“Soccer is like an art form, it’s not perfect, but I think that’s what makes it beautiful.”
-- Fernando Montano on why he loves soccer
BY THE NUMBERS
Percentage of students that passed the AP biology test.
Homecoming was recently celebrated at NS on the week of Sept. 12th. Activities and themes were seen the whole week while students showed their school spirit.
The overall theme of the week was “Danger Zone,” which was inspired by the new movie “Top Gun: Maverick”.
The homecoming royalty this year was Madison Shelley, freshman attendant; Hallie Probst, sophomore attendant; Rebecca Allred, junior attendant; and Lydia Ence as the homecoming queen.
The whole week of homecoming saw a lot of participation, especially from dressing up throughout the week.
Place Girl’s tennis took at region, most girls placing.
New teachers this year for NSH,
3 mile time senior Tezra Fisk ran, breaking the school record.
NS EVENTS
Friday, Sep. 30
Girls State Tennis
Park
All week, Oct.
Tuesday, October 4
Girls soccer
NS
Wednesday, Oct. 5
invitational
Golf Course
Friday, Oct. 7
NS English teacher Catherine Carney decided to retire after teaching English for 30 years. As Carney decides to take a new direction with her life, students and teachers at NS are going to miss her personality, positivity, and wisdom.
“In all my interactions with her, she was positive and a team player,” said Principal Christine Straatman. “She would jump in and get things done; she is a skilled educator.”
Carney wasn’t just an English teacher at NS, she was at one point both the yearbook and cheer advisor and was even heavily involved in the drama department for some time. She has played a huge role in the school’s progression. She has been doing the school’s ARC program and advisory courses.
“Because Mrs. Carney did so much for our school, we are going to have some areas we need to replace, and we are already feeling that,” Straatman said.
Currently there are substitute teachers watching over her classes until NS can find someone to fill the position. Kaylene Johnson has been helping with the lesson plans, so there is still quality and instruction taking place in
The theme of mirror Monday was only the first. Students at NS also dressed up in aviator sunglasses and jackets for Top Gun Tuesday, cowboy hats for western Wednesday, aprons and soccer shirts for BBQ dad / soccer mom day on Thursday, and all of the Hawk gear on all-out Friday.
Last school year, 14 students had the opportunity to take the AP biology test. Of those students, 11 passed, two failed, and one never completed the test. Overall, 84 percent of the class passed, which is higher than the national average. In the past few years, the national pass rate has stayed in the range of 60 to 70 percent.
“No, I didn’t plan on 84 percent,” AP biology teacher Digger Henrie said. “I was thinking around 6065 percent. When we got the results back I was like ‘What the heck?’ I think most students were surprised they passed.”
The test is scored from one to five. A one or a two doesn’t pass, a three earns college credit for the class, and a four or a five gets a lab credit as well. Both the
test and the class require preparation, dedication, and hard work.
“I think the class did well preparing me,” senior Caylee Nesbit said. “I think it is just a matter of learning all of the information, taking the unit test and keeping that information when moving on to the next unit.”
Other than actively going to class, AP biology students need to study on their own time. The class can only do so much, if the students don’t put in the extra work they won’t do as well on the test.
“I feel like I did well in the class. It was harder than a normal high school class, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” senior Tylee Henrie said. “I probably could’ve studied for the AP test better. I still did great on the test though and scored a 4.”
BY JOSHUA C OX MANAGING EDITOR
This year the NSSD Alumni Foundation decided to establish the NS Hall of Fame. In doing this they hope to not only recognize great NS alumni and employees, but to also raise money for NSSD.
To start out what the foundation hopes to be a great tradition, they picked three celebrated individuals: Governor Spencer Cox, George Lee, and Roy Ellefsen, PhD. Their respective nomination reasons vary. Cox is an alumnus, Lee was a football coach, and Ellefsen a former teacher at NS.
“It was a nice mix,” Superintendent Nan Ault said. “I thought that was appropriate. Rather than just focusing on one person, we could actually spread the love and really honor more than one.”
The foundation was able to perform this successfully, especially at the dinner. Eighty-seven people attended the event, each paying for a ticket. Not only that, but participants re-
the
Girls tennis takes second at region,
place
Voice of the North Sanpete Hawks
Photo by Hope Shelley Mrs. Carney has a pleasant conversation with secretary Becky Rees.
Bio,
Photo provided by NS Times
Inductees (from left to right) George Lee, Roy Ellefsen, and Eddie Cox, standing in for Spencer Cox, hold their awards.
Photo provided by NS times
Homecoming royalty (from left to right) Queen Lydia Ence, Rebecca Allred, Hallie Probst, and Madison Shelley. They were escorted by Jake Cox, Beto Tapia, Brandt Lund, and Eli Talbot.
Last year, NS administration released NCs from students with NCs relating to missed attendance. They made the change after a reinterpretation of Utah’s Truancy Enforcement Moratorium with counsel from the school’s attorney Carol Lear. Last year was the first year students were issued NCs after the coronavirus pandemic.
“A decision was made then to bring the [attendance] policy back with our interpretation of what the moratorium meant,” Straatman said, “but at the end of the school year last year - in looking at data and having conversations with our attorney, that helped us look at and try to define it and bring some clarity to it - the decision was made to release NC credit.”
The Truancy Enforcement Moratorium was in place from March 17, 2021, to June 1, 2022. The bill’s purpose was to help schools recover from the coronavirus pandemic by decriminalizing certain truancy violations.
“The feel of the moratorium is that we needed to be cautious doing anything that was punitive related to attendance,” Straatman said, “and so it’s that interpretation of whether you feel NCs are punitive or not punitive.”
Last year, the administration decided to continue the
issuance of NCs with the exception of a quarterly deadline. Students had the flexibility to recover ARC hours past the end of a quarter without losing credit. Unfortunately, many students had a year’s worth of ARC at the very end of the school year. After again reviewing the moratorium, the NS administration decided to forgive NCs given to students who still had ARC hours.
