April Basalt High Longhorn Roundup by Randy Essex

Spring sports are here once again. Read more on pages 12-14.

April 2015

Is Springboard, the school district’s English program, really as effective as it is said to be? Read more on page 8.

Volume 4

How much do kids respect authority today? Read more on page 11.

Issue 4

BHS spring musical wins bet on ‘Guys and Dolls’ By Will Orben

After six short weeks of preparation, this year’s Basalt High School musical, “Guys and Dolls,” directed by Erin Beaudette, was a hit.

Photos by: Peggy Aitken

The storyline is of a gambler named Nathan Detroit (A.J. Thompson) who bets a high-roller named Sky Masterson (Cade Erickson) $1,000 that he can’t take a mission doll (Becca Maniscalchi) to Havana.

Nathan needs the money to continue running his floating crap game in the Biltmore Garage. It’s a story of love and excitement that was performed April 2, 3, and 4 in the Basalt Middle School auditorium.

All three shows got great reviews overall. If you enjoyed this year’s production or didn’t get a chance to see it, there is a musical every year. Any student can audition to join. It will open around the same time nest year.

More photos on page 15

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

SEEN AND HEARD PARCC testng:

Freshman, sophomores and juniors took part in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing, which this year replaces the TCAP tests that the students took last year. Instead of taking tests that were specific to each student’s year, they took a mathematics and an English test specifically designed for the classes they were in. Students tested over a week, from March 9 to March 12.

Valedictorian board:

The leadership class of the 20142015 school year is making a valedictorian board. This board will be posted within the next few weeks next to the wall of fame in the main hall. This board will hold pictures of valedictorians starting in 2010 and continuing forward.

Cubby for sports bags:

Tripping over sports bags in the halls? The leadership class is developing cubby slots in the office where students can store their sports bags during the school day.

Schmid’s retirement:

As you may or may not be aware, our beloved Principal David Schmid has announced that at the end of this school year he will be retiring. He wishes to spend more time with his family as it continues to grow. Schmid says he has had an amazing time helping and bettering the high school and hopes that we will keep improving and bettering ourselves. Thank you, Mr. Schmid, for everything you have done for the school!

Eagle Scout project:

Hubert Pearson, Life Scout from Troop 201, is collecting American flags to retire for his Eagle Scout project. On May 25, he will be retiring them at the LDS Church in Aspen. Please donate all worn out flags. Flags can be dropped of in a drop box at U.S. Bank in Aspen, Christ Episcopal Church in Aspen and at Bridges High School in Carbondale.

Slam Poets:

Logan Phillips, Merlin Hepworth

April 2015, Volume 4, Issue 4 Co-Editors: Andrew Olson and Tyler Jackson

Staff Andrew Olson, andrewolson@rfschools.com Maria Esquivel, mariaesquivel@rfschools.com Maile Wood, mailewood@rfschools.com John Glen, johnglen@rfschools.com Tyler Jackson, tylerjackson@rfschools.com Griffen Jenkins, griffenjenkins@rfschools.com Benjamin Koski, benjaminkoski@rfschools.com William Orben, williamorben@rfschools.com Raquel Vasquez, rachelvasquez40@gmail.com Mariemma Uguccioni, mariemmauguccioni1@gmail.com

Adviser Randy Essex, ressex@postindependent.com

Mission The Longhorn Roundup is committed to bring the BHS student body and administration newsworthy articles that will inform, educate, and entertain in a reliable and timely fashion while maintaining the districtwide core values and contributing to the overall pride of our school.

Letters to the Editor We welcome letters to the editor. Please email one of our co-editors, Andrew Olson at andrewolson@rfschools.com or Tyler Jackson at tylerjackson@rfschools.com

Advertising Please contact Griﬀen Jenkins at griﬀenjenkins@rfschools.com

and Mercedez Holtry came to BHS and performed slam poetry for the students. After their performance, the poets came around into schools around the valley and taught workshops helping students begin to write poetry. After their workshops, students had the opportunity to perform their own poetry at the Youth Poetry Slam on Feb. 27.

Record board:

The leadership class will be posting a record board. This board will recognize students for their achievement and hard work. Things that will be posted on the record board are highest ACT score, highest GPA, highest SAT score, etc.

Choir Coffee House:

On March 4, Chamber Choir and many Concert Choir members took part in the sixth annual Choir Coffee House. Members sang in small groups, duets and solos. Coffee House this year was mostly put on by the student choir officers. This

event was put on to raise money for the choirs and their trip to Las Vegas this April. In total, the choirs raised a few thousand dollars.

Cafeteria flag removal:

Almost 10 years ago, the leadership class decided to hang flags in the cafeteria. But recently, the new student leadership council has decided to take down the flags as part of their school improvement project. They felt that the flags were “unorganized” and starting to “fade in color and style.”

Paint the Town: Basalt’s Color Run: On Saturday, May 2nd, at 10:00am2:00pm, the Basalt High School National Honor Society will be hosting Basalt’s 5K walk/race run. The participants will be showered with colorful powder by fans as they pass by. This will be benefitting The Aspen Hope Center. Registrations are now online and the prices are $15 per adult (ages 13+) and $10 per children (ages 12 and under).

