not everyone cares about Justin Bieber and his newest screwup. However, almost everyone cares about grades. Caring about grades is not a bad thing, it is a good thing. Everyone should strive to do the best that he or she can in everything that he or she does. The problem starts when a person is more invested in classmates’ test scores than his or her own. It all starts with the words, “What did you get?” The responder is then forced to become one of two things. If he or she does not respond or respond with a low test score, the questioner will then chastise him or her. If he or she responds with a high test score, he or she will be labeled a nerd and made fun of. It is a lose-lose situation. Labels are placed and students are forced to live with them. So, by the power invested in me as a columnist, I set out to find out why people care so much about other peoples grades. I first went to talk to Principal Michael Weaver. Weaver believes that students care about others’ grades because school is thought of as

When grades are more competitive than the Super Bowl, there is a problem TYLER KRAFT

Photo Illustrations by Gabe Rodriguez

a competition. “I absolutely think grades are competitive,” Weaver said, “kids feel the need to be better than everyone else.” I then realized that the question was a form of keeping score in the game of school. “I think especially in this community and this building, kids have learned how to play the game,” Weaver said. The way I see it, the game should be played like solitaire. Only the player knows the situation that he or she is in, and what he or she should do. The way grades are portrayed at Vista is similar to the World Series of Poker. The player thinks he or she knows what to do but so does every person sitting at home watching the event. Every move is scrutinized and nothing is private even if the player puts on a poker face. I then went to find out what a competitor in the game that is known as “school.” The competitor that I found was junior Scott Roberts.

When asked if school was a competition, Roberts said, “Grades are competitive because you are competing to get into a certain college with other applicants.” Roberts’ answer revealed the final result of grades. College. “When you talk to kids about the stressors in the environment, it has to do with success and keeping grades up,” Weaver said when referring to the mindsets of students about college. “In their mind, getting a B will mess things up.” As in every game, there are also fans that apply pressure on the players. In the case of the school, the fans are the district administrators. There is a reason that every junior must take the ACT provided by Mountain Vista. It is not so that the kids can get into college, otherwise the writing portion, which is required by many colleges, would be provided. No, the ACT is forced upon every student so that the district can brag about it when the scores rise. At a recent Board of Education meeting, Dan McMinimee provided a graph that showed the ACT scores over the past four years. The graph showed an improvement of 0.4 points. I then did a little research of my own into the ACT scores of Cherry Creek School District. Their scores have increased 0.8 points in the past four years. No team wants to be a loser. The fans do not want a losing team either. So like all fans when their team is not leading the pack, the Board will increase the pressure on the players to perform better. All of this translates back to the question “What did you get?” It is not just the students who want to know. It is the colleges, the administrators and the community. There are many stressors in the daily life of a teenager. Being harassed about grades does not need to be one of them. Grades do not affect anyone besides the person who earns them. So instead of worrying about, “What did you get?”, the real question should be “What did I get?”

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A Day in the Life of a Student: Stech’s Response STACI STECH

On Jan. 31, 2014 Mountain Vista got a new student. Just one. Just for one day. Me! Taylor Atlas and Taylor Blatchford, seniors, offered me a fabulous opportunity to take part in a “crazy idea” to have me attend classes with Atlas for an eight-period day. Without too much thought on the subject, I said “Yes!” and was on my way to one of the most fun days I have ever had at Vista. Just so you don’t think I got off too easy, Atlas rounded up some textbooks for me, and went over my homework assignments for AP Statistics, Physics, and AP U.S. Government. (I knew the homework for AP Literature.) I had a copy of my schedule, and was to report to first hour. Like every kid around, the night before I watched the snow because I thought, “Hey, if we have a snow day, I don’t have to open that math book!” But open it I did, and nearly cried over what was inside! I don’t much understand AP Stats. I bumbled through the homework, which was funny because I had no idea what I was doing. This would later be repeated in AP Stats class with a test. A TEST! (They are a cruel bunch over there….But I got a C- for effort!). I carried a backpack through the halls with basically everything I own crammed inside. By the end of the day, it was not as neatly organized as in the morning. I have a greater appreciation now both for the students whose backpacks are

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as organized now as they were in August, and for those whose backpacks look like a bedroom floor that hasn’t been picked up in five years. I had fun in every class we went to. I learned about Chernobyl, modernist poetry and art, the State of the Union Address and how funny AP Stats kids are (I can’t say I learned anything about content there...it just was not possible!). I was a student aide and graded some quizzes (I was excellent at that!), and I had two classes with the VISTAj and Eagle Eye crew. Those classes stood out as the most fun because I was given the opportunity to do an interview, take pictures with a great camera and make a post on the very cool Faces of Vista blog. I was able to see how amazing the work is that the journalism students do; they are so professional (with the exception of the occasional prank on unsuspecting students for the day) and have a true vision for the type of communication they want to have with the Vista student body. When the end of the day came, I was tired

(no matter if you are a student or a teacher, those eight-period days wear you out!) but really sorry the day was over. The Taylors and the VISTAj team gave me such a wonderful opportunity to see our school through another perspective. Atlas has asked me in several interviews what this would change in my teaching. It’s more than a single day (“I will change this lesson plan”), but rather an appreciation that will have longer range. I have a better understanding of how much students have in a day; content is wide-ranging, and especially when you change from one class to another on an eight-period day, there is no time to organized your brain for what is coming next. I saw a tiny glimpse into the amount of homework some kids have to do. I got to see some of how important social media is throughout the school day as I was the subject of a Twitter feed for the first time ever. The day was a confirmation of what I already knew—that Vista students are intelligent, kind, welcoming, funny and interesting.


1. English teacher Staci Stech’s attempt at AP statistics homwork prior to her day as a student. 2. Stech listens to physics teacher Quinton Calvert while preparing to write an essay on Chernobyl. 3. Stech survived to the afternoon and AP literature and composition, the class which she normally teachers. “I actually knew what I was doing in there!” Stech said. 4. Stech is frustrated while trying to take what was a make-up statistics test, which she got a C minus on for effort. “I have gained so much respect for the students who are actually able to do this,” Stech said. Photos by Taylor Atlas

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3 So, in the end, I am left with thanking everyone who helped make this happen. The Taylors for coming up with the “crazy idea,” Mark Newton and Michael Weaver for backing it up, all of Atlas’s teachers for welcoming me into their classes, all of the students we worked with, all of the VISTAj editors and especially to Atlas herself for helping the “new student” throughout the day. Well, at 2:50 p.m. my student day ended. Staci, the student, was replaced by Ms. Stech, the teacher. But I can tell you, my day as a Vista student will impact me for much more than just one day. I loved every second of being able to experience our school from a different perspective. Because of this experience, I do look on each day at school differently than I did before. But I still don’t understand AP Stats.

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GRADES have GOT to GO

T

he room is quiet, aside from the occasional tapping of pencil on desk, the nervous clicking of a pen or someone sniffling. There is a gloomy feel in the air as students sit in perfect rows of desks, hoping and praying the test they are taking at this moment will land on their fridge at home, marked with a fat, red “A” and a smiley face. Then they walk up to the teacher’s desk and turn it in. As they leave the room, all of the studying, all of the learning they had retained from that unit, that chapter, escapes them. None of what students learn is being remembered. Books read in English are forgotten in mere minutes following the conclusive essay. Calculus concepts are learned only for the test and then left behind. Science labs are being performed by going through the motions for completion, not to actually learn anything. Students forget information quickly because of the pressure of grades, success and the overarching fear of failure. Students cram the night before a test simply because they need an A. This system does not encourage students to care about the applications of learning. Their only focus is that otherwise meaningless mark on a piece of paper, the permanent final grade and the eventual GPA and class rank that apparently mean so much. School should be preparing students to succeed in the world through critical thinking, application and understanding of the important concepts being taught. The unrealistic administration of grades is overshadowing this true purpose of school: learning. There are no grades outside of school. Yes, there are ways of measuring achievement, but it is not as simplistic as getting something wrong and failing the entire test. That is not how it works, so why are students being taught for over 12 years that it is? The worst part about this is that students are learning the bad habit of cheating simply to succeed. Instead of trying to learn the content, the pressure is too much, leading students to find ways to get around the system and feign success. Whether it is copying off of a neighbor, finding out the answers prior to a test or using cell phones or other technology, students all around are more and more often looking at cheating as a way out of thinking, a shortcut to an A. And that is not OK. School needs to be teaching students to