“Just because we released the NCs doesn’t mean that we are making a statement that attending school is not important,” Straatman said. “We know it’s important for kids to be in class. It’s important for them to have in-person interaction with teachers. There are discussions and activities you will not be able to make up if you’re not there in person.”
Straatman emphasized that students only had their NCs released if they had passed their classes. The decision to release an NC came down to a student’s grade, not their truancy. If you weren’t passing your class, you still had an F.
“To the kids who made up that time during the school year,” Straatman, “what I would say is that I hope that the time that they spent making that up, interacting with their teachers, was valuable. We want them here; we want kids here. We want kids interacting with teachers, we want them engaging and working on their homework, and we hope that although they put in that time, I hope it was valuable time.”
NS Junior Payton Hendry supported the decision to release NCs last year, although he wishes they had made the change earlier in the year to help more students who had class time to make up in ARC.
“I think that would’ve definitely helped me,” Hendry said, “because there were like times where I wouldn’t go to class because I had to get physical therapy from Jamie before my practice fourth period, so it would have been a lot nicer if I didn’t have to worry about ARC then. I think the attendance policy should be a lot less intense because missing school is sometimes necessary.”
Although it can be a struggle, putting in the extra effort is worth it. The major reason for taking AP biology is to receive the college credit. Students have a full year to learn instead of just a semester, and it’s much cheaper.
“I took the class so I could earn college credits as well as high school ones,” Tylee Henrie said. “What motivated me to do well was the price of the class and the time it took. If I didn’t pass the final test, I would’ve wasted lots of time and money.”
While the students are paying attention to the actual material being
ceived speeches from all of the inductees and the people who nominated them. Among these were Ben Cox for Ellefsen, Rhett Bird for Lee, and Jeremy Madsen for Cox. Aside from the ceremony and speeches, the foundation is also planning a plaque to be displayed at the high school.
This entire project, spearheaded by Abby Ivory, emerged from her previous school district out of state.
“The idea came from a desire to unite the communities in North Sanpete in support of the school district,” Ivory said. “My old high school in South Carolina has a Hall of Fame and I thought it was a great way to recognize alumni and their successes. We expanded our criteria to not only alumni but anyone who contributed to the success of North Sanpete.”
All of the men were chosen appropriately, nominated by different alumni and school personnel. They hope in years to come that all great employees or alumni will be recognized.
“We looked at people who were nominated multiple times,” Ault said, “and we just chose three they thought would be a good place to start. Really, there were so many you could’ve started with. We hope to get to all of them.”
But now, they’ve decided to focus on these three, Cox, Lee, and Ellefsen. Ellefsen is praised and nominated by teacher/ counselor Ben Cox.
“Roy Ellefsen was one of the greatest teachers in the history of North Sanpete High School,” Ben Cox said. “He taught college French, humanities, and English, and he led the choir to the highest marks at state for many years. He was an institution here, and his legacy continues as many teachers currently at NS learned from him. Roy inspired us with his wit, his humor, and his brilliance. He loved his subjects almost as much as he loved his
students, which is why we loved him in return. He is the reason I and many others became teachers.”
Rhett Bird gave reasons for Lee’s nomination.
“George was nominated for the time, commitment and dedication that he gave to little league sports in our community,” Bird said. “For nearly 30 years he started and ran our league little football program. Because of the commitment he put into it, hundreds of kids have had the opportunity to excel and take their talents to colleges and even to the national football league. Our school has benefited from those players moving on and giving back in such ways as a new weight room and sports training room so that hundreds more can continue to excel in sports here at North Sanpete High School.”
And finally, Ivory supports Spencer’s nomination.
“Spencer is deserving because of the strides he has made in leadership and government. He is a leader that isn’t afraid to stand up for his beliefs and the public good. Plus, he is gonna be President one day,” Ivory said.
Originally, the foundation planned on only giving one individual this award.
“We were actually going to start with one,” Ault said, “and we ended up saying there’s no reason for us, if we’re going to have a dinner, we might as well have three people.”
For this reason, Ault thinks that the ceremony went better than it might have with only one person.
“I really thought it would be only one person,” Ault said, “and it’s hard to rally everyone around a dinner and try to make that a bigger event for the community. So, it was great that we opened it up.”
Since the moratorium ended in June, NS will return to its original truancy issuance and enforcement as stated in the attendance policy.
“The moratorium is lifted,” Straatman said. “We went back to our attendance policy as written, NC’s can accrue, kids need to make them by the quarter how the original policy was written.”
This year, Spanish teacher Greg Dettinger will take Mrs. Carney’s place as the new ARC monitor. ARC is now open from Tuesday to Thursday from 2:30-3:30 p.m.
“I don’t think anybody wants to stay after and makeup time, but they missed it, to begin with,” Dettinger said, “so they have to make it up somehow. I think it’s pretty awesome we give them an opportunity whereas at other schools if you miss, you miss.”
Currently, a committee of teachers and administration is discussing future changes to the school’s attendance policy. In particular, the committee will discuss how to tackle attendance now that the district will be moving to the Personalized, Competency-Based Learning (PCBL) framework.
“We are looking at that: should attendance be attached to students earning or not earning credit for a class? Through the lenses, there’s a much bigger background maybe to that conversation because the district is moving to PCBL - and that doesn’t focus on necessarily class time.”
taught, Henrie has to focus on the best way to teach it. The teaching style played a big role in the score difference between the years.
“I’ve only taught it for two years and the first year we had almost 50 percent pass,” Henrie said. “Most first year teachers only have 18-25 percent pass rate so we had a really good first year.”
As he makes changes to the way he teaches the material, he hopes the scores will improve even more this year.
“I think we’ll be 100 percent this year, I hope,” Henrie said. “Naturally you figure out what things worked the previous year, what things didn’t, and what more you need to do.”
Although there are fewer students in many of the advanced classes, including AP biology, Henrie hopes more students will take the opportunity and put in the effort to do well in the class and on the test.