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

Slam Poets: Expressing the spoken word

Slam Poets Logan Phillips (left), Mercedez Holtry and Merlin Hepworth (right) perform their poetry for the student body. Photos by: Will Orben

Logan Phillips performs his poems.

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS BHS una escuela, dos idiomas por La Clase de ELL de Sra. Ingram

Probablemente muchos de los que están leyendo este artículo recuerdan el título “Es BHS dos escuelas?” el cual fue escrito en el mes de febrero, 2015. Aquí decía que BHS tiene dos escuelas. Lo cierto es que no existen excusas como ser dos escuelas y estar divididos por la raza o por el color de piel. Muchas personas estadounidenses conviven con las personas latinas, en la cafetería es donde usualmente vemos a nuestros amigos y compañeros, es donde todos podemos estar juntos. Al igual que podemos decidir ir a otro lugar para almorzar, y muchas de las veces si estamos juntos, personas latinas con personas estadounidenses, el que sea escaso ver personas latinas y estadounidenses juntas no significa que no podamos ser amigos y estar juntos. Pero si bien es cierto la única barrera que existe es el idioma, donde por motivos de no entender no hay comunicación. Pero si nos fijamos en algún deporte como por ejemplo el fútbol, vemos que el equipo está compuesto por personas estadounidenses y latinas, y que más mejor opinión que preguntárselo al mismo Mr. Hayes. “Me gusta ser el entrenador del equipo, tenemos jugadores de Centroamérica, México y claro que tenemos de Estados Unidos, entre otros países. El equipo es un lugar donde la raza y el color de cada uno no importa, pero si importa el nivel de inglés que muchos de ellos puedan tener,” donde él dejó claro que la única barrera es el idioma. “Me esfuerzo cada día más, para tener más conocimiento de español”. Pues si queremos estar juntos nosotros podemos estarlo. “Deportes es el mejor lugar para estar juntos” dijo el entrenador del equipo, después de dar su honorable opinión. La razón de estar escribiendo este artículo es porque en mis clases tengo amigos de muchos lugares, y cada día tengo que trabajar con diferentes estudiantes, y todos nosotros somos amigos, nos llevamos muy bien, y todos trabajamos juntos. Por lo tanto somos una sola comunidad, somos una sola escuela, no importa el color de piel, si cortas tu brazo la sangre será roja de cualquier modo.

Respuesta:

Gracias por tu opinion, pero lo que incluye este artículo no es nomas de la raza, o de el color de piel de cada uno de nosotros. El artículo demuestra los diferentes puntos acerca de la división entre los Latinos, y los Americanos. Si leistes el artículo, mucho habla de la diversidad y mostramos ejemplos como el equipo de fútbol, o los chicos que son de diferentes razas pero que son grande amigos. El título de nuestra historia demuestra nomas una opinión de lo que muchos maestros y algunos estudiantes miran. Es importante que los demos cuenta que el lenguaje es solo uno de los pocos puntos que divide a las personas. Nuestro sub-director, Jamie Hozack, dijo,”Es muy difícil debido a la ...diversidad entre los conjuntos de habilidades que los estudiantes tienen, los personajes de la escuela, y su vidas en casa. Hay tantos puntos que no tienen nada que ver con la raza o el idioma.” Basalt High School Raquel Vasquez

One school, two languages by Mrs. Ingram’s ELL Class

Probably many of you reading this article remember the article “Es BHS two schools?” which was written in February 2015. This said that BHS has two schools. The truth is that there are not any excuses for being two schools and be divided by race or skin color. Many American people spend time with Latinos. The cafeteria is where you usually see your friends and is where we can all be together. As we can decide to go elsewhere for lunch, and many times if we’re together, Latinos with Latinos and United States Americans with United States Americans, the sight of few Latinos and American people together in the cafeteria does not mean we cannot be friends and be together. The only barrier that may exist is a language difference, where for reasons of not understanding there isn’t communication. But if you look at a sport such as soccer, we see that the team is composed of United States American and Latino people. And what better opinion can we get than that of Mr. Hayes, head soccer coach at BHS? “I like being the coach. We have players from Central America, Mexico, United States Americans and players from other countries. The team is a place where race and color does not matter, but what does matter is the level of English that all of us may have.” He made it clear that the only barrier is language. “I strive every day to have more knowledge of Spanish.” If we want to play well together, we can. “Sport is the place to be together,” said the coach, after giving his strong opinion. The reason for writing this article is because we have friends in our classes from many places, and each day we have to work with different students, and we are all friends, we get along very well, and we all work together. Therefore we are one community, we are one school, no matter the color. If an arm is cut, red blood will flow from any one of us.

Response:

Thank you for your opinion. The article addressed not just the race or the skin color of each one of us, but it also demonstrates the different points regarding the division between the Latino and the American kids. If you read the article, we talk a lot about diversity and show examples such as the soccer team, or the guys of different races who are good friends. The title of our story shows just an opinion of what many teachers and some students see in our school. It is important that we realize that language is only one of the many variables that divide people. Our vice principal, Jamie Hozack, said, “It is very challenging because of the ... diversity in skill sets that students have, characters in school, and their home lives. There are so many variables that have nothing to do with race or language.” Raquel Vasquez

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

Swirbul — halfway around the world to ski By JD Glenn

Basalt High junior Hailey Swirbul, who is one of the nation’s top young Nordic skiers, traveled all the way to Kazakhstan to compete in the big leagues against international athletes. Kazakhstan used to be part of the Soviet Union. It’s located between Russia and China, bordered on the south, by Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Swirbul flew out of Denver to Minneapolis, then all the way to Amsterdam, then to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Her return trip went from Almaty to Amsterdam to Atlanta, then to Denver, for a total of 35 hours of travel.