16 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4

think for themselves, not use someone else’s thoughts to look good. School needs to be teaching kids to follow through with things, no matter the challenge, not take the shortcuts to success. School needs to prepare teens for the real world and give them a glimpse at what to expect. Even if a student is not constantly pushing for that A, or a 100 percent on the next test, they too should find the value in learning for the sake of learning. All students, from the A+ students to the ones who are happy with passing a class they find especially difficult, need to put much less weight on the grades they receive, and focus instead on their mastery of the content presented and tasked to them to learn. Teachers need to realize that grades, although they may seem like it sometimes, are not the end all, be all. Colleges need to understand the enormous pressures students are under and should judge applicants more off of accomplishments rather than mere academic merit. And parents must stop rewarding their kids for straight A’s and instead treat them to ice cream because they successfully learned how to factor. In order to do that, it needs to be taught and understood by students that knowledge and learning are what are important. It needs to be encouraged that success is not easy to come by, and cheating will not grant that success once school is over. The knowledge students are supposed to be learning and retaining in their first 13 years of school is what is going to be used for success later in life. The pressure of success needs to be lowered for students in order for them to receive the full benefit of a pre-college education and for students to find a true passion for knowledge and learning. And, it needs to happen fast. Grades need to be thrown in the trash, or at least completely rethought. Replace grades with written evaluations from teachers or something more meaningful than a letter on a piece of paper, later to be calculated into an average. Allow tests and quizzes to be taken with a partner, because it takes the pressure of the grade off and allows students to collaborate and truly learn what they are supposed to. There needs to be a general confidence in students that without grades, they will strive to truly learn and understand what they know. Make school more like the real world, and teach students to be responsible enough to get work done without always having to strive for an A.

VISTAj STAFF

Editors-In-Chief Taylor Blatchford Wes Edwards

Managing Editors of Newsmagazine Taylor Atlas Dylan Ingram

Copy Editors Jason Keller Tyler Kraft AJ Stowell

Photo Editors Mark Maggs Gabe Rodriguez

Social Media Editor Kaitlin Zenoni

Web Editor

Whitney Merrill

Design Editor Erica Tagliarino

Managing Editor of Broadcast Gretchen Cope

Managing Editors of Yearbook Devon Miner Kelsey Warden

Adviser

Mark Newton, MJE

Staff Members

Alex Bonner Lauren Borchardt Amani Brown Mallory Christensen Logan Clark Caitlin Cobb Cameron Cox Shelby Crumley Jacob Cushatt Conner Davis Reagan Fitzke Antonia Fornaro Joseph Ginn Mackenzie Govett Amy Huang Kyle Johnson Ana Krasuski Hayley Mustin Tara O’Gorman Kelsey Pharis Kaitlin Pickrell Sydney Ostdiek Peyton Reeves Tori Soper Anna Theis Francesco Viola Lexi Weingardt Karin Wyks

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. 18-4419). 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. ©20141 Eagle Eye/Mountain Vista High School. All rights reserved.


Discover ACC HIGH SCHOOL VISITATION DAY Friday, Feb. 28, 9:00 A.M.-1:00 P.M. ACC Littleton Campus Students and guidance counselors can meet with ACC faculty, staff and students about our programs, transfer options, financial aid and student services.

RSVP at arapahoe.edu/discoveracc For information or accommodations, contact liliana.diaz@arapahoe.edu or call 303.797.5960

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 17


Taking Art by Storm

AP Art Student Irania Carrazco Challenges herself to do more of what she loves by taking two AP Art classes.

E

KARIN WYKS very morning senior Irania Carrazco gets to school before class starts, and sits in the hallway hanging out with friends like most high school students. What makes her different is what happens every morning around 7:10 a.m. when she pulls out her sketchbook, a few scraps of paper and a pencil, plugs in her headphones and starts drawing. It is almost impossible to distract her as her pencil races across the paper pausing every few seconds to contemplate each mark, every line trying to satisfy her artistic eye. Carrazco became interested in art as a young child. “[Art] kind of became spontaneous to me,” she said. “When I was little, I would draw really bad stick figures and these comics that I look back and go what was I thinking. So I am not really sure where my inspiration came from, it just started when I was a kid and grew out of time from there.” She commented that for her, art is just something that came naturally, it was never something that she had to force herself into. Carrazco said she loves art for many different reasons. But one of the things she feels inspires her to be an artist is the freedom that she has to explore and create. “It is more of the experimentation that I have that inspires me because I can try different techniques or supplies, probably even new tutorials, that I’ve never seen before and than try to apply them to my own art work or my own art style,” Carrazco said with conviction. One of the things that makes her a prime example of what it means to be an artist is her interest in more than one area of art. Not only does she work in the more traditional medium of illustration, but she started working with jewelry her sophomore year. “I became curious about jewelry and what you could do with it when I was a sophomore, and out of sheer curiosity I took the class and I actually loved it,” she said. “It was a fun class. You can

How to Succeed in Art

1

Talk to your fellow artists, sometimes they provide some of the best feedback you can get.

2

Always be practicing and working on your pieces. The more you work at it, the better your art will be.

3

When one idea doesn’t work out, don’t be afraid to try another idea.

18 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4

form items, things like hair clips, little keychains and even belt buckles for all I know and they are for everyday use but also part of fashion as well.” As an artist she said she is interested in multiple different media for different types of art. She also says It isn’t that she likes one over the other, but more that she likes what each medium brings to the table. “With AP Art, I like working with pencil and prismacolor and sometimes the digital art softwares,” she said. “But with jewelry. I like working with the metals we have available to us and seeing what I can make.” This year Carrazco is taking both AP Studio Art: Drawing and Painting for the second time, as well as AP Jewelry. In her senior year she is simply looking to make the most of what she loves. She wasn’t just taking AP Studio Art for a second time for fun, she was also taking it because it helps her as an artist to advance her skill and make herself the best artist she can be. “As a senior and I wanted to do what I wanted,for my last year, but also I wanted to take it [AP Studio Art: Drawing and Painting] so I can build my portfolio and do something digitally so it can contrast with my traditional portfolio,” she said. Moving forward after graduation Carrazco said she plans to start with community college, but is hoping she can transfer into an art school where she can pursue her lifelong dream of a career in illustration. It is clear that Carrazco is passionate about her art and she stands by the works she creates. “You can believe what you want to believe [about her art], I am fine with that. I am just showing you a possibility,” Carrazco said, “and if you love it, you love it.”

Irania’s Perspective “With studio art, I try to manage it at school and at home, but mostly at school because I have three off-periods. On Tuesdays, I use both my class and my off-period to work on it, and at home I use whatever time I have to work. For jewelry, I manage it through the classroom because some equipment I need is only available in the classroom.” —Irania Carrazco, senior


Photo by Karin Wyks

ART BUSINESS/TECH ENGLISH FCS MATH MUSIC

ABOVE: Senior Irania Carrazco works on completing one of her concentration pieces for AP Drawing and Painting. She adds digital art to her more traditional works from last year.

P.E.

RIGHT: Senior Irania Carrazco begins working on one of her pieces for AP Jewelry as the class members begin to work on the concentration portion of their portfolios.

SCIENCE SOCIAL STUDIES

3 Things You Should Know About Art

THEATRE

The classes aren’t as easy as some people make them out to be. Just because it is art doesn’t mean it isn’t hard work. Every student is required to have at least one fine art credit to graduate from a DCSD high school. Photo by Karin Wyks

WORLD LANG.

1 2 3

The Art Department currently offers five AP art classes: Drawing and Painting, Ceramics, Jewelry, Photography and Graphic Design

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 19


The Business of Saving Lives

Marketing III researches suicide prevention and develops a plan to raise awareness through entrepreneurial means with the Carson J. Spencer Foundation.