Hall of Fame, continued from page 1For the past two years, school lunches have been free for all students in the school district. But this year, that perk has come to an end.
“I think we are just trying to get back to normal,” said lunch lady Melanie Smith. “And that’s part of being normal, the government helped us out while we were going through the pandemic. Now we are back.”
For those that can’t afford to pay for lunches every day, Smith explained a way for students to be able to deal with that.
“If you can’t afford it, there is a free and reduced form that you can fill out, and then you can qualify for a free or reduced lunch meal,” Smith said.
In order for students to see if they can qualify and get a free or reduced lunch price, then they can find information about it on the school website. Or it can be found on MySchoolFees, which is where students pay for lunches online.
“There are quite a few students that [fill out the form],” Smith said. “You can fill out the form and you can qualify for a free meal, or a reduced amount, and that helps families that struggle a bit, and stuff like that.”
Some students think that the price is too high for lunch, because they pay so much and end up eating not a lot.
“Yeah it’s like paying $100 a year, and if you go to school for 12 years, then that starts to add up,” said freshman Parker Horrocks.
Smith believes that the lunch that the lunch ladies prepare is a good meal, and it’s worth the money students pay for it.
“If you put everything on your tray that we prepare for you, then it’s a good meal, and some kids are picky and they don’t want this, and they don’t want that. They don’t feel like they are getting a whole lot. But what we do offer is a good meal,” Smith said.
It’s cheaper and more worthwhile to just eat school lunch instead of quickly running down to Terrels or Maverick. If students get all the food on their plate that the lunch ladies provide for them, it’s good value for the money paid.
the classroom.
“The position is posted right now. It is going to be a one-year only position, which means whoever we choose for that position will last until the end of the school year, then we will repost it for a permanent position,” Straatman said.
With all the recent changes in the classroom, there have been some accommodations made for Carney’s old classes. There will be multiple options for students’ first quarter grades.
Her students will be able to turn in any assignments until Oct. 9 without any penalties. Students will be able to choose to receive a letter grade or a P (pass), which would not affect their GPA. This is only applicable if their letter grade is above 65 percent.
NS will also offer Carney’s students a grade replacement option at the end of the second quarter. If the student’s
second quarter grade is higher than their first quarter grade, they have the option to put that higher grade on the first quarter grade as well. This will not be available if the student did not pass the class.
Recently Carney has been thinking about what she wants to do with the rest of her life. She might go to another school and teach again or try something new. While making this decision, she has been reading a lot and enjoying the break from teaching - although there are things she misses already.
“It’s the family that you have here, whether it’s my coworkers, friends, or students,” Carney said.
She took the time to get to know people and she will miss being able to see the people she is closest to everyday.
She always kept up on events throughout the school because she genuinely cared about the students and the
school.
“Once a Hawk, always a Hawk,” Carney said. Carney got her degree at the University of Illinois Chicago in 1991 for teaching English. She cares so much about literature and reading, and she wanted to share that with the students.
Carney loved to give background knowledge to the things she taught and made sure the students knew the history and time periods of the text. She feels like it made it a lot more meaningful.
“She retains information better than anyone I’ve ever met. And details, she is really good with the details,” Johnson said.
Johnson is one of the people that Carney has made an impact on, for eight years their rooms have been next to each other, so they’ve had each other to rely on. They were able to collaborate and make an
impact on each other’s teaching.
Throughout her years of teaching, Carney has learned a lot of lessons and looks at students with a different perspective.
“I’ve come to learn there is more to school than academics, which wasn’t where I was when I started,” Carney said.
Carney will be greatly missed by the school, especially for her contagious laugh and storytelling abilities. Her impact on NS will not be forgotten.
“I’m grateful for her service,” Straatman said. “She dedicated 30 years to this profession in helping serve and educate our youth. There are not very many careers that are more important than that. She didn’t do it for money, didn’t do it for fame, she did it because she loved her profession, teaching, and education.”
Jan Peterson is new English teacher for the year, filling Kate Carney’s position that opened when she retired over Labor Day. Peterson is an alumna of NS, so when the position opened she was excited to apply.
“I graduated from NS, so being able to teach here is a way to give back to the
community,” Peterson said. “I also live in the area so it’s a way to help people who are close to me. I want to be able to help students become the best citizens they possibly can and succeed in life.”
She’s wanted to teach since her high school years. Now, as Peterson teaches her classes, she plans on incorporating methods she watched her high school instructors use.
“One thing I learned from them was
the value of discussion,” Peterson said. “I think it’s important to discuss what we’re reading, what you’re doing with other people…we all have different experiences and want different things, and so we can really add to each other’s understanding if we talk about it.”
She spent last year teaching at private school Mount Vernon Academy in Murray.
Carney, continued from page 1 Clockwise from left: journalism float, Power Stuff volleyball, pep assembly, parade, poster making, and students dressing up for Top Gun
BY H ALLEY POWER STAFF R EPORTER
In August and September, the state of Utah had a record-breaking heat wave, with temperatures soaring over 100 degrees. Because of these high temperatures, students and teachers have been struggling to focus on their classes at NS, and many other schools are trying to find solutions to these problems.
This summer, there were 26 days where the temperature was over 100 F in Salt
Lake City, and it isn’t just hot there.
In Sanpete County, the 12-month average increased by 1.3 F from 1900 to 2022. The heat is not only affecting the environment, but also the people. “I can’t even think right because it is so hot,” said junior Breanna Kumor.
Sections of the high school building don’t have any air conditioning, and that makes it hard for the kids and teachers to cool off. Math teacher Matt Syme says he lets his students have breaks and allows them to
go to the air-conditioned part of the school so they can focus more. He even goes with them sometimes just because his body needs a break from the heat.
“When it reaches a certain temperature, your body goes into survival mode,” Syme said. “When your brain is in that mode, it doesn’t have the ability to learn.”
