Volume XII, Issue I
Fresh Start
2017
Welcoming the Class of 2021 by Dylan Kistler Ashland High School (AHS) offers its incoming students the chance for a one-of-a-kind orientation experience each and every year at Fresh Start. While the program has been perfected for twenty-three years under the guidance of Mark Schoenleber, a retired AHS art teacher, the memories from a given session remain unique to the freshmen who arrive. As the class of 2021 wound their way up the road to the tranquil retreat – nestled under towering pines in the Siskiyou foothills – an atmosphere of positivity pervaded the group. All throughout the daytime challenges and meal times, the freshmen class greeted the borders of their comfort zones with optimism and support for one another. Later in the evening, the new high school students engaged with mature issues by sharing personal experience and listening attentively to each other in the activity dubbed “big questions.” Jackie Case, an English teacher stay-
ing overnight at Fresh Start for the first time, expressed that “this year’s class is very poised, intelligent, and articulate.” On leaving the retreat, freshmen can take away not only a newfound confidence in themselves, but strong connections to their fellow classmates and counselors as well. “The program itself is invaluable,” added Case in summarizing her experience. “There’s nothing like it.”
This year’s class is very poised, intelligent, and articulate.
September 14, 2017
Teacher Feature by Ellie Carter, Lili Smith, Jade Bromley, Zaida LaRose, Uma McGuire and Liv West
Ignacio Reynoso-Bucio
Holly Nienhaus
Ignacio Reynoso-Bucio is the newest addition to the AHS Spanish department for his 14th year of teaching. He will be teaching Spanish 2, 4 and 5. Reynoso-Bucio’s first job was at Burbank High School in Burbank, California, near Los Angeles. Coming from the LA area, Reynoso-Bucio is used to the cultural diversity of California, quite the drastic difference from Ashland, Oregon. This gives Reynoso-Bucio the opportunity to expose his student to the wonderful culture of the Latin world and the Spanish language. He is also excited about the Southern Oregon Foreign Language Articulation (SOFLA) project, which is a proficiency test for high level Spanish students to get SOU credit. This opportunity is great motivation for both Reynoso-Bucio and his students. Outside of school, Ignacio enjoys spending time outdoors and with his two cats.
For AP Comp and Senior Seminar teacher Holly Nienhaus, this year marks not only her first year on the AHS staff, but also her official entrance into the teaching profession. Along with her deep passion for literature and an irrefutable aptitude for tap dancing, Nienhaus also possesses a special talent for producing remarkably loud claps. When she is de-stressing, Nienhaus can either be found at a local yoga studio, spending time with her family, or relaxing on her couch watching “Friends.” In her first year of teaching, Nienhaus holds high hopes of being made to laugh constantly and looks forward to getting to know the students in her classroom.
Alex Roscher
David Brendlinger
AHS has added another Roscher to its collection. Alex Roscher is teaching business and senior seminar, as well as managing independent studies and student internships. Roscher has taught for 12 years in total, first in Pennsylvania and then at South Medford High. Her husband and brother-in-law convinced her to start teaching here with tales of the great atmosphere and amazing students at AHS. Rocher is excited to work close to the two resident Roschers and to teach Senior Seminar, which her economics background makes her perfect for. She also has a background in language arts, once participating in National Novel Writing Month and completing a novel based on the ghostly murder mystery connected to her historical home in Pennsylvania. Welcome to the team, Roscher number 3!
David Brendlinger is no stranger to the Rogue Valley. A resident for over 20 years, and a teacher for 5, he has found a home as the new Skills class teacher at AHS. The Skills class teaches academics alongside vocational skills, community service and involvement. “I have always loved working with all different types of kids,” said Brendlinger. A teacher by day, Brendlinger moonlights as a musician in the band “Waking Hazel,” playing the piano, trumpet and mandolin in and around Ashland. Brendlinger also takes full advantage of the outdoor opportunities of Southern Oregon. He loves to mountain bike, play Ultimate Frisbee and is an avid skier hoping for another great ski season on Mt. Ashland. He is excited for the opportunity to work and “build relationships” with his students and fellow staff members.