WHITNEY MERRILL

A

rare class of 11 students gathers around circular tables to chat before class begins. While there is a lack of people, the room is by no means empty — paraphernalia of past projects litter the counters and medals dangle from the ceiling. The room is dim, lit only by dark natural light perfectly reflecting the class’s ongoing subject. Earlier this year, the Marketing III class was asked to participate in “The Fire Within” project, which was run by the Carson J. Spencer Foundation. The brother and sister of a young, successful entrepreneur started the Carson J. Spencer Foundation after he committed suicide. Through “The Fire Within,” they aim to raise awareness for suicide prevention in teenagers. Along with Mountain Vista, Thunder Ridge and Ponderosa will be participating in this project. This project comes in two parts. The first is eight lessons about what it means and what it takes to start a business. “The Fire Within” comes into play in the second part of the project where Vista’s team of 11 tries to raise suicide prevention awareness through entrepreneurial efforts. The class split into groups of two or three and collected data and research to learn more about suicide in young people. According to senior Matt Weaver, the team specifically wanted to learn “what [students] think the cause of stress is [and] if they think that students and teachers are on the same page as each other concerning stress.” For Claire Coffman, senior, the data that they collected had been impactful. “The statistical data of kids who don’t take their lives, but think about it is really impactful with everything that has been going on just like the stress that kids have and the problems they that they are

facing in their own lives,” Coffman said. “You don’t really realize it until you sit down and listen about all these types of things.” The second step is to create a product such as a lanyard or t-shirt with the 1-800 number for suicide prevention before February 20 that helps raise suicide prevention awareness. In March the class will present their idea to the Carson J. Spencer Foundation. If chosen as one of the top five ideas, the team will be given $500 to implement their product. Unlike most projects that are done in school, “The Fire Within” deals with a real situation that the community is facing and needs to be solved. “I definitely think that [depression and suicide] is a rising concern in society,” senior Claire Coffman said. “I did my senior project (in English class) on it, and the statistical data of kids who don’t just take their lives but think about it is really impactful with everything going on. “You don’t really realize the stress that kids have and the problems that they are facing in their own lives until you sit down and listen about all these types of things.” For some, “The Fire Within” is more personal. Senior Brenna Jensen has known people who have suffered from depression and others who have attempted suicide. “(This experience) has definitely put it into a bigger perspective,” Jensen said. ”I know a lot of students in my class haven’t really known anyone who has attempted suicide, so I know it’s an a lot more important issue especially at our age. “I think that if a lot of people get involved in the project that we are doing and if our school makes it a big deal then there will be more of a realization that people really do need help.”

3 Signs That Someone May Be Suicidal

Trey’s Perspective

1 2 3

They talk about killing themselves or wishing that they were dead. They have become socially isolated and are withdrawn from friends and family.

They have lost interest in things that they once enjoyed. Source: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

20 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4

“I think that [our project] has potential [to make a difference]. Right now we we are just trying to get it out there, but if we take it seriously and pursue it over the years, it could have an effect on suicide prevention.” —Trey Yu, junior


BUSINESS/TECH ENGLISH FCS MATH

Photo by Whitney Merrill

MUSIC

ABOVE: Seniors Brenna Jensen and Matt Weaver and junior Trey Yu present their findings on suicide and depression while Claire Coffman, senior, records their presentation to send to their community representative for “The Fire Within.”

P.E.

RIGHT: Alli Rakes, senior, participates in a group discussion in Marketing III about how her classmates are affected by stress and people have become disconnected.

SCIENCE SOCIAL STUDIES

Suicide By the Numbers

16%

THEATRE

of students seriously consider commiting suicide.

Every 16.2 32,439

People who died from suicide in 2004. Source: Save.org

Photo by Whitney Merrill

WORLD LANG.

minutes someone dies from suicide.

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 21


Coins for Change

Melissa Clark’s English II Honors students raise money to raise awareness of social injustices around the globe. REAGAN FITZKE // JOSEPH GINN

M

ountain Vista High School English teacher Melissa Clark and her English II Honors classes spent time and effort last semester working on a social injustices project to benefit a chosen cause that helps other less fortunate countries. Each of the three class periods voted on an issue around the world to help out. “Different small groups presented a proposal to enact change, and the classes voted in via text on what cause they would do,” Clark said. Clark’s second-period class focused on child labor in Zimbabwe. According to UNICEF, 100,000 of the country’s 1.3 million orphans are running their own independent households. This means they cannot attend school due to having to work. Students raised money for Our Neighbors, an organization that helps in allowing children in Zimbabwe to attend school instead of working for their families. Sophomore Avery Walcher and her friends led her peers through the project, as it was her small group’s chosen cause. The class ended up raising $300 for the organization. “We really tried to push this forward by buying class t-shirts and fundraising during lunches,” Walcher said. Invisible Children was the primary focus of period four. Sophomore Morgan O’Connor and her group initially came up with the proposal, so they were put in charge of the project. “We chose to focus on this organization because we felt as though it was something people could relate to,” O’Connor said. The class held two fundraisers. “We went around at lunches and took water jugs asking for any sort of money kids had on them. Even a penny helped us,” O’Connor said. “We also chose to do [a bake sale] because it allowed each one of us to contribute by making goods, and it allowed us to take our project outside of the school walls and make others aware of our cause.” The sixth-period class raised money for child soldiers in Uganda, specifically a young boy named Samuel whose life has been impacted negatively by his involvement in the Lord’s Resistance Army. Students rallied together to sponsor him for the project.

1 2 3

3 Causes Classes Focused On

Class period two raised money for Our Neighbors, which raises money for child soldiers in Zimbabwe. Class period four chose Invisible Children because it is a well-known organization that people would be interested in funding. Class period six focused on child soldiers in Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army. They sponsored a boy named Samuel.

22 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4

Sophomore Kenzie Winslow currently sponsors two other children in Uganda, so her and her group presented this idea to the class. “We assigned each group in our class to a certain prize which we would send off to Samuel,” Winslow said. “We then told each group to raise a minimum of $100 so that we could sponsor Samuel.” Although each group was only required to raise $100, this class “went above and beyond,” according to Winslow, and raised well over $2,000. This resulted in the sponsorship of not only Samuel, but another boy in his village and a boy in Uganda who needed funding to be sent to an orphanage. O’Connor said this project has opened her eyes to very real issues in the world. “To see these kids being abducted from their homes and forced to commit crimes on a daily basis makes me feel bad when I complain about material items that I have, but I also have to realize that I’m not going to change my lifestyle drastically,” she said. “I can do my best to help out and hopefully help stop social injustices in our society today.” Winslow said she has also been inspired by the efforts of her peers. “I’ve already sponsored kids for awhile now, but this was different. I loved seeing so many kids come together for one common purpose and seeing what we achieved,” she said. Winslow said her class was able to impact lives like never before. “You can change one kid’s life when you put your mind to it,” she said, “and you can change even more when you get a group together who wants to change a life.” “I’ve already sponsored kids from Africa for awhile now, but this was different. I loved seeing so many kids come together for one common purpose and seeing what we achieved,” Winslow said. These three classes have used their will and passion to make a lasting impact around the world. “You can change one kid’s life when you put your mind to it,” Winslow said, “and you can change even more when you get a group together who wants to change a life.”

Avery’s Perspective

“[My group and I] wanted to help out in Zimbabwe because I actually sponsor a six-year-old child there [named Brendon], and I wanted to learn more about his area and what he’s going through.” —Avery Walcher, sophomore


ENGLISH FCS MATH

Photo Courtsey of Avery Walcher

MUSIC

ABOVE: English teacher Melissa Clark’s second period (first semester) class poses with t-shirts they bought to raise money for their cause. These students raised money for an organization called Our Neighbors in Zimbabwe. This particular class raised more than $300.

P.E. SCIENCE SOCIAL STUDIES

RIGHT: Sixth period’s sponsored child from Uganda, Samuel, puts on his new backpack. The backpack was bought with the money raised by the class. Students raised over $2,000, allowing them to donate money to other children as well.

Social Injustices Project By the Numbers

3

periods striving to make a difference

THEATRE

3

children helped by class period six’s donations

Photo Courtsey of Kenzie Winslow

WORLD LANG.