In the south portion of NS, classroom temperatures have climbed to nearly 90 degrees. This heat, especially
inside, is not normal and is not comfortable for people to learn and work in.
“[Students are] less patient,” daid math teacher John Sadler. “Their attention span is less, and their ability to problem solve is even more less.”
Students struggle not only with learning because of the heat, but they also have a hard time accomplishing simple daily tasks.
“The heat makes me not want to do things,” said sophomore Caden Kidder.
septic systems. No job is too big or too small.
New teachers have now arrived at NS and are ready to start teaching and figuring out what this school is all about. Some have taught before and some are completely new to the process. All in all there are five new teachers.
BY KIPPLYN HOLBROOK STAFF REPORTER
Greg Dettinger has been a principal, teacher, a coach, and was in the air force as a bilingual law enforcement officer. He then got medically retired after having injuries in the line of duty. That later on influenced his decision to become a teacher.
“If I can’t keep the streets safe by taking gangs off the streets, maybe I can go into education and try and help those kids not make those decisions,” Dettinger said.
Dettinger has had many jobs helping students and children. He has spent years of his life dedicated to helping their education, which is why he came back to academics.
“I just wanted to get back in a classroom,” said Dettinger. “I just really like being around kids and I love the language.”
Because of his love for the kids and language he wants to impact their lives and make a difference.
“My goal is to just make a difference. When I die I would just be happy if my epitaph said
BY MAKAYLA HANSEN STAFF REPORTER
Carrie Cox is a new teacher at NS. She is a special education teacher that teaches co-math. In her classes she supports all her IEP students.
“I give my students their additional help to make sure they are able to pass their classes and give them the extra time needed to do well in their math class,” Cox said. “I also struggled with math in high school. I remember what it’s like to struggle and then do well in math class and it helps me to be more patient with my students.”
Cox loves to help her students with math. She helps them when they need her help and she helps them when they need to get caught up with their grades and their classes.
“Special education is my passion, it’s always where I’ve wanted to end up,” Cox said.
Cox is from Manti. She wanted to stay in Sanpete when she was looking for a job. She was originally looking for a job in elementary education. While she was finishing up her degree in elementary education and special education the special education position popped up at the high school and someone strongly encouraged her to apply. So she tried it and so far she has loved it.
“I think the easiest way to motivate students is to let them know that their effort matters and then they’re not so worried whether or not they get it on
BY MAKAYLA HANSEN SECTION EDITOR
Leslie Jones is a new teacher at NS, but this isn’t her first year teaching. She is the Family and Consumer Science teacher. She teaches early childhood education, foods and nutrition 1 and 2, and interior design 1 and 2.
“I just love education. I’m very passionate about education and teaching,” Jones said.
She has taught many classes from elementary, to middle school, to high school. Some of these include P.E. and health.
Jones has a health background and has taken nutrition classes. She loves to cook, bake, and experiment in her own kitchen. Jones has a personal training background and certification. She has also taken many nutrition courses.
She started as a TA at the high school after COVID. Jones loved the people and the connections she made as she got to know the students, so she decided to teach. Another reason she chose to be a teacher was because her dad and three of her sisters were teachers too.
“I love to help others and I love to learn. I’m always studying something new,” Jones said.
Natalie Wright is the new social studies teacher and U.S
teacher, and been an instructional assistant, this is her first year teaching specific classes in a high school setting.
“I was really nervous about teaching U.S. government,” Wright said. “History is not my strong point yet, but I’m enjoying it more than I thought.”
The State of Utah Board of Education provides core standards and a curriculum for the class, but also provides a lot of freedom of choice for what Wright chooses to teach or dive deeper into from the curriculum due to the amount of content the students need to learn and the small amount of time to learn it.
“I’ve decided to focus more on students being able to use this information in their life,” Wright said. “Like what do I need to know about U.S government as a 40-something-year-old adult? I need to know how to register to vote, how to vote, and how to find those politicians I vote for. I need to know what the laws are, and what my rights are. And so instead of memorizing places and times and dates and people, I’ve decided to focus more on how you use that information.”
Nicholas Evans
BY KIPPLYN HOLBROOK STAFF REPORTER
Nicholas Evans has started as a teacher this year. He’s teaching Special Education, along with freshman academy, language arts, and
learning strategies. He loves all of it.
“I’ve always wanted to teach, but I’ve never gotten around to it,” Evans said. “You get to feel so much more and have so many more different experiences. It’s also more one-on-one which is more important to me.”
Before teaching, Evans was a construction worker. He worked construction for 25 years. Originally, he wanted to be a history teacher until he was a TA last year, which made him realize he wanted to teach special Ed.
Evans also is a football coach. Although double jobs at the high school are not ideal, he still enjoys it.
“Coaching and teaching can get hectic, but I love them both,” Evans said.
Evans’ time coaching has been highlights of his time working at NS.
“The only time I get frustrated is when I see the players not realizing their own potential and I’m not able to coach them in a way for them to see their potential,” Evans said.
Carrie Cox >
< Nicholas Evans
Natalie Wright >
Leslie Jones >
Greg Dettinger
Connection, diligence, happiness, and even discomfort. These are all things NS senior Fernando Montaño seeks in his day-to-day life.
Born and raised in Moroni, Montaño grew up with three sisters. It was here that he found his love for soccer.
“Soccer is like an art form, it’s not perfect, but I think that’s what makes it beautiful,” Montaño said.
He sees that the game can switch direction at any time and finds interest in that. The game’s success is not only in the hands of him, but in his teammates as well.
“I love how much the team is willing to put in because it’s not about certain individuals, it’s a team sport,” said Montaño. “So if one person’s off their game, it tags on to everybody else and creates an imbalance.”
He puts hours in at practice and home towards soccer. It has become a high priority in his life, but he finds interest in other places as well.
“Homeboy will wake up, go to jazz band, school, soccer practice, go home, do his chores, and stay up
to finish his homework,” sister Diana Montaño said.