Photo by Hailey Swirbul

“I thought it was going to be a lot less developed,” she said of the reality of the place versus what she had expected. For example, she said, Almaty had skyscrapers and other tall buildings. She also described it as “smoggy” and polluted. “I thought there was going to be a lot more snow,” she added — since she was there for ski races. The cultural differences between the U.S. and Kazakhstan were striking, Swirbul said. “The food was interesting. We ate a lot of sheep and lamb, which is really popular over there,” she said. “I sadly didn’t get to try horse, which

is apparently a delicacy.” Swirbul’s relay team got eighth place and she placed 35th in the 10-kilometer skiathlon and 40th in the classic sprint. These were her rankings against the whole world, and international teams such as the Norwegians. “The Norwegians are so fast, I don’t know how, but they were definitely dominating,” she said. Another one of Swirbul’s experiences in Kazakhstan was spending time with the other athletes. “It was actually cool,” she said. “We kind of made friends with some of them because they were at our hotel, and they just treated me

like another skier.” Even with all these interesting experiences, Swirbul said, “My favorite part of Kazakhstan was learning from all the higher-ranked athletes and seeing how they carried themselves and seeing how I can improve.” Maybe one day she will return to Kazakhstan or go off to a different country. With an international race already under this 16-year-old’s belt and a bright future ahead of her, it’s not possible to know where Hailey will go next.

Photo By Logan Hanneman

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

Crushed by homework? Teachers aren’t being cruel By Ben Koski

The National PTA says that the average amount of homework a student should have per night is equal to the student’s grade multiplied by 10. This would mean a freshman should have 90 minutes of homework a night, and seniors should have around 2 hours of homework — a night. This may be an overwhelming idea for some students, but many people don’t realize the benefits of doing homework. Basalt High School freshman Kaylin Williams suggested for teachers to “maybe make [homework] optional, so it’s only for kids who need the practice, and the ones who do need it but don’t take it will fail.” On the other hand, Basalt High School teacher Andrea Turner said, “If [teachers] did not give homework, we would not be preparing our students for the future. Homework is not always about the assignment, but also about learning to manage your time, remembering to do the assignment and bring it back to school, and learning to work independently. “We are not assigning homework to be mean,” she added. “We want you to be the best adults you can.” Most people have their own ideas on the importance and purpose of homework. A Longhorn Roundup survey at Basalt High found that 80 percent of teachers agreed that homework should consist of work that students did not finish in class, 70 percent agreed that it should include extra practice, 60 percent agreed that

homework should consist of takehome reading, and 60 percent of the teachers who filled out the survey said that homework should include graded assignments. The three main opinions expressed by teachers are: 1. Homework is a

“Homework should not be busy work. Homework should be practice that helps benefit the students. Reading is also a great thing to be doing for homework.” - David Schmid, principal of Basalt High School. tool used to develop good working habits (such as time management and self-discipline) in students outside of class. 2. Homework is an extra and optional way for students to get more knowledge and practice. 3. Homework is graded assignments that students can take home and finish on their own time so they have more time in class for other things. Teachers who share the first opinion usually have homework turned in and graded. This creates a motivation for students to do their homework at home, ingraining a hard-working attitude in the students. Teachers who implement the second opinion usually do not have homework affect students’ grade, as the rewards come naturally to those who put in the extra effort. Lastly, the teachers who believe that homework can be used to free up class time for other projects usually end up sending home large assignments that become a major part of the stu-

dent’s grade. Students, on the other hand, mostly view homework as the efforts of school to take time away from their personal lives. The majority of students who receive homework do not enjoy doing it in their free time, and it becomes difficult if students have various after-school activities that they have to fit into their schedule. Nikole Simecek, a senior at Basalt High, says teachers should ¨understand that students have lives. I work, play a sport, participate in band and choir, I don’t have time to do four hours of what is essentially busy work every night.¨ Most teachers do not assign more than two hours of homework a week, but according to the survey, very few teachers coordinate with the other teachers when they assign homework. Teachers may not realize that when they assign one hour of simple homework, the students may have a few larger assignments due that week for other teachers, sometimes creating an overwhelming accumulation of homework and stress for the students. Principal Schmid said that teachers for the most part do not talk to other teachers before assigning homework, ¨but we could be better at that. It has become a little bit harder for teachers to coordinate when they have everyday classes. It’s harder than it was last year.¨ It is more difficult for teachers to communicate with other teachers this year than it was last year because Basalt High School went through a major schedule change,

classes that students had every other day now are a daily class. If a student is under an enormous amount of homework, it is important for them to communicate with other teachers, although it is possible to develop a few efficient time management habits. Sophomore Daniel Barnes — who receives roughly nine hours of homework a week — stated that ¨A high volume of homework is something that can work well with timemanagement and can be done...¨ If a student simply has too much homework, teachers will understand. Basalt High teacher Brent Hayes recommends for students who feel overwhelmed with the amount of homework they have should ¨… talk to their teachers if there is really an issue with homework. I have worked with many students on this. However, I have rarely seen this issue once students learn to manage their time. Between Enrichment, free periods, after school and weekends, there is plenty of time to finish homework.¨ Students and teachers may not see homework eye-to-eye, but that can be changed. Every student is different and has a unique schedule, but teachers will know what works with the students’ schedules only if students communicate with the teachers. Homework is not meant to punish or complicate students’ lives, rather, its purpose is to make students’ lives easier in the future by providing extra knowledge and by creating good work ethics that will be helpful later in life.