$2,300+

raised by Clark’s classes

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 23


Lessons For Life

Senior Taylor Phillips sits in her FCS classes and already imagines herself with the roles reversed. Ever since she took her first FCS class freshman year, she knew it was what she wanted to do with her life. PEYTON REEVES // KENZIE GOVETT

S

enior Taylor Phillips began taking family and consumer science classes as a freshman. She immediately knew it was what she wanted to do with her life. Phillips has taken a variety of FCS classes, including Creative Foods, Child Development, Healthy Decisions and Personal Finances. She loves them all and enjoyed each of them for different reasons. “I’ve always had a passion for helping others, and being able to teach students about real life things is really awesome,” Phillips said. Phillips is an aspiring teacher and wants to study Family and Consumer Sciences in the fall when she attends Colorado State University. She knows what it takes to become a successful educator and has always known that she wanted to be involved in education. “For any teacher it takes patience and an understanding of all learning types and students’ backgrounds,” Phillips said. “But for FCS teachers specifically, you have to know about each subject and area you’re teaching. I also think a good teacher is passionate and cares a lot not only about the curriculum but for each student that walks into the classroom.” Phillips’ FCS teachers have always admired and supported her passion for teaching. Kimberly Cox has had Phillips in multiple classes and has had an opportunity to bond with her. “I think Taylor is awesome and is going to do a great job,” Cox said. “She’s caring, she’s funny, she’s intelligent and she’s just what education needs.” Cox has had Phillips in the classroom, but also enjoys talking to her outside of school. “I hope that I see Taylor once she graduates and I think there could be potential for her to even come back and student-teach

here. It’ll be fun to check in with her and see how her career plans are going,” Cox said. However, not all of their conversations were school related. “There’s always the times that we talked about The Bachelor together,” Cox said. When asked how Phillips and Cox clicked, Cox said the memories played a big role. “Whenever I walked into the class and she was there, she was always smiling, polite and just a great person to be around,” Cox said. “She’s just really outgoing and friendly and goes out of her way to talk to other students and teachers both. She just has a really bubbly personality.” Phillips relates to each teacher individually and thinks they are all unique and cool. “They love what they teach and are passionate about it,” Phillips said of the FCS teachers. Lindsey Jaffe had Phillips as a student for Healthy Decisions, Creative Foods and, currently, Personal Finances. “She’s a rockstar. She’s one of my favorite kids ever. I absolutely adore her,” Jaffe said. Philips said she really relies on the teachers for support and advice. “They have all really supported me and helped guide my decision of going to Colorado State University,” she said. Phillips said she pictures herself teaching a Healthy Decisions class in her future. She said she is most looking forward to building relationships with her students “It’s important for kids to know the importance of taking care of themselves physically, emotionally and spiritually,” Phillips said.

Lindsey Jaffe’s Perspective

FCS Classes Taken by Phillips

“She’s a rock star. She’s one of my favorite kids ever. I absolutely adore her.” —Lindsey Jaffe, FCS teacher, on senior Taylor Phillips

24 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4

Creative Foods Child Development Personal Finances Healthy Decisions


Photo by Gabe Rodriguez

FCS MATH THEATRE WORLD LANG.

“I think she’ll do great. I know she wants to pursue this career and it kind of takes all the different things that you enjoy and puts it all together, and you teach it and that’s fun.” —Maria Cox, FCS teacher, on Taylor Phillips

SCIENCE SOCIAL STUDIES

Maria Cox’s Perspective

P.E.

RIGHT: Senior Taylor Phillips works towards her goal of becoming a FCS teacher. “I’ve always had a passion for helping others and being able to teach students about real life things is really awesome,” Phillips said.

Photo by Gabe Rodriguez

MUSIC

ABOVE: Senior Taylor Phillips sits in her Personal Finance Class balancing checks. Phillips has taken four classes in Mountain Vista’s Family and Consumer Science Department.

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 25


It All Adds Up

Sophomore Kendra Lavallee and senior Kelsey Luke represent the many Mountain Vista students who enjoy math and who dislike math. AMY HUANG // HAYLEY MUSTIN // SYDNEY OSTDIEK

I

n the average Algebra 2/Trigonometry class, two-thirds of the students either do not like math or are not interested in the subject, according to a VISTAj survey of 54 students. For sophomore Kendra Lavallee, that is not the case. Lavallee enjoys math because of its structure. “I like how everything fits together and you get one answer, unlike in English [where] it just free flows,” Lavallee said. She said that even if the math credit graduation requirement was lifted, she would still continue taking math. “It’s my favorite subject and I enjoy the numbers,” Lavallee said. “My favorite part of math is learning new things and learning how everything connects and builds on each other.” On the other hand, senior Kelsey Luke has always had an A in math until this year when things changed. Last semester, she took Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus and marked her “A” record with a C. She didn’t understand the content in Trig/PreCalc so she switched into College Algebra for second semester. Despite the switch, Luke still grew to dislike the subject even more. “It can get very confusing,” Luke said. “When you miss one small thing then you are completely lost for the rest of the lesson and it can get very frustrating.” Luke said homework is her least favorite part of math. “It helps when you understand the material for extra practice, but when you’re not sure what is going on in class it just makes you practice doing the wrong things,” she said. For struggling students, like Luke, Lavallee advises students to take it slow and ask questions, as well as many other tips listed below. For Luke, the thing that would help her the most in math would be teachers ensuring that students have one-on-one time for help and having a bunch of small quizzes worth few points to make sure everyone understands the content before the test.

Algebra 2/Trigonometry by the Numbers

24%

1 2

42%

3

33%

enjoy math

don’t enjoy math

are indifferent to math Source: Survey of 54 Algebra 2/Trigonometry students

26 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4

“I would also still assign homework, but probably less of it so it’s not such a hassle,” Luke said. The study habits of the two students vary. Before tests, Luke tries to make sure she understands all of the material, then gets help if she doesn’t understand. She also does the practice tests and reviews notes. In class, Lavallee listens closely to the lesson and asks questions right then and there “because everything grows on one another,” Lavallee said. At home, she checks the book and checks the answer for odd problems. When Lavallee gets stumped, she said she uses resources like math resources, the internet and friends to help her. Also, before a test Lavalle said she does extra practice problems for the ones she struggles with or doesn’t understand. The two students represent a majority of the school, people who like math and people who dislike math. Another important group of the math department is the teachers. “Teachers play a big role [because] they definitely set the mood of the class. If you have an exciting teacher, it just fun for everybody,” Lavalle said. Luke wishes more teachers would offer test corrections because “if you fail the test, your grade will really suffer and there is nothing else you can really do about it except try and do better next time,” Luke said.

Kendra’s Tips to Succeed in Math

Just take it slow and one step at a time.

There are math reference books like Math On Call and Algebra/Geometry To Go or use websites that help you understand the answer like slader.com. Also ask your teacher a lot of questions and ask them on your own time if you’re embarrassed to ask in class.


Photo by Amy Huang

MATH THEATRE

“When you miss one small thing then you are completely lost for the rest of the lesson and it can get very frustrating.” —Kelsey Luke, senior

SCIENCE SOCIAL STUDIES

Kelsey’s Perspective

P.E.

RIGHT: Senior Kelsey Luke works in College Algebra. Luke switched out of Trigonometry/ PreCalculus and into College Algebra this semester.

Photo by Amy Huang

MUSIC

ABOVE: Sophomore Kendra Lavallee works on her Honors Algebra 2/Trigonometry homework. “It’s my favorite subject and I enjoy the numbers,” Lavallee said.