As he has a tight schedule, it is hard to fit other activities in, but since becoming SBO President Montaño has done just that. He attends many school activities to support his peers and hopes to influence others to come support too.
“The fact he’s become a big part of the school makes me want to be more involved as well,” senior Eric Navarro said.
Last year’s attendance for Montaño and his friends had reached an all-time low. He seeks to fix this by becoming more involved himself.
“I want them to come to school, to make them feel like school is a safe place for them and that they have someone they know,” said Montaño.
Being SBO president puts him in a higher position where he feels he has a big voice. He wants to use his position to bring more excitement to school activities. But this position does not come without difficulties.
“Through him just having the privilege to be an SBO, he breaks stereotypes and barriers,” said Diana Montaño. “It is rather
obvious that he is Mexican-American, so he brings with him a heavy load on his shoulders to try to represent his community, as well as himself.”
With his position comes opportunity but being in the spotlight is something he struggles with.
“I don’t like sticking out that much because I get shy and sometimes stutter here and there,” Montaño said.
Anxiety is something he often feels in taking on the role of president. He sees this as an opportunity for improvement and wants to become more comfortable with being uncomfortable.
“There are a lot of people that tend to stick to their own bubble, their own friend group, but I want to get out there,” Montaño said.
He likes the different perspectives that other people have and tries to make connections with everyone. Because of this, he has made many friends over the past few years and is a good friend himself.
“I think what makes him a good friend is that he is very inclusive and sympathetic to everyone he meets, even if he doesn’t know them it’s apparent that he cares,” Navarro said.
Many people find Montaño to be a supportive friend. He often focuses on others more than himself and doesn’t outwardly show it when he is having a bad day.
“The days where I notice it more is when his social battery is past low, it is on the floor,” Diana Montaño said.
Montaño’s sister shares these feelings as she was also SBO president. Even on hard days he conceals these feelings, but his sister can see through that. This is because of the close relationship they have grown over the past few years. They have spent a lot of time together and are more than just siblings but friends as well.
“She kept saying that I was her best friend and I didn’t really take that into account until like the last couple days that she was there,” said Montaño.
It was after his sister left for college in Canada that he realized how close he was with her. This feeling is shared between them both.
“Moving away from home, and especially not seeing my little brother, has been a challenging experience,” Diana Montaño said.
They share a love for traveling and have traveled to Japan, South Korea, Switzerland,
Mexico, and far corners of the USA together.
“Through getting out of our bubbles and being put into situations where we didn’t know how to order fried chicken or find cooking oil in a store, we have learned to be patient with each other and also lowkey bully each other for a quick laugh,” said Diana Montaño. “And
after the experiences we shared, it would be pretty difficult and weird if we weren’t close.”
The time he has spent traveling with his family and sisters has grown an interest he wants to continue outside of high school. He wants to travel and continue making new connections.
photo by Robyn Syme Student Body President Fernando Montaño speaks to his fellow students at an assembly.
port each other and are just such good teammates to each other.”
The girls on the team explained that they aren›t just some girls who spend time together and play a game together. They have created a strong bond.
“[Teamwork] is key to a successful season, and I think that teamwork is a major part of your results. It all depends on your teamwork,” said Strait.
Lamb also explained that it isn’t just a sport to them anymore. When you see someone on the team in the hall or somewhere other than practice, there is always some sort of hi or greeting that connects them. Also, there is a lot of fun and joking around.
ate this volleyball team.
“We have a pretty good team,” Lamb said. “I mean, it is hard where we’ve had our moment where it is not as good, but we have also learned a lot.”
Having that connection between players also adds a sort of trust and connection. Even if there were some challenges in the beginning, with losing to some teams that the team felt they should have beaten. Also with some possible upcoming challenges or tough competitions, like region or state. “I feel like our toughest competition will be ourselves, ” Turpin said.
BY BROOKE SYME MANAGING EDITORThe NS girl’s volleyball team starts the season with solid connections on and off the court.
“We are in a good spot where we are at, and we have the most potential where we are at this year for a state championship,” said senior libero Emily Strait.
This new year and different approaches to the game in this year’s season resulted in the volleyball team having won eleven games and only losing seven so far.
“We are working on the steps so instead of just hitting the ball hard and swinging to get a good kill,” said senior middle blocker, Phaedra Lamb, “I want you to roll shoot to the right corner, and you’re gonna score,’ so I listen to the coach and score.”
Lamb explained that in the past years that she has played, she felt a lot more pressure to play hard and push to get the last five points with a great hit. But this year, it is quite different, with a lot more focus on strategy and focuses on more technical parts of the game.
“It feels like we all have this
common goal, and everyone wants to work hard,” assistant coach Jori Turpin said.
The team believes there isn›t anything that is stopping them from practicing hard and doing their best.
“We like to think of it as we get in and we get out,” said Lamb.
They are pushing to really focus and practice hard. There aren’t any distractions like there have been in the past.
“Us as coaches are just really excited for this group this year because they get along really well,” Turpin said, “and sup-
This team isn’t made up of the same group of people. There are girls from all sorts of different clubs or organizations. That connection keeps them close and together on and off the court.
“It’s like no other feeling, it’s awesome when everyone is on, and everyone is having a good time,” Strait said. “We are playing our best, and we are just having fun as a team is when we do our best, and I think that’s what makes volleyball so much fun. The teamwork and ethic you put into the sport makes it fun.”
There is just such a diverse group that came together to cre-
She went on to explain that there isn’t a certain team they are too worried about this year in the region competition, but one of their biggest concerns is themselves. In a past game, against Manti, Turpin explained that a big part in them losing was that they got into their own heads and weren’t playing like themselves.
But on the other hand, one of the most outstanding achievements a team can make is growing together and making it through those tough times and getting better and better.
“I think this season is going to be a perfect one, and I’m excited to see how we end and how we finish,” Strait said.
BY JAKE COX MANAGING EDITOR
This year, the NS girls tennis team managed to take second in region.