Exchange student faces surprises, likes U.S. By Will Orben

He’s up to bat for the first time in his life. He’s nervous and hesitantly steps to the side of home plate. He awkwardly raises his bat and loads up. The ball comes flying through the plate and it’s a strike, but there’s no swing. The ball’s coming back, sooner than expected. This time there’s a monstrous swing, yet, no noise except the slap of the glove. Strike two. The steps repeat again and yet another miss. “Strike three, you’re out!” Through a program utilized throughout the world called International Experience, we have had the pleasure of meeting Daniel Scandrach from Hamburg, Germany. He is a junior here at Basalt High School and is currently playing on the baseball team. It’s his first year playing any sport and he’s enjoying it so far. Though

he didn’t know much about the sport or what had happened the first time he got out, he is learning. He’s taking advantage of the school sports because he hasn’t played for a high school sports team. In his school at home the only way to play a competitive sport was through clubs or other special “outside of school” groups. Though he did not choose to come to Basalt (or even Colorado), Daniel said had seen movies and that “it seemed cool.” “I thought, ‘I would like to live there’ and then I heard about this program. I signed up and decided if I didn’t like it I could go home,” he said. Scandrach acknowledged that the United States was not what he expected. “I don’t think any expectation

matches, it’s completely different.” He added, “But I really like it here, it’s calm and it’s more like a vacation for me than school.” The way movies and other countries portray America is very different from what American citizens see every day. Everyone knows the stereotype for Americans to be fat and lazy, but there is also a life of adventure and opportunity that other countries may not have, and we forget about that. Hamburg, with 1.8 million people, is Germany’s second-largest city and, obviously, dramatically different from Basalt or its neighbors. However, Scandrach said that the transition from Germany to America was not so hard. In terms of language, he said that “English is the world’s language” and that he had been in English class since elemen-

tary school. He knew the basics but it was much more complicated and different actually living here. There were also very easy transitions like being able to eat his favorite American food, the well-known cheeseburger. Besides Colorado, he’s also visited New York, Phoenix and Las Vegas. These places were also “not as expected” because they are depicted very differently in the media. He admitted that he thought America would be “a mix between ‘High School Musical’ and ‘Forrest Gump’“ which, sadly, isn’t the case. Though it was different from what he had expected, Daniel still thinks America is a very enjoyable place and he is glad to have visited.

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

How to manage stress By Raquel Vasquez

Stress is the one thing that seems to be taking over every teenager’s life. It is one of the most common problems affecting tens of thousands of teenagers each year. Teenagers have to go through the stress of school, work, home and other activities. It is a particularly difficult issue to manage because teens may have a hard time expressing their psychological problems to others. Stress affects two major parts of the person who has it: physical and mental health. Students who have jobs, sports and school are ranked as one of the high stressed teens. The Psychology Today website talks about some problems that young people go through when they have stress. It states,“young people who are exposed to chronic stress early in life are prone to mental problems such as anxiety and mood disorders later in life, as well as learning difficulties.” Some activities that help reduce stress include: Joining a sport: Sports help the mind concentrate on the activity and help calm your brain. Meditation: Meditation helps the

brain calm down with a repetitive mantra and by producing clarity. Doing Yoga: Yoga helps your stressed muscles calm and helps the body relax with the brain. Talk to someone who specializes in stress: This helps you find ways to help control your stress. These are few of the many ways you can help control stress. Other things can be as simple as taking pictures on a nature walk, or even just having a movie night with a friend. There is also the “good stress.” Good stress helps you study hard for a test or practice hard for a sport. Did you know that stress actually reduces the amount of stem cells associated with your brain? Psychology Today says, “Chronic stress has the ability to flip a switch in stem cells that turns them into a type of cell that inhibit connections to the prefrontal cortex, which would improve learning and memory, but lays down durable scaffolding linked to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.” This means failure to deal with stress has potential long-term impacts. Help yourself. BREATHE!

Photo courtesy of iloveﬁshies123 on Tumblr

My stress story — focus on one thing at a time By Raquel Vasquez

I was born in a healthy family, with two amazing parents and younger brother who shares some of my interests. My life has been full of ups and downs, with many things to learn from and think about. Many people may see me smiling through the hallways, but once I get home, I am my own witness to falling apart and putting myself down. I didn’t realize that it would hit me hard, my own tears made me realize that I needed help, and soon. I am one of many students who suffers from stress. Sometimes it is very hard for me to manage this problem. I don’t only suffer stress, I also suffer through insomnia and also from a disorder named: (P)- Post (T)- Traumatic (S)- Stress (D)- Disorder. My stress led me to have anxiety issues and even have to sleep deprivation due to the amount of things I felt I needed to have control over. Stress affects teens nationwide. Kids who suffer stress don’t acknowledge that it can get worse if they don’t control it. My experience with stress has been