WORLD LANG. Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 27


Two Perspectives

Two band students, one a freshman and one a senior, share their opinions and experiences in band. LEXI WEINGARDT

T

he last Band Feeder Festival may have been just another feeder festival to many of the students who performed. For senior Kimmie Stansbury, however, it was her final one. Stansbury said she loved doing the feeder festivals every year with the younger band students. Stansbury said she has also done many enjoyable concerts and competitions throughout her eight years of participating in band. “These past couple years we’ve participated in our state competition and our regional competition,” Stansbury said. “And we got superiors in those, so it’s a good opportunity.” Stansbury said she loves performing in concerts. “It shows that all of your work has paid off, and it’s nice to see that there’s people to support you.” Stansbury got involved with band in the first place because of her older brother’s interest in the activity. “My older brother was in [band],” Stansbury said. “And then I just decided to try a new thing.” It turned out band was something she said she thoroughly enjoyed and would continue to do for a long time after elementary school. She also said she wants to keep playing music even after high school. “I’ll still play music when I’m out of high school even if it’s not for band in college or whatever, but I think it will just help me get a more inventive feel for everything,” Stansbury said. “And if I need to get away from everything, I can just listen to music or play my instrument.” Stansbury said getting away from everything is the preeminent part of band along with making new friends. “I think it’s a good opportunity to get away from school and all that. It gives you a chance to focus on something else. I guess everyone says it works both parts of the brain, so reading music and listening to it gives you an opportunity to get away from everything

else,” Stansbury said. “Also, just the people in your class, they’re there to have fun with you so its not an intense class. Usually you just get to go and be yourself.” Freshman Agathe Jacobson said she was excited the first time she stepped into the band room. “[The band room] is big and nice and I was just like ‘Woah!’,” Jacobson said. Jacobson has been involved in band for five years and has enjoyed every minute of it. “My mom encouraged me to start an instrument and I really loved it!” Jacobson said. After being in band at Vista for the first half of the year, Jacobson said she already knows she wants to continue on for all four years of high school. “It is really fun!” Jacobson said. In band the students participate in activities such as preparing for and performing at concerts and going on trips. “We play fun songs with all different types of music,” Jacobson said. “Sometimes, every other year or so, there is a big band trip.” Jacobson said she also enjoys the concerts that band has the privilege to perform in. “[I enjoy the concerts] because it is fun to play for the parents and other people come to watch,” Jacobson said. The activities the students in band get to do, however, are not Jacobson’s favorite part of band. Jacobson said her favorite parts of band are the people and the instructor. “They are really nice and they always help out when people don’t know something with a song,” Jacobson said.

3 Things You Should Know About Band

Emily’s Perspective

1 2 3

Student musicians score an average of about 62 points higher on their SATs than non-musician peers. Students who are in orchestra or band have the lowest levels of current and life long alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse. Band and orchestra students have higher GPAs than students not in band or orchestra.

28 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4

“I wish I could play an instrument but I have no musical talents. I also wish I could be in band but I have too busy of a schedule.” —Emily Jensen, freshman


Photo By Lexi Weingardt

Ask for help if you need it.

Practice, practice, practice!

WORLD LANG.

—Olivia Lau, freshman

THEATRE

Always pay attention in class!

SCIENCE SOCIAL STUDIES

1 2 3

How To Succeed in Band

P.E.

RIGHT: Seniors Jessica Matsushima and Eden McMann play clarinet also at the Band Feeder Festival.

Photo By Lexi Weingardt

MUSIC

ABOVE: Senior Austin Stark plays the alto saxophone, at the Band Feeder Festival on Jan. 16 at Mountain Ridge Middle School.

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To PE Or Not To PE

Physical Education classes are being cut across the United States. At Mountain Vista, they are still required. TYLER KRAFT

J

unior Brayden Babbitt starts his way up the wall without fearing what will happen if he falls. He is not being graded on how fast he can reach the top. He will not have points docked if he falls. It does not matter how many holds he must use to reach his goal. He just wants climb. Babbitt is climbing the rock wall in Adventure II, one of the many Physical Education classes offered at Mountain Vista. “I teach [Adventure] to give kids an experience that they probably won’t have anywhere else,” Jen Vidal-Panter said while watching some of her Adventure I students ascend the rock wall for the very first time. Vidal is correct. Many students do not have the ability to experience climbing a rock wall as they do not go to a school that offers a single P.E. course. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fewer than three out of every 10 high school students in the United States have 60 minutes of physical activity every day. 60 minutes is the amount of time that the CDC defines as a healthy amount for students in high school. The lack of activity can be partially attributed to P.E. classes being cut across the country. Thirty-seven out of the 50 states require high schools to teach P.E. classes, according to the CDC. Colorado is not one of those states. MVHS does require P.E. classes, but only requires one full credit (two semester-long classes) to graduate. For many students at Mountain Vista, the full credit is too much. Exercise is simply not a priority for them. “A big sell for my class is that we don’t run the mile,” Vidal-Panter said. “Little do they know, we hike to High Point like 10 times and that is a two-mile round trip,” she said. As a result of many kids not wanting to do active things, many schools have simply cut P.E. classes all together. This leaves students without time during the day to work out. As a result of students not being able to exercise, 17 percent of American children are obese, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Sean’s Perspective “[Adventure] is a really fun class because you are just free to do what you want. It’s different than every other class because there aren’t any guidelines and you can just create your own experience.” —Sean Healey, junior, on what makes Adventure II an interesting class 30 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4

At the same time, many students at Mountain Vista enjoy having P.E. classes. “I enjoy having a P.E. class because it is a good change from other types of classes,” Babbitt said. Vidal-Panter said kids take her class because “they think it is interesting and new.” Vidal-Panter also said the students who choose the less-active classes such as Athletic Training are still receiving their share of activity. “Athletic Training isn’t super-active, but you learn lifelong skills in it,” she said. Mary DeBolt teaches an Athletic Training class at Vista. DeBolt said that Athletic Training should be included as a P.E. credit. “It’s a sports related class and that is why it is a P.E. credit,” DeBolt said. DeBolt also said that students should still take a class that will encourage them to be physically active for a P.E. credit. “I think they should have to take an active P.E. class and be dressed out for it to count for physical education. I think kids need to be active. The obesity rate for children is way over the top. I think it’s a great elective but as a P.E. class it’s not enough. One half of our credit should have to be an active class,” DeBolt said. Athletic Training is the only P.E. class at Vista that is held in a traditional classroom setting. It very much like other core subjects in the way that it is approached from the teaching and student perspectives. Adventure does not require students to follow a strict set of guidelines like other core classes. Students create their own guidelines and are allowed to pursue them. “It’s a really fun class because you are just free to do what you want. It is one of those classes where you can create your own experience,” junior Sean Healey said about Adventure II. As Babbitt nears the top of the wall, an onlooker would see a look of determination etched across his face. He is not required to reach the top. He is not even required to be in the class. He already has his P.E. credit. He is climbing for the sake of being able to do it.

P.E. By the Numbers

37

Number of states in which P.E. is a required course

60

minutes a day is the average amount of time that a student should spend exercising

1

Amount of P.E. credits needed for a student at Mountain Vista to graduate

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Photo byTyler Kraft

ABOVE: Junior Sam Jeffries attempts to hit the shuttlecock in Individual Sports. The class includes sports such as pickleball, bowling and tennis. Students also run the mile in the class.

“There aren’t too many rules besides the safety ones. You can kind of just do whatever you want to and enjoy it.” —Brayden Babbitt, junior

WORLD LANG.

The Adventure rock climbing section includes five main courses. The most popular courses include the rock wall and ropes course.

THEATRE

1 2 3

Besides climbing, Adventure teaches students how to tie climbing knots, build a tent, use a compass and build a fire, among other things.

SCIENCE SOCIAL STUDIES

3 Things You Should Know About Adventure

P.E.

RIGHT: Junior David Prevato climbs up the centipede in his Adventure II class. The Adventure class has five climbing courses including a peg wall, suspended ropes course and three separate courses on the rock wall.

Photo by Tyler Kraft

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 31


Love What You Do

Sam Allen finds a way to push through difficulties and still love his childhood pastime. CONNER DAVIS

S

am Allen has always liked science, but after he lost his hearing at 14 months old due to meningitis, he could not pursue his passion because he was busy with speech lessons. He now has cochlear implants that send information to his cochlea, and can hear like someone without the implants. Once his hearing issues were behind him, Allen started to rediscover his love for science in middle school, when he started joining clubs and digging deeper into scientific concepts and experiments on his own. “There are always amazing things to discover, even if you’re at the highest level of science class,” Allen said. Allen is one of the two officers, along with fellow sophomore Ryder Strauss, of Mountain Vista’s Science Olympiad Club. The club is hosted bi-monthly by Mark McConnell and geared toward anyone with a passion for science. (Proving that aspiring scientists have a sense of humor, the Science Olympiad Club lists its mission as “to build a death ray.”) When it comes to a favorite area of science, Allen says his by far is is physics by far, which he believes is the basis for all other scientific areas of study. “It’s the leading area of science. Chemistry is based off a lot of physics, and biology is based off of chemistry, and the physics that make up chemistry. All science classes stem off of physics,” Allen said. “I want to be a theoretical physicist,” Allen said, talking about his future plans. Theoretical physics is the study of physical events in nature through theory and mathematical models. These phenomena cannot actually be witnessed, so they are speculated on as opposed to actually being tested, like in experimental physics. If don’t know what a theoretical physicist is, think Albert Einstein, arguably the most famous theoretical physicist, and his Theory of Relativity. Michio Kaku is arguably the most well known modernday, mainstream theoretical physicist.