“I was really proud of the girls this season,” tennis coach Matt Braithwaite said. “They’ve performed so well all season and to see them take second place overall in the region, especially with some tough competition, was really nice to see.”
Nobody on the varsity team took less than third place, with one third place, three second places, and two first place finishes.
“I ended up taking second in region,” second singles Bella Lewis said. “I lost to Juab in the finals, but it was a super close match and Juab ended first overall in region, so I thought I did pretty well.”
All varsity players for NS qualified for the upcoming state tournament held at Liberty Park in the Salt Lake area.
“We had a play-in actually just this last Saturday for all of our singles players to see if they would make it to state,”
Braithwaite said. “All of them won their matches and are now in the state tournament. I’m really excited that we have our full girls team actually going because many years we usually don’t have everyone qualify for state.”
Every girl this year qualified for state under a new tennis ranking for 3A schools. That ranking is called UTR or the Universal Tennis Rating. The Universal tennis rating is what controls wins and losses on the season for players, and how close their matches were.
“Basically, UTR is just like any other system,” Braithwaite said. “It takes the top eight players, and they get byes into the first round of state. The others all have to make it to state. I like this system because it shows your real tennis rating and how good someone is. Even if you lose, your rating could still go up if you played well against an opponent who may have a way higher rating than you. Wins and losses matter still, but now they matter less.”
With those wins and losses mattering less, we now have all girls into the state
tournament, with both doubles teams receiving a bye the first round, and all three singles playing a first round matchup.
“I’m really excited, but also really nervous,” first singles Abri Benson said. “I think it will definitely be an exciting
experience for me, but at the same time I’m worried about losing out in the first round. I just hope I can do my best for our team and that we will compete well. I’m happy that we all made it this far and all made it to state.”
The NS girls soccer team has played well this season, despite having a record of 3-11. Recently at Delta, girls soccer beat Delta for the first time in years.
“The entire Delta program was extremely salty and bitter about it because they realized that perhaps for the first time in years, maybe even a decade or longer, they lost to NS at home,” JV coach Zach Hafen said.
Additionally, the team has won two other games against the Alumni team and the Utah Military Acad-
emy. Though they have suffered some tough losses, they keep playing hard as their season continues.
“We’ve lost a whole lot of games, and again, like I’ve said, we’ve competed in most of them,” said girls soccer coach Julio Tapia.
Small mistakes can cost the team a game, and there have been several.
“We have arguably the most talented girls team we probably have ever had,” Hafen said. “Whether it be small mistakes or just not being able to clean up the fine details or finishing touches, we have not been able to capitalize on the opportunities that we’ve been given.”
The girls have grown from challenges and keep progressing as they play and try to improve little by little.
“I especially noticed that on the JV team we had a lot of girls who at the beginning of the season looked and felt like they didn’t have any idea what was going on,” Hafen said. “Now, all of them have stepped up drastically.”
A few on the team are standing out. Abigail Huber and Lydia Ence are two that strengthen the team by scoring goals offensively while also helping defend. Defensive standouts include Ashlyn Anderson, Journey Toomey, and Abigail Philpot.
All the players, including these, are actively working hard and polishing the skills that they have.
“Overall, we are moving right along,” Tapia said. Furthermore, the soccer team’s emotions and mindset
also changed and adapted as well as their skills.
“One person will have a bad attitude and it just spreads across the field, but we’ve been able to work through that and have a good attitude and work together,” said team captain Lydia Ence.
This sport is one that not only changes you while you are playing it but also affects how you are in your day-today life.
“First and foremost, especially with the girls team, I’ve grown a lot in empathy, learning how to communicate, to lead and coach young people in their formative years,” Hafen said. “I’ve had to learn how to be less selfish, I’ve had to learn how to listen more, and I’ve had to learn how to care a lot more.”
Soccer can be a very emotional sport that is constantly changing. Players’ hopes can be lifted only to be dashed, and new goals are constantly being set.
“It brings out every possible emotion that you can think of in one game,” Tapia said. “Especially if you’re really, really playing as a whole team and the other team is doing the exact same.”
The team like many others is very close and tries to support and uplift each other. As teammates, they are always trying to work together.
“I love it so much. I just love the environment, we’re all just friends and it’s just such a good environment to be in,” Ence said.
photo by NS Times Senior Aubrey Hansen spikes ball in a home win against Juan Diego. The team won 3-1. They are currently ranked second in region. photo by Quinn Allred Junior Abri Benson smashe a backhand in a recent home match. All tennis players placed in the top three at region and advanced on to state. photo by Adelheide Johansen Junior Adelay Stavros dribbles past Manti defender. The team lost a heartbreaker, 4-3. Scan for more sports stories.
The football team won two home games against Emery and Delta. They’ve lost to Juab at home and the homecoming game against Canyon View the score being 32-34.
In their away games the Hawks have lost to Grantsville, Payson, and Desert Hills which are all highly ranked and larger schools. Losing in all their away games has been tough for the team.
“But those are the games that we feel like are important for what we need to do towards the end of the year in the playoffs,” head coach Rhett Bird said.
The goal for the playoffs is to have a first-round bye. The first round bye goes to the top four teams. With their schedule right now, they want to focus on winning region so that getting in the top four is a better possibility.
NS started out their region schedule with tough losses to Canyon View and Juab.
“We have a pretty good region. We are just going to go into region one game at a time and just try and get better for playoffs,” senior Beau Jacobson said.
The team is lower in numbers than they have been in a while and with players being injured and sick it has been hard to run practices and win games. The players must play more than they’ve been used to
in the past. Playing both offense and defense. But having a low number of players has also helped the team in a few ways.
“One thing that we do like with the group that we have is with there not being as many kids we’re getting more reps,” Bird said. “Obviously with anything that you do, the more reps that you get at it the better you’re going to be. That’s one nice thing that we’ve seen, is that there’s not as many kids and so we’re getting more reps within their own positions.”