an ongoing battle to find some ways to get out of it, but it has been a bit impossible for me. I know that I can get out of it, but the truth is that everyone experiences stress differently, and sometimes some kids suffer more than others. I started to look at things differently as I got in my junior year of high school. I started to look for alternatives to help me manage stress, but for me it was like stepping on a field of glass for a while and having absolutely no way out of it. Finally I started to do something for myself. I look at a class that helped so much with my stress problem. That class was called, “How to Build a Resilient Mindset,” with Beth Mobilian as the teacher. I went into that class without a picture in my mind of what the class was actually about. Then, on the

third or fourth class, one quote hit me right where that little light bulb rests in my mind. That quote from the teacher was, “Sometimes we have to look at the problem from the inside to the outside.” This quote got planted in my brain and it made me realize that I sometimes saw too much of my problem outside, that I had forgotten to look at the interior problem that I actually was battling. I learned that sometimes things happen because we are supposed to learn new ways to solve a problem. I also sought help, due to the fact that I was morally struggling to find out who I was. Also I was not accepting/helping myself, which I was hurting me even more. When I started soccer, I took a big step into a full-on schedule. I had soccer, two night classes, school homework and church. How did I manage my time? It was such a struggle at first. I even had to quit the musical due to my busy schedule. Soccer has helped me keep my mind

on one thing. It has opened a new path in my life and it has certainly taken some sacrifice to manage the many things I have to. Looking back to where my stress was really bad until now, I am really glad I learned to concentrate on one thing at a time.

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

Teachers say it has potential: By Ben Koski

SpringBoard is an English program meant to teach students to be analytical writers and to align the teaching of students in all of the schools in our district. SpringBoard was introduced last year, and Basalt High School is still getting used to the program and learning to utilize the curriculum. Because SpringBoard is very new, it was originally met with an onslaught of mixed opinions from teachers and students alike. Many English teachers at Basalt had just gotten comfortable with the old standards, so it was difficult to adjust to the new curriculum. “Change is hard, people don’t like change,” said Mark Howard, a BHS English teacher. “Teachers — just like students — don’t like change.”

The new standards required more actions on the parts of the students and the teachers. With a year’s worth of experience in using the SpringBoard curriculum, teachers now understand and enjoy the benefits from using it. Teachers are now given a rigid backbone to their classes, but SpringBoard was designed with flexibility and creativity in mind. Teachers are encouraged to choose what material and activities they want to add or remove to the SpringBoard curriculum, and the College Board (creator of SpringBoard) made it easy to connect outside materials to the SpringBoard learning objectives. One other added benefit to SpringBoard is the alignment of the information being taught at different

schools because of the basic and rigid backbone that the teachers build upon. This means that although the teachers have the freedom to come up with their own projects, students in other schools in the Roaring Fork School District are getting the same education through their teacher’s chosen projects. Included with SpringBoard is a compilation of suggestions for the teachers who use it. “There are extensions and adaptations built into the teacher’s planning guides and available on-line in the ‘SpringBoard Community,’ which is a network of the thousands of teachers across the country who use this resource working together to reach their students.” said Lindsay Hentschel, Secondary Instruc-

Student uses classtime to destroy Springboard instead of learn because of boredom. Photo Credit: Tyler Jackson

tional Facilitator of the Roaring Fork School District. SpringBoard was not created with the intention of it being used as a workbook. Hentschel, when asked about the negative aspects of SpringBoard said, ¨I think the primary downfall would be if the text is used as a workbook, which is not the intention. A curriculum resource is a resource for the teacher, not a script.¨ Howard had similar thoughts, saying ¨if a teacher did anything outside of just activity 1.3, and the next day did activity 1.4, and the next day did 1.5, I would think that there would be far too little creativity by both sides [teachers and students].”

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

Students say yes: Commentary by Drew Olson

SpringBoard, an award-winning series of English workbooks designed by the College Board, is considered by many students at Basalt High to be one of the worst English programs ever to come into existence. The College Board boasts flexible learning methods and a “customizable pathway” as mentioned on SpringBoard’s official FAQs page, yet in reality students are restricted to the specific instructions the workbook and teachers provide and enforce for them. In addition to this, while the subject of English should be exposing students to different cultures, places and things around the world through a wide range of literature, SpringBoard simply repeats the same things we students have been exposed to our entire lives. Without flexibility in its curriculum and being an overall boring and restricted program, SpringBoard does a great job at putting Basalt High students to sleep. BHS journalism students offer their perspective on the program: “SpringBoard is the most heinous object in the entire universe. There is nothing more miserable than opening up SpringBoard and hearing ‘today we are….’ At that moment I completely tune out everything and doodle all over the pages of this demonic book, and the sad thing is, I still get A’s in English, even after slacking off all class. So SpringBoard is a complete waste of time and money. SpringBoard also makes it so teachers aren’t even necessary, all they have to do is read what the book tells them to do. If the teachers are confronted with a question, they will have to search the all-knowing SpringBoard for the answer, instead of knowing the answer themselves. Essentially, SpringBoard has made teachers uncreative and transformed even the best of students into unwilling-to-learn zombies, whose only desire is to get out of English class. SpringBoard has managed to suck all the creativity out of the one creative class in school, and transformed it into a dried-up, wrinkled series of following rigid instructions and working on writing mechanics.” — JD Glenn, Freshman “I haven’t learned anything in English since our school system started using SpringBoard. This program