This year, Allen is taking biology and chemistry, but thus far Foundations of Physics, taken during his freshman year with McConnell, has been his favorite. Right now, Mountain Vista offers physics, foundations of physics and AP Physics. For those students who can not get enough of physics, plans for additional physics courses are currently underway for roll-out in 2014-15. Allen said he is hoping to take AP Physics and some of the new physics courses that are slated for next year. From there, he plans to study physics in college. As for a career, he may want to go into teaching and share his passion for science with others.

3 Things You Should Know About Science

Sam’s Perspective

The science program at Mountain Vista offers 18 different courses and two extracurricular clubs.

“In truth there is no quote large enough to explain science from my perspective, but I can attempt to give the slightest idea from an experiment not going the way as expected and altering in the slightest way only to get a miracle in which only gets more surprising as we discover more.” —Sam Allen, sophomore

1 2 3

Science is one of the only core classes at Vista that you can take at three levels: regular, honors and AP. “Science is the frontier of philosophy, psychology, religion, technology and much, much more.” —Sam Allen, sophomore

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Photo by Whitney Merrill

ABOVE: Sophomore Sam Allen practices his love of science in teacher Mark McConnell’s classroom. “We talk about science because we know nothing about it and no one understands it,” Allen said.

Be motivated. Be interested in one or more areas of science.

WORLD LANG.

Be curious and strive to find out more and always dig deeper.

THEATRE

1 2 3

How to Succeed in Science

SCIENCE SOCIAL STUDIES

RIGHT: Allen fills out a lab sheet to help him in his studies of science. “My favorite lab was this materials science lab we did in chemistry where we learned about how polarity makes the properties of substances with a bunch of different activities,” Allen said.

Photo by Whitney Merrill

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 33


Star of Social Studies Senior Alia Reza knew she wanted to pursue a career in social studies, but was not sure which career path to take. By expanding her horizons and taking challenging courses, she has found two unique areas of study. KAITLIN ZENONI t Mountain Vista, students only need three years of social studies to graduate. Senior Alia Reza has double the necessary credits and plans to continue her studies in the subject. Since her freshman year Reza has taken the most difficult courses offered in the social studies department. By the time she graduates, she will have taken five Advanced Placement classes and one ACC class. The combination of different subjects has given Reza a holistic view and a unique opportunity to combine the knowledge. Her favorite subjects, art history and archeology, combine to help her understand the world . “It is one thing to just do archeology and be able to find things and realize things, and it’s another thing to do art history and know exactly what you’re looking at. I just feel they go so well in hand together that it is hard to have one without the other,” Reza said. Social studies provides students the ability to explore different areas of culture, from humanities to anthropology. Reza believes there is an aspect that sets it apart from others. “I think there’s an element to social studies that’s very human. It’s hard to find that in a lot of other classes,” Reza said. While Reza has fallen in love with the subjects, she understands the difficulty of it. “[The hardest part] is accepting it,” she said. “Because history, for example, a lot of people just don’t want to learn because it’s the past which it is, I agree. But you really have to look into it at see it for what it really is. It’s not just the past, it’s what you can learn from the past and make the future.” Reza’s own future is to major in both archeology and art history at Denver University. Piecing the two together came last year with the help of two teachers. “Mr. Patrick and Mrs. Ayers both really

A

Kenzie’s Perspective “I think it is important to learn about the past to understand different cultures as well as your own better and to be aware of issues in our world.” —Kenzie Haberkorn, junior

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really helped out and were supportive in what I wanted to do and made it so much more fun and accepting to be a part of what they were doing,” Reza said. Her teacher, Charles Patrick, taught Reza AP Art History and has her as his teaching assistant this semester and admires her love of the subjects.“I think Alia is a very dedicated student. I love her love of learning and I think she is a great student to have in class because she appreciates learning,” Patrick said. Both him and Reza traveled to Eastern Europe in the spring of 2011 and saw her passion outside of class. “I went to Turkey with her when we went to Istanbul and Greece and she just loved to be in the different cultures, and I really remember that and how much she absorbed all the different worlds of Turkey and Greece and really appreciated everything that we did and really embraced her heritage,” said Patrick. The passion she has for her subject has correlated with her success. Reza has scored at least a four on all of the AP tests, making her well qualified to receive college credit. With a five on her art history, she will receive credit automatically at any university accepting AP scores. “I am really big on finding things about us that we don’t already know,” Reza said. With registration right around the corner, taking a new social studies class may reveal something new to you.

How to Succeed in Social Studies, according to Robyn Mott and Sara Cady

1 2

Be open-minded to the subject and opinions of other.

Take an elective you are interested in along with the required courses. The class will be easier when you enjoy it.

3

Focus on your writing skills — as you progress throughout high school and college examinations will be more essay based.


Photo courtesy of Alia Reza

ABOVE: Senior Alia Reza poses with friends during a social studies trip to Eastern Europe.

Photo by Wes Edwards

RIGHT: Drug Enforcement Agency Special Agent Michael Moore speaks to an AP Governmet class about the bureacuracy of the United States government and how the DEA works.

8 7

Advanced Placement Classes offered

WORLD LANG. LANG. WORLD

$19,000

Saved by taking 3 AP classes, according to College Board

THEATRE THEATRE

Arapahoe Community College Courses offered at Mountain Vista

SOCIAL STUDIES

Social Studies By the Numbers

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 35


Taking the Stage

Sophomore Cheyenne Walker focuses her time on acting, dancing and singing. AMANI BROWN // TORI SOPER

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heyenne Walker is a trifecta. Back in the fourth grade she was a crying 9-year-old, shaking and nervous to try out for her school play. Now as a sophomore in high school, she confidently spends her time acting, dancing and singing. All it took was her brave elementary school moment for her to realize her passion. “I just fell in love with it (performing arts),” Walker said. As far as her acting career goes, she is preparing for Mountain Vista theatre’s play “And They Dance Real Slow In Jackson” opening Feb. 19. “That’s been really cool and it’s been really fun to work on that,” she said. Her theatre teacher, Jeremy Goldson, has seen Walker grow as actor in the two years he has had her in class. “She’s gotten a much more solid sense of technique rather than just relying on her natural talent,” Goldson said. “She really wants to learn and she’s got great drive, but absorbing some of the things we ask the actors to do preparation wise she’d had to grasp and I think she’s doing a nice job,” Goldson said he is impressed by Walker and views her as a leader in her classes. “She has a really bright future in this department,” Goldson said. “She’s got the right combination of drive and brains to do really well.” School isn’t where her acting stops. “I am working on getting into agencies and starting to get more involved in film and TV and commercials and all that kind of stuff,” Walker said. Her acting has lead her to recently get accepted to the Denver Center of Performing Arts Board of Education for Teens. “It’s a cool leadership opportunity,” Walker said. “We help promote shows on social media and decide classes for people to take and education for young kids that want to learn about theatre.” Walker extends her involvement in the Mountain Vista Perform-

ing Arts Department by participating in the school choir. “Choir is really helpful, especially for musicals,” she said. Walker is advanced in music and choir teacher Maja Buck fully acknowledges what Walker can do. “Whenever freshmen audition for choirs, I only put a very few in concert choir and she was one of the few that got in as a sophomore,” Buck said. Walker’s participation in choir helps her strengthen her music and theatre skills. “Music and acting kind of go hand in hand a lot of the time. It’s a good way to further extend what I do,” Walker said. As a choir and theatre enthusiast, Walker’s name is surely known in the Vista programs, but she makes a presence outside of the halls by dancing ballet at Centerstage Starz. “I’ve been doing ballet for five years and I’ve been on pointe for two years,” she said. Though she is just a sophomore, Walker already has plans to take her talents beyond the four high years of high school. She said she plans to spend the remainder of high school “more focusing on my education and learning about acting and perfecting what I like to do.” “Hopefully outside of high school,” she said, “(I will) maybe go to a drama college and get more education eventually with agencies and stuff kind of getting out there to work.” Walker’s talent and love for what she does is taking her in to the right direction to reach her goals. “She’s got a lot of potential,” Buck said. “She loves performing arts and theatre and music so if she keeps working hard at it, who’s to say she couldn’t do what she wants to do?”