Bird presented multiple ideas on why there are fewer boys playing football this year but there hasn’t been a pinpointed answer. Covid may have changed their mindset, making them not want to get out and work anymore. There’s also the idea that there may have been bad experiences in their past playing football. It could have been past coaches causing kids to not like playing football when they’re younger, so they don’t play in high school.
“Maybe that’s another answer to why there’s not as many people coming out,” Bird said. “We haven’t focused as much on the relationship side and we’ve probably put too much emphasis on the detail, the x’s and o’s, what we’re actually doing rather than the relationship that we have with the kids.”
Despite some of those challenges, Bird’s feelings toward the team are very positive.
“I think the group that we have, it’s a
really good group,” Bird said. “They communicate well and they are really close.”
This connection between the players helps the team work better together on the field. Bird and the coaches wanted to focus more on the relationship side of things.
“I think it’s been better this year. As coaches, we’ve kind of taken a look at ourselves and said ‘ok, what kind of relationships are we building with these kids,’ because the bottom line is I think kids participate when they feel like there’s a rela-
tionship,” Bird said.
The players have noticed this and have felt they have good relationships with the coaches. They’re happy with the connection they have.
“I think a lot of our coaches, there just like our teammates too,” Jacobson said. “Our coaches spend a lot of time with us just like players so I’m just as close with some of the coaches as the players. It’s almost like family, we’re all connected. We all see each other as equal and want to have the best chance to win.’
This year’s NS cross country team has performed well, despite losing many seniors. Even with a smaller team, they are still breaking records.
Senior Tezra Fisk broke the school’s 5k record previously held by Bryce Carr, class of 2005.
“I’m kinda just there to run,” said Fisk.
This was a huge accomplishment for him and the team. The new record is 15.59. Fisk is co-captain with senior Ryland Cook. Senior Madelyn Christensen is the top varsity runner for the girls’ team.
“Madelyn is by far our strongest runner,” said senior Tylee Henrie. “She is good.”
But even with these strong athletes the team may struggle this year due to the team’s small size. They have hopes of performing well at region but are unsure about state.
“If we run a good race at region we might have a chance,” said Christensen
Cross country athletes compete by running a 5k course on varied terrain that includes up and downhill sections. Some of these courses can be very difficult and wind, heat, or rain can greatly affect the performance of the runners. NS’s home course is run on the Skyline golf course.
The team knows what perseverance is. It takes real persistence and a well-trained mind to perform efficiently in their sport.
“Some may see their interest in running and racing
may seem strange,” said cross country coach Bill Bedford, “but really, they are not that different from athletes in other sports, or high school students in general. Everyone has talents and interests; theirs just happens to be distance running.”
These runners take pride in pushing themselves to the limit of physical endurance and find joy in achieving personal goals that seem unattainable. It takes a lot of practice, persistence, and self-discipline to perform at the highest level in cross country.
“[Cross country] has had a very positive impact on my life, it has helped me look at the positive more and it helped my work ethic a lot by making me do hard things by myself.” said Cook.
The daily practice consists of running up to 5 miles in the heat or rain. Athletes also must strive to stay in shape during the off season. Many athletes give up soda and energy drinks to do so.
“Junior year I finally stopped with sodas and energy drinks,” said Cook, “which was really hard, because most people are really used to that.”
There are, however, a lot of positives to participating in the sport too. Cross country athletes learn self-discipline and hard work that can easily be applied in any situation.
“Hard work leads to success, no matter how you define it,” said Bedford.
There is also the great sense of pride that comes when they complete a goal, finish a tough race or practice and knowing that they didn’t give up.
“My favorite thing about coaching,” Bedford said,
“is probably seeing them meet goals and experiencing the satisfaction of a job well done.”
Coach Bedford is another inspiration for his team. He enjoys pushing them towards their goals and watching them achieve them.
“My sophomore year,” said Fisk, “when I moved here, is when I really started getting into XC again, the coach and the teammates were great, it was a better environment, I could tell the coach cared and the teammates brought me in and I started to enjoy it.”
Teamwork is another huge part of XC. Although the athletes perform individually, they help push each other to perform to the best of their ability in both practice and during races. Due to their smaller size, the boys and girls on the team have created a special bond and strive to encourage each other.
“I become motivated by helping the team feel happy and accomplished,” said Cook.
photo by Brandt Lund Sophomore Brock Jacobsen makes reception in game against Delta. The team won 42-12.
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cently, in 2021.
“It essentially is just a play within a play”, said Barlow “because it is about a few middle school age kids putting on a play and how there is a legend that says that it is haunted.”
The cast is small which has proven difficult to be able to find places for all the cast members. Another difficulty is that the cast normally has more time to be able to prepare for the Fall show, going well into November. The show itself takes place in a small amount of time and has unique performance style, such as incorporating shadows and jump-scares.
“It is definitely very different from what we have done in the past,” Drama Club President Connor Power said. “We’ve done lots of Disney shows and it is a different kind of musical where everyone can relate to it because it’s about a middle school experience but in a fun and spooky way.”
BY BRANDT LUND PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORThe musical put on by the drama department at NS is a popular event among students and parents, and this year there are two musicals to look forward to, starting with “Goosebumps, Phantom of the Auditorium.”
“I grew up reading Goosebumps and as I was learning more about this show I really wanted to do it,” drama teacher
Alex Barlow said. “Another reason I wanted to do it is because we would be the Utah Premier, meaning we are the first ones in Utah to do this musical, since it is a newer production.”
A common misconception among people is that the musical is an adaptation of the TV series. The musical itself is based off of the book written by R. L. Stine, which was published in 1994. The story of the musical takes place in modern times and the musical itself was made re-
Drama Sterling Scholar Haven Caldwell explains the story behind the musical; Brooke and Zeke are two middle schoolers excited to be in the production “The Phantom”, and are not scared by the legend saying that the play is cursed, until strange and spooky messages appear and a masked menace starts disrupting the musical rehearsals, the two start to wonder. What if there really is a ghost haunting their school, trying to stop the show?