turns a job that used to be about teaching kids into a babysitting job. Teachers have no freedom in teaching because they are required to do everything the book says and nothing else. I can’t skip a grade because then I will miss many ‘great things’ that I didn’t know before. It is the worst thing that has been brought from the minds of our educational leaders.” — Tyler Jackson, Freshman “SpringBoard is a program that was brought to Basalt High School in 2013. As one of the many juniors in our school it is very certain to say that we were not ready to go from one curriculum to another. The Junior Family may agree when the statement “Test Bunnies” comes up, and why not? Our class got TCAPs to extend to our junior year, and we got the new program of SpringBoard during our sophomore year. SpringBoard was such a drastic change for the BHS body in general. Now students are ready to get lectured by a teacher with a book in front of them. Honestly, the steps of being creative shut down and students were forced to follow a curriculum that for them, isn’t as important. Where are those types of programs that would prepare us for what really is in the real world? The SAT is a standardized test in which the balance of education is tipping over either for an opportunity to go to college or not. Also, SpringBoard was sponsored by the creators of the SAT. In my two years of being in the program I honestly believe that it hasn’t helped me for the SATs nearly as much as I thought it would.” — Raquel Vasquez, Junior “I enjoyed English class, reading and writing for as long as I could remember. If you talked to me you would realize that is no longer the case thanks to SpringBoard. Up until the SpringBoard program was added to our curriculum two years ago, I loved pouring my creativity into my writing and SpringBoard robbed me of that option, ordering me to write on idiotic subjects. I am torn at the fact that we are leaving this school district’s English future in the hands of a foolish book that teaches kids that wanting to take your own path is wrong and that there is always going to be someone who tells you what to do.” — Griffen Jenkins, Freshman

Drawn by JD Glenn

“SpringBoard is a program designed for kids in English classes from grades 6-12, however because it is so new students being introduced to it in their first years of high school find it to be very confusing, stressful and extremely boring. SpringBoard is a 600-or-so page book with specific instructions on everything, turning the teacher into a slave to the book. The exercises given to students from SpringBoard are not helpful for the assessments that students get on each unit. Students have been scoring an average of 12/25 on these assessments, making it so everyone fails. SpringBoard is a nonbeneficial program that should be exterminated and never used again.” — Mariemma Uguccioni, Sophomore “The SpringBoard program is possibly the least effective way to teach English. I have not heard of an instance where a student anywhere enjoys or learns from SpringBoard’s provided activities, and besides the fixed essays and paragraphs you have to write, there is no room for student opinion. This eliminates all creativity and forces students to find symbolic meanings of the most literal things and talk about subjects that don’t interest them in the slightest. My and many other students’ opinions on SpringBoard is and is expected to remain negative.” — Will Orben, Freshman

“It’s English class. We should be reading more books and writing more stories. We should be learning and advancing on how to read and write BY reading and writing more. We shouldn’t be repeatedly looking through the same book and doing the same boring activities every day. No one learns like that. People learn more through ENGAGING activities. SpringBoard is a huge waste of time.” — Maria Esquivel, Freshman As it stands today, the SpringBoard workbooks are the bane of a large group of BHS students’ English learning abilities, and in some cases make learning the subject completely impossible. With BHS’s English classes becoming more unenjoyable each day, the subject itself has turned into the most unanticipated class of the school day. As long as SpringBoard remains on the shelves of BHS and the RFSD’s English classrooms, students of the valley will continue to be unwilling to learn and have negative feelings about the English program for the remainder of their high school careers. So, is SpringBoard really as bad as BHS students believe it to be, or is it the teachers’ usage of the curriculum?

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

COMMENTARY

Evolve by being open to other ideas By Mariemma Uguccioni

As teenagers are making their way through some of the most awkward years of their lives, figuring out who they are mentally and physically, they must also decide how to balance their relationship with God and science. For kids who didn’t grow up with a fundamental religious background, trust me, I know it’s confusing when you have a conversation with someone who believes that the world was created about 6,000 years ago. Kids like me are taught to believe in science, research and evidence. Do you believe in dinosaurs? How can you refute the fossil evidence? You can’t believe that dinosaurs roamed the earth millions of years ago if you believe that God created heaven and Earth in six days 6,000 years ago. That is just one example of the evidence that supports the theory of evolution over the theory of Creationism. The list of ideas that seem improbable to me is mind-numbingly long. However, people need to be able to have a conversation about the two theories and the evidence that supports or does not support them with

an open mind. Kids who don’t grow up with a fundamental religious background find it to be difficult to understand how kids who do grow up with that kind of background can rely on everything they believe in coming word for from a 1,281-page book that was written before the age of science and enlightenment. The Bible was written by many different people over many different years, and although it has many great lessons and stories, it is difficult for me to comprehend how someone today could take what it says literally. Evolution is a theory, and a theory is a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained. The theory of evolution is supported by a lot of evidence. Some evidence supporting this theory is the universal genetic code, fossil records, genetic commonalities, common traits in embryos and bacterial resistance to antibiotics. However all of this evidence is casually tossed aside by the people who believe in Creationism.