3 Things You Should Know About Cheyenne

Maja Buck’s Perspective

1 2 3

She won Vista Idol in 2013 as a freshman. She performed with freshman Talie Stowell. They sang a mashup of “Some Nights,” “Call Your Girlfriend,” and “It’s Time.” She is one of the few sophomores in Mountain Vista’s concert choir. She is playing Cindy Sue White and Ruthy in Stage Flight Theatre’s upcoming play, “And They Dance Real Slow In Jackson.”

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“Cheyenne is really strong in her understanding with music. Because of her understanding of music is why she’s in this group (concert choir) and this group is just helping her develop those skills.” —Maja Buck, choir teacher


Photo courtesy of Cheyenne Walker

ABOVE: Sophomore Cheyenne Walker performs in the play “English Made Simple” at Mountain Vista her freshman year. RIGHT: Nine-year-old Cheyenne Walker performs the role of an orphan in “Annie The Musical.” “I was crying because I was so scared, but I ended up getting in and I just fell in love with it,” Walker said.

Cheyenne’s Schedule By the Numbers

3

out of her eight classes are performing arts. THEATRE

3

of her classes are honors or AP.

Photo courtesy of Cheyenne Walker

WORLD LANG.

14

hours per week are spent working on performing arts outside of school.

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Beyond Textbooks

French lll students in period seven immerse themselves into a new experience outside of the typical day in French. TARA O’GORMAN // LAUREN BORCHARDT

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ased on a Catholic tradition now celebrated by the general public, La Galette des Rois’, which translates into ‘Cake of the kings’, was celebrated in Sandra Nesmith’s French III class during seventh period on Jan 24th. This is a tradition that starts off the new year that is widespread in France. As a religious tradition, La Galette des Rois’ has somewhat “lost its meaning” throughout the years said Nesmith. Each student brought in approximately $3.10 for a slice of cake, from a bakery in Parker, that could hold a trinket to make them a king/queen for the whole month of January. The trinket, “la feve”, is set inside the cake by the baker. The trinket could be people or an Eiffel Tower, which period seven used. The traditional trinket is usually a bean. When there is a larger cake present, there are two trinkets. Some trinkets are colored while others are plain white. They are made with a food-safe material so no one is harmed in this Catholic tradition. “It is meant to make people happy financially, too. You are sharing a meal with your friends and family,” Nesmith said. This tradition is known as Three Kings Day, which is celebrated on Jan. 6 until the end of January. “It is celebrated the whole month of January so that more people can celebrate it and it is more convenient,” Nesmith said. “Even though it is a religious tradition not everyone sees a religious connection.” Nesmith said. Junior Caitlin Rogers-Peckham had the honor of finding the trinket, which was two miniature Eiffel Towers, inside the piece of cake she had boughten. “I wasn’t expecting this [to get the trinket in her piece of cake]. Everyone was hoping to get one. Then it just appeared in my piece,” Rogers-Peckham said. The winners are crowned after two students find the missing trinkets and are named the king or queen for the rest of January. In

1 2 3

3 Things You Should Know About Foreign Language

There are 6,000 to 7,000 languages spoken in the world today. Those who speak a second language to earn 20 percent more than those who only speak one.

“Writing is the hardest because of the accents and different conjugations. It is a lot more complex.” —Kenzie Winslow, sophomore

38 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4

this case, Rogers-Peckham was crowned queen until the end of the month. Sophomore Keaton Ruskaup was crowned king when the trinket landed in his piece of cake. “I just gave it (the trinket) away. I didn’t really care that it landed in my piece. I was like, ‘Cool!’” Ruskaup said. He said he was happy with the honor of finding the trinket, but felt someone else wanted it more. Therefore, Ruskaup gave it his crown away along with his power. “It has a big impact on my students. Everyone likes to eat food and the best way for them to learn about the tradition was by having them try it out for themselves,” Nesmith said. With a tradition of the elders serving the children, the children hide under the table to say who each piece of cake goes to so that everyone has the same chance of getting the trinket. “The kids hide under the table because it is meant to make fairness and randomness. Since the kids can’t see if the knife is hitting the trinket or not so it creates a fair advantage,” Nesmith said. The elders then serve the cake to the children and watch to see who is crowned. Even the elders have a piece of cake if they are interested in a slice or two. “[It’s] really cool to experience French tradition in a classroom atmosphere,” junior Erick Sherwood said. “Rather than reading out of a book, being a part of a tradition, that is important to the French culture, is a good way to expand the learning environment in a way that not many teachers do,” Sherwood said.

How to Succeed in Foreign Language

1 2 3

Notecards are really helpful no matter what you are doing. Come in and talk to your teacher during SOAR.

Do all the homework. The homework is there for a good reason. —Jane Archer, sophomore


Photo by Taylor Blatchford

ABOVE: Sophomore Keaton Ruskaup was crowned king of the month of January when a trinket landed in a piece of cake that he had bought during French III. Thinking someone deserved it more, Ruskaup gave his crown to someone else granting them the power of king/queen.

Photo by Taylor Blatchford

RIGHT: Junior Caitlin Rogers-Peckham had the honor of a trinket landing in the piece of cake she had purchased. She was more intrigued in eating the cake than being a queen.

Toby’s Perspective

WORLD LANG.

“I think it is good to learn about the other cultures and languages. However, it is hard to learn that [language and culture] without being in that country.” —Toby Driggs, sophomore

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 39


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2014 Super Bowl Denver Broncos versus Seattle Seahawks

Before the season, it had been 15 years since the Denver Broncos have been to a Super Bowl. With the whole city buzzing about the faceoff in New Jersey, here were three Mountain Vista students’ predictions and reactions about the big game.

Predictions

Chandler Zastrow senior

Drake Gunter junior

Tanner Smith senior

Why are you a Broncos fan? Denver is my hometown. The Broncos are my boys. Denver 2013-2014 season in one word: Peyton Manning. Who do you think is going to win and why? Broncos. They have an insane offense. The Seahawks are pretty good but they have nothing compared to what we’ve got. Predicted Score: 200-7 Broncos. Super Bowl Traditions: Grab some friends and make some good food … like chicken wings.

*Throws up*

Why are you a Broncos fan? I live in Denver, my family loves the Broncos, and I like Peyton Manning. Denver 2013-2014 season in one word: Thrilling. Who do you think is going to win and why? Broncos, because they have more class and want it more, they worked hard to get there, and they aren’t going to give it away. Predicted Score: 32-24 Broncos. Super Bowl Traditions: Going to a party and having potato burritos that my mom makes.

“Flabbergasted.”

Why are you a Broncos fan? I was born and raised in Colorado and I was raised by Broncos fans. Denver 2013-2014 season in one word: Historical. Who do you think is going to win and why? I think Denver is going to win. Their offense is statistically the best offense in NFL history and Peyton Manning is arguably the best quarterback in NFL history. Predicted Score: 34-23 Broncos. Super Bowl Traditions: Going to a friend’s house and watching it with my family and friends.

“It’s hard to see them lose by such a large margin.”