Preparations as far as the set go involve a stage on the stage where the musical itself takes place. Here, the characters inside the musical practice their various roles and then strange things start to happen, supposedly because of the curse that the legend of the musical expounds. The set also involves special screens used to create shadows for a unique effect for the
In addition to this spin on a popular series, the second musical that the drama department at NS will be performing is “Guys and Dolls”. This musical takes place when newsboy hats were in style and drop-waist dresses were commonly worn along with fur coats and heels.
“Guys and Dolls takes place in the 1920’s-1930’s era or the roaring twenties,” said Barlow, “It is a romantic comedy centered around two couples, one of the couples are complete opposites, one being a gambler and the other coming from a super religious background. The other couple has been engaged for fourteen years and the girl has been pushing the guy to finally get married.”
Goosebumps will be shown just in time for Halloween with Guys and Dolls being performed in the middle of February.
“Hopefully Goosebumps will be a fun Halloween activity for everyone,” said Barlow. “You’ll just have to come and see it for yourself!”
Marching band was gone last year, the year before they only performed at games, and three years ago was the last time they were in full swing.
After the three year hiatus, marching band is back! This year the marching band had enough people sign up, and those who have done it before are excited to do it again and that they’re doing both games and competition.
People have wondered why marching band wasn’t here last year, and the main reason was that they didn’t have enough people.
“Just depending on how many people come out for it. This year we had enough in the department to make it happen,” said Tim Kidder, marching band instructor.
“They all worked really hard to make the season possible.”
The biggest obstacle they had to overcome was getting people to join.
“There was a lot of the recruitment that I enjoyed doing, I made a couple promotion videos to get people interested, I did video also announcing the show later on in the year after summer band and we just talked to a bunch of people just to get them interested.” Janessa Dyches said.
It’s been a great season for marching band so far and everyone involved has worked really hard for marching band. “I think we’re gonna be really successful. I’m excited about this season,” Kidder said.
They have enough students for a marching band however it is still really small compared to what it used to be.
There are 23 students in the marching band. They don’t have any sousaphones or tubas. The baritone saxaphone has to make up for both. They also have a very small drum line.
“We didn’t get very many people out for colorguard,” Kidder said. “I was expecting five or seven and we ended up with two.”
There are three coaches for marching band this year. They are Ross Christiansen, Tim Kidder, and Ariel Brown. Brathan Nielsen is the drum major and Janessa Dyches is the assistant drum major.
“I get to conduct everybody, kinda like the head student,” Nielsen said. “It’s a lot different from before because I’m the drum major now, so I’m not really playing an instrument.”
The music that they are playing for competition is called Egypt which is broken into three movements.
“I think there was a theme that me and Brathan and Kidder and Ariel did discuss that we wanted to do so we just like before the school ended last year searched and
looked around at different stuff. We came across Egypt which stuck up out to and fit the band more.” Dyches said.
Marching band is different from normal band and the students who are in marching band enjoy it.
“It brings us together in a way more than a regular band,” Libby Booher said
They practice twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays after school. They also all had to participate in summer band. Not everyone who was in summer band is in marching band.
BY TYCE WALKER STAFF REPORTER
“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “The Hobbit” have had huge success as they have brought the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien to life. But there were still bits of the story missing, so that’s why Amazon put a whopping $1 billion into a series known as “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”
Tolkien›s stories all take place in a fantasy world known as Middle Earth. In timeline order, “The Hobbit” takes place first. This introduces many of the creatures and characters that are throughout the movies. Then the three Lord of the Rings come after.
Throughout these movies, the characters (especially the older wiser ones) are constantly referring to old battles, cities, and tales. They never go into detail about the events, and this gives a lot of questions. And that’s where the Rings of Power series comes in.
The story takes place centuries before the other movies. But a few of the main characters are actually in the rest of the movies! Such as Galadriel, an ageless wise elf.
Galadriel, due to past losses, is determined to hunt down the evil that has been growing and snuff it out. Little does she know that she may cause the very destruction she hopes to stop. Through a series of events, she gains both friends and enemies.
Meanwhile, a Hobbit, named Nori, is determined that she has a greater purpose than to cower and fear in her small village like the rest of her people. With the help of her friend Poppy, they aid a strange magical man that they encounter in the woods.
Several other such stories play into the main plot which is based around the growing threat of Sauron. More and more orc attacks keep occurring and a plan to create a dark kingdom is uncovered.
The Elves came to the aid of Middle Earth when the darkness first aroused and have been fighting a long war. It›s been a dark and dreadful war in which they›ve suffered many losses.
The first episode gives this background and then starts later in the war.
The structure and build of this episode series are well put together and definitely worth watching. New episodes come out each week with five of
them already out. And each one so far ends with a cliffhanger that keeps you wanting to watch the next episode, and then the next.
This is one of Amazon›s biggest series. They spent a lot of money putting it together, and they did a pretty great job. The CGI makes it look so real and the fact that they went and filmed it in New Zealand helps add to the quality of the show! They are scheduled to release new episodes every Friday and have an eight-season series.
I think this episode series was amazing. It’s well put together and it fits in with the rest of the Lord of the Rings world. Amazon should have huge success with this show, and I look forward to the new episodes every Friday.
With all the work that was put into the making of “Rings of Power,” it’s no wonder how popular it is. For Lord of the Rings lovers, it’s a chance to step back into this wonderful world. It shows exactly what happened in the beginning and how a lot of creatures and power came to be. And as the name goes, where the rings came from.
photo provided by NS Times NS Marching band preforming “Eygpt” at Homecoming football game. photo from imdb.com Amazon’s new series “Rings of Power” gives new insight to “The Lord of the Rings” universe. photo from playbill.com The first musical of the year will be Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium. It will be preformed October 26-30. Find missing arts stories here.
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*French kisses a dinosaur*
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