I don’t think it’s fair to degrade people over what they think, but I especially don’t think it’s fair to take a side in an argument without hearing the other side. Evolution does not propose origins of life. Evolution does not seek to answer the question of how the first multicellular organisms appeared. It describes how they evolved once they formed, not how they formed in the first place. I think it is impossible not to see the beauty of God’s hand in evolution and science. I do believe in a higher power and that higher power’s influence on us. Throughout a variety of cultures in our modern and complex world, there are even more complex religious views. That causes conflict worldwide with the misconception that one person is right and one person isn’t. Believe what you want to believe and put your heart and soul into those beliefs, but don’t close out everything else. As complex as our world and our beliefs are, humans aren’t really all that complex when you think about. Humans are all the same on the in-

side, and as crazy as it sounds we are all capable of listening. How can one subscribe to a belief system, based on the Bible, that purports that all the Muslims, Jews and Buddhists are all going to go to hell? I think listening and opening up to other ideas and cultures is what divides humans from other animals as being the most developed and the most powerful creatures on the planet. Evolution is a theory supported by evidence. If people just open up to listening to this solid theory, then maybe they can understand and once and for all, thus ending this war over who’s right or whose beliefs are dumb. Closing one’s mind has never been an effective strategy for survival, only a strategy of controlling people. People aren’t listening to each other’s beliefs enough. It is the thing stopping humans from evolving into the most powerful creature alive today.

Are you sleeping, BHS? By Raquel Vasquez

It all starts off by counting little sheep each night. Dreaming of going on the perfect date, becoming a millionaire or seeing you become a sidekick to one of your favorite superheros. You are so comfortable that you don’t want to wake up from your deep sleep, but you are forced to because your alarm clock is screaming in your ear each morning. Sleep is one thing that is included with the basic human needs, just like eating, talking or even breathing. Did you know that the lack of sleep can be reflected through your face? So getting not enough sleep can impact you without you even realizing it. Studies have proven that sleep is very important for a developing brain, but are kids in our school sleeping for a minimum of 8 or 9.5 hours each night? Having a good night’s sleep helps students be active and awake the next day for to school. It gives you a fresh mind that is ready to go once you wake up.

Students should realize that sleep deprivation can have negative impacts. Some of the examples include, “limitations on your ability to learn, listen, concentrate and solve problems. You may even forget important information like names, numbers, your homework or a date with a special person in your life, make you more prone to pimples. Lack of sleep can contribute to acne and other skin problems, leading you to aggressive or inappropriate behavior,” according to the National Sleep Foundation Website: http://sleepfoundation.org/sleeptopics/teens-and-sleep. Dreaming is also very important for a developing brain. Dreaming is one of the essential things that creates learning and helps with memories. If we don’t dream, it is much harder to recall information. Dreams happen in the REM — the rapid eye movement stage. Statistics have shown that there are five stages of sleep and REM is the one in which we mostly dream in. This stage mostly occurs in the morn-

ing. By falling asleep late, you are keeping yourself from getting to the REM stage in order to dream. Some kids suffer some issues that make it difficult for them to fall asleep. These include insomnia, sleep deprivation, and sleep apnea. Insomnia means you cannot get to sleep and sometimes have trouble staying asleep. Sleep deprivation just means you don’t get enough sleep. Your body is your natural clock and sometimes we have electronics or light around ourselves that makes our brain think it is daylight, causing trouble falling asleep. Sleep apnea is a breathing problem during sleep that can cause some people to snore and have breathing interruptions during sleep. But the major question may be what our school does to help students out with sleep. Some suggest that because of how teen bodies and brains work, that school days should start later. They say that around a 9-9:30 time in the morning would be a pretty decent time. While David Schmid, our princi-

pal, agrees that teens need sleep and have trouble getting up early, a later start time “can interfere with our bus schedule and with the sports kids tend to participate in.” Not only that, kids might go to sleep later, causing nothing to change. I am an example of those students who have not slept for a minimum of eight hours, and this affects me each time I come to school. I can’t concentrate because of the lack of sleep. I tend to sleep six or seven hours a night ever since I started my sophomore year of high school. Now that I am a junior, I am already used to falling asleep at 11 p.m. or midnight each night. Most of the time, it might be because I finish homework at a late time or I have my electronics with me when I fall asleep. Students should understand that sleep is like “the feeding of your soul” and that sleeping for the right amount of hours can help students more than they think.

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

PERSPECTIVE ON AUTHORITY By Maria Esquivel, Maile Wood and Griffen Jenkins

Through his many years as an educator, Principal David Schmid has noticed a change in teenage attitude toward authority figures. “When I first started, kids were a little bit more submissive,” Schmid said. “If you told them to do something, they would do it. You wouldn’t have to explain why they had to do it.” Now, though, more students question authority figures’ directions and requests. “What I see now is kids being a little bit more assertive, they question why they have to do something a lot,” Schmid said. But the questioning can help learning. “I think it’s good,” he said. “We want kids to question, we want kids to know why they’re doing something.” That questioning though, may have gone too far near Aspen. On Feb. 6, an Aspen High School student was arrested for possession of marijuana at a bus stop near the high school. The police officer who first arrived on the scene faced arguments from the student and his friends, at least one of whom video recorded the arrest using his phone. The student doing the recording, in particular, swore at the officer. The student being arrested held an arm in front of him and insisted he had done nothing wrong, making it impossible for the officer to handcuff him, which the officer tried to do as the resistance increased. Finally, with other adults arriving, the student was taken to the ground and handcuffed. He was charged with possession of marijuana — found in his backpack — and resisting arrest, and later