United in Orange ANA KRASUSKI n Feb. 2, 2014, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Seattle Seahawks pounded on the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. It was the number one offense (Denver) against the number one defense (Seattle), but the defense prevailed. With a final score of 43-8, all the hopes of another Super Bowl ring for Peyton Manning and the Broncos flew out the window. The game began with a rough start for Denver, when center Manny Ramirez snapped the ball over the head of Peyton Manning for a safety. Seattle’s defense was so strong that Denver only managed 27 rushing yards compared to Seattle’s 135. The Seahawks forced four turnovers, including a 69-yard pick six by linebacker and game MVP Malcolm Smith. Wide receiver Percy Harvin opened the second half with an 87-yard kickoff return to bring

O

Reactions

the score to 22-0. With 2:58 left in the third quarter, Seattle wide receiver Jermaine Kearse caught a 23-yard pass from quarterback Russell Wilson for another touchdown. The Broncos finally put points on the board just before the end of the third quarter with a pass from Peyton Manning to receiver Demaryius Thomas, followed by a two-point conversion, bringing the score to 36-8. With 11:45 remaining in the fourth, Wilson threw to receiver Doug Baldwin for another touchdown and a score of 43-8. The Broncos made every effort they could to put up more points late in the fourth quarter, but when Peyton Manning fumbled on fourth and 11, the ball was recovered by defensive tackle Clinton McDonald and the game was sealed. Russell Wilson proceeded to dump orange Gatorade all over Pete Carroll and the Seahawks were crowned 2014 Super Bowl Champions.

Photo: Lionel Hahn/Abaca Press/MCT

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 41


Mountain Vista athletes pose after signing to play their respective sports at the collegiate level. Mountain Vista had 25 athletes signed their letters of intent Feb. 5, 2014.

Competing With Spirit The Cheer and Poms teams head to nationals TYLER KRAFT

T

he Mountain Vista varsity cheer team placed tenth in the nation in the small co-ed division at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship. “It was really exciting! junior Allie Steele, Allie Steele said. “It junior was our first year being a co-ed team so it was a huge accomplishment.” The team could possibly have 16 returning varsity cheerleaders next year if all of the eligible cheerleaders stay on the team. The Mountain Vista varsity poms team placed 14th in the nation in the small varsity hip hop division at the UDA National Dance Team Championship. “I am proud of what we did and 14th in the nation isn’t that bad,” junior Jaci Walker said. “We were really excited and also stressed out before we went to dance. Our season a lot of fun and we are going to be starting again soon. We have little clinics in March and then we have tryouts in April.”

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Photo by Gabe Rodriguez

Photo by Whitney Merrill

Upcoming Events Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team is scheduled to play Highlands Ranch tonight, with the varsity team playing at 7 p.m. Ranch is led by senior Zach Braxton, who is committed to Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

Rock Climbing

The Rock Climbing team had 30 climbers qualify for the state tournament, which will be held Saturday-Sunday, March 1-2.

Track and Field

Track will have its first meet of the year on Thursday, March 6, with the junior varsity team facing off against ThunderRidge High School.

Vista Varsity Poms Photo by Amani Brown

Women’s Soccer Women’s soccer will open its season on Tuesday, March 11, with the varsity team playing at Fort Collins High School.

Men’s Baseball

The men’s baseball team will have opening day on Thursday, March 13 with a game against Cherry Creek High School. Vista was knocked out of the 5A state playoffs last year by Cherry Creek.

Vista Varsity Cheer


H.E.R.O. Week in Review

We asked Mountain Vista students to share their H.E.R.O. Week experiences with us each day on Instagram using the hashtag #mvhero and their graduation year. These photos are a selection from events throughout the week.

Monday, Feb. 3 // Sophomore Jessica Gonzalez (@jessgonz23) #mvhero16

Tuesday, Feb. 4 // Junior Drake Gunter (@drakegunter) #mvhero15

Wednesday, Feb. 5 // Sophomore Hannah Stephens (@hannahstephens14) #mvhero16

Wednesday, Feb. 5 // Junior Lexi Burbey (@lexi_burbey) #mvhero15

Wednesday, Feb. 5 // Freshman Bre Luke (@br3luke) #mvhero17

Thursday, Feb. 6 // Sophomore Tori Tongen (@toritongen) #mvhero16

Friday, Feb. 7 // Senior Ana Kutcher (@anakutcher) #mvhero14

Friday, Feb. 7 // Senior Avery Puricelli (@avery_puricelli) #mvhero14

Friday, Feb. 7 // Freshman Richard Mitchell (@jooty_82) #mvhero17

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 43


From Blue to Black SARAH STUEBER Every day I fall deeper And farther away from you It feels like I’m being stabbed with 1000 knives And there’s nothing I can do. You were the one that possessed my heart The one I devoted my soul to The one that stared deeply into my blue eyes The one that dried my tears And aided me through my fears. Your touch melted my heart, But our bond never sustained. You left me blind, with no hope to acquire I’m on a path of broken glass Wounding me as I walk I try my best surpass the torture of each shattered memory But as my diamond tears plummet to the ground, I too, collapse as the blood in my veins fill my scarred hands I look to the grey clouds as the rain washes out the once shining sun. My heart has turned the other way, I gasp for air, but no air attains to me I try to draw myself back up, But the world has damned me down Pushing me toward the cold, hard ground I look into your eyes, pleading for your love to salvage me But as you turn back towards that dreadful broken path You look at me and whisper “I’m sorry” And leave me half alive. As I slowly shut my soulless eyes And see the cold world just one last time A hand rescues me from the abyss, All I see is a dark figure, But who is he? Who is this knight behind his mask? I reach out but am pulled back. Please don’t let this all again exist Don’t hold me down and tie my wrists Don’t take my heart and eradicate it. Instead let this figure revive me. No longer will you hold me Because my blue eyes that you gazed into Have now turned black, exactly as the figure appears. Lifeless and still, from blue to black my dear. 44 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4

Student Karin Wyks

Amalgamation KARIN WYKS

DO

If a tree falls in the middle of the forest but no one is there to hear it does it make a sound? When the wind blows across open ocean water does anyone care to listen? And if I died tonight would you even feel a thing? Or would you simply pretend to never know me? The girl with nothing left to lose. The girl who wasn’t anything special…just a quiet simple girl with a secret kept between you and me. If I ran away and never looked back…would you miss me? Would you cry and try to ask me why? It’s true that I don’t have the answers to any of these things any more than you do. But I suppose I only really have one way to know the answer. Soº tonight I say my last goodbye and hope that maybe you can help me find the answers the these questions left unspoken. Creative Word Choice Expression Short Stories Prespective Flash Fiction. Turning Point Resolution Imagery Endings Morals

Eagle Ink

Heros Villans Six Word Stories

Painting Adventure Life Romance Horror Beginnings Photogaphy ArtisticCommunication Tension Drawing Characters Publications Emotion Poetry Plot. Diction


Media & Art

OUBLE Allison Knudson

Blake Sydel

Elizabeth Workman

Photo of Autumn Gale

Mark Maggs

EAGLE INK // Vol. 2 “Eagle Ink� is a place for students to share their creative and artistic talents through multiple mediums: short stories, flash fiction, poetry, photography, graphic design and any other creative medium. All student submissions are welcome.

To submit work for the magazine or the web, please send pieces in either a Word document or JPEG format to vistalitmag@gmail.com, with your first and last name attached, as well as a title if the work has a title.

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 45


Stephanie K. Kraft, M.D., M.P.H.

Internal Medicine Physician Personalized Primary Care for Teens and Adults 10371 Parkglenn Way #290 Parker, CO 80138 720-851-9533 www.stephaniekraftmd.com

Soignee EA

46 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4


One Question. Five Answers.

? 1 2 3 4 5

ALEX BONNER PHOTOS BY WHITNEY MERRILL

Justin Brownlee Senior

What academic area do you think schools are missing and why?

“[There should be] more individual learning. They have a piano class, but they don’t have things like [an individual] drums [class]. [Classes should] open kids up to being themselves. Some kids are shy. A class where they can feel free to open themselves up [is needed].”

Maddy Jones Sophomore

Rod Oosterhouse Teacher

“Schools need to be more intent on quality of their teaching. District standards are becoming more and more confining to teachers. Since they are so bound with trying to meet the criteria of the district, teachers are actually being able to teach less and less.”

“As a teacher, I can easily see the shortcomings of our education system. Real-life applications in classes need to be prioritized, especially in mathematics. Focus should shift from the current standard of quantity of knowledge to courses and classes that prepare students for the “trades” (plumbing, electrician, etc.) as

Kirsten Deppey Junior

Kendrick Norris Freshman

“Schools are really missing out on the education of cultures around the world. Too many students have stereotypical perceptions of the very diverse cultures of the world.”

“Schools need to have less busy-work and less homework. It takes too much time away from being able to learn stuff.”

Issue 4 // Eagle Eye // 47


48 // Eagle Eye // Issue 4


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