Mr. Shmid, Principal of Basalt HIgh School. Photo provided by: Aspen Times

pleaded guilty. Basalt High students interviewed had somewhat mixed feelings about police authority. “I think you should respect them, but I think they should be trained for specific situations so they know how to handle them better,” Thomas Wirth said. Said freshman Oswaldo Morales, “I think they sometimes abuse their power and end up hurting civilians, but besides that they help keep our community under control. Especially in Basalt, the cops here are really friendly.” Added sophomore-Rodrigo Perez, “They need to give out more warnings instead of taking it really far right away. But they do a good job, there isn’t a lot of crime in our valley.”

BASALT RESOURCE OFFICER

At Basalt High School, Brian Lemke, the resource officer, monitors the school. Lemke started his law enforcement career in 1989, he said. He has been trained in self-defense, constitution-

Basalt High School’s Resource ofﬁcer Brian Lemke Photo by: Maile Wood

al law, evidence, incident management, firearms and more. Officers are trained to deal with tense situations using a force continuum, ranging from being a calming influence by their presence to using lethal force if a person is in mortal danger. “My opinion of the issue in Aspen and now a related incident outside of Glenwood Springs High School reflect some bad and inappropriate behavior on the students involved,” Lemke told the Longhorn Roundup. “I honestly believe the students here at BHS conduct themselves with more dignity and self respect than those few students who think harassing the police is acceptable at any level.”

Ofﬁcer Lemke’s toolbelt Photo by: Maile Wood

He added: “In the schools, I find the students at BHS very respectful and polite. It’s amazing to see how responsible and considerate the students are. Even when some get into trouble. They are respectful and take responsibility for their behavior.” Despite the recent flare-ups in teenage incidents defying authority, Principal Schmid still believes that struggles should be handled carefully. “I think that if you respect a kid, whenever they’re mad or misbehaving, it’s best not to turn it into a power struggle,” he said. “It’s best if adults don’t try to overpower misbehaving kids. That would only serve to make the situation worse. Always work towards mutual respect.”

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

SPORTS

Girls soccer kicks into gear By Maile Wood

“If you want anything, then you can do anything, and it’s hard work … but you can do anything if you work hard at it,” says girls soccer coach Andrew Huntsman. That is exactly what the soccer girls are doing this season. Early in the season, girls soccer had a tough start. Now, the var-

Photos by: Maile Wood

sity team’s overall record is 1-41. Everyday at practice and in the games, these girls are working hard to win games for the ongoing season. In practice, Huntsman says that fundamentals are an important thing to work on, even late in a high school career. Skills such as passing, trapping and agility

with the ball are all worked on in practices. After the game against Moffat County, Huntsman said, “Good game. They played really well the second half … we made some big mistakes in the first half that led to goals against us …They played one of the best halves I’ve seen

this season.” After spring break, the team has 12 more regular-season games. For the rest of the season, Huntsman predicts that each player will progress with their knowledge and skill of the game, which will lead to more wins for the Lady Longhorns.

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

Track is off and running By: Maile Wood

Spring sports are in full swing for the Longhorns, including track. With almost 60 kids a part of the team this year, all are motivated to get to meets and to bring home more victories for the Longhorns. Coach Ben Blaeser is very hopeful for this season and ready for the runners to compete. “I am very excited about this year. We have a strong and motivated

Photos by: Kaylin Williams

group of kids both on the boys’ and girls’ side. We will be very competitive with the other league teams all year,” said Blaeser. As of mid-March, the team had 11 meets left, including JV-only meets to help the runners and the program grow for the future and the rest of the season. “We have added several JV meets this year to help the younger kids

gain as much experience as possible and give them an opportunity to compete,” Blaeser said. Girls and boys on the team are looking very bright with their progress and their running. Along with new runners and competitors joining Basalt, some participants, including Zach Walsh, are hoping for state titles. “Zach Walsh is one of the best dis-

tance runners that I have had the pleasure of coaching,” Blaeser said. “He will be in contention for the state title in both the 1,600 [meters] and 3,200. Moving forward, I look for us to be successful in most all events this year on both boys and girls sides.”

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015

Longhorn baseball is in a building year By Maria Esquivel and Maile Wood “Our strength is our youth and desire to prepare for this year and next year,” says boys baseball coach, Bud Hickman. After a rough start to the season, boys baseball has begun to improve greatly. Every practice is spent going over various drills and game strategies,

“Our pre-game workout is the same everyday.” This workout includes running, stretching and throwing and batting techniques. Even in the off-season the players are always working to improve their skills through conditioning. The team’s current record is overall

Photo by Will Orben

Photos courtesy of Basalt High School Facebook Page

5-4. “This year is a building year,” says coach Hickman. “We have three seniors, one junior, six sophomores, two freshmen on the varsity. We are building for the next two years.” Not only are the boys’ baseball skills being improved, valuable life skills are also being taught as

well. Coach Hickman says, “ My personal philosophy in teaching baseball is real-life situations.” He believes dedication and hard work will play a large part in team success, as well as personal achievement. The team’s motto is “Can’t wait!”

Longhorn Roundup | April 2015