Andrew Pierson
Vanessa Heckman
This 2017-2018 school year, AHS has the pleasure of welcoming Andrew Pierson to the math team where he will teach algebra 1B and algebra 2. Though Pierson is new to AHS, he has had plenty of experience as a teacher in the Rogue Valley. Out of his 25 years of teaching, 21 were spent at North Medford, with the remaining spent across other local schools. However, Pierson’s talents are not limited within the classroom. His greatest hidden talent is his Kermit the Frog impression, which he has been perfecting for years. Another way Pierson likes to enjoy his time is golfing, which he does in order to relieve any stress he’s experiencing. Pierson would like to express his excitement to teach at AHS, which is mainly fueled by all of the amazing students in his first couple weeks here.
Vanessa Heckman studied at the University of Edinburgh, frequenting the coffee shop where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. After completing school, she taught in Scotland for three years before moving to California and teaching for five more years in Half Moon Bay. Heckman is now teaching creative writing, world cultures, world religions and senior seminar at AHS. She has also dabbled in a variety of other arts, including working as a chef at an Italian restaurant, acting as an extra in a film and advertising as a giant bottle of mineral water, working in a press office and taking part in a comedy group. Heckman advises the student body to “find something [extracurricular] you can do, and make time for yourself.” She emanates joy at the prospect of being part of the AHS community.
Melanie Marrone
Jake Taub
Melanie Marrone, AHS’s new Vice Principal has been in administrative positions for 22 years. Marrone’s administrative career has primarily been in Oregon City, although she did spend two years working in Spokane, Washington. For the past 3 years, her work took her to Panama in Central America, where she was the Principal of an international school. Her hobbies include sewing, playing piano, kayaking, hiking and reading - particularly travel memoirs. To cope with stress, Marrone loves reading, writing, and being outdoors. Morrone is excited about the supportive community Ashland provides, and she is eager to reciprocate that support and be a part of AHS’s diversity and inclusion movement.
For aspiring chefs at the high school, an exciting new addition to the staff is looking to make their culinary dreams come true. Jake Taub, an AHS alum and in his third year of teaching at South Medford, is making the switch back to Ashland to teach Culinary Arts and two periods of Grizz Academy. “The goal is to connect our culinary and hospitality programs with the existing culinary and hospitality industry in Ashland,” he said. Taub grew up in the culinary world, having a chef father who would quiz him on prices from restaurant menus; he’s enthusiastic about growing the high school’s foods program and coming back to his alma mater. “It’s surreal to be back,” he beamed. “My first day of teaching here was probably the best day of teaching I’ve ever had.”
Carolyn Stone
Erin Federline
AHS is excited to welcome Carolyn Stone, a new freshman wellness teacher. This is Stone’s first year teaching. She spent last year student teaching at North Medford High School and Scenic Middle School where she taught health and PE classes. This year, in addition to her 3 wellness classes, Stone heads to Walker Elementary, where she teaches PE to the students. When stressed, her 2 poodles, as well as exercising, are her greatest escapes. Stone also enjoys jump roping, which she has practiced enough to pick up a handful of cool tricks. She is extremely enthusiastic about sharing her likes and talents with her students, as well as learning more about all of her freshman. “I’m excited about their passions and personalities,” Stone expressed as she explained her joyful anticipation to build relationships with her students and faculty.
AHS’s Science Department has added a new variable to the experiment this year: Erin Federline, a Biology and Grizz Academy teacher who is “beyond thrilled to be here.” Federline has been teaching science throughout Oregon for 14 years. After teaching in Forest Grove for 2 years, she moved back to the Rogue Valley to teach science in Medford. Federline is an avid trail runner and paddle boarder. As an Ultimate Frisbee player, she has expressed interest in sharing the rising sport with teens in the Rogue Valley. Her activities simultaneously connect her to nature and help her relieve stress. Running the trails above Ashland is her key to tranquility. Federline’s main goal this year is to get grounded at the school and meet as many students possible.
Beau Lehnerz
Rachel Tennen
Beau Lehnerz has spent 12 years in education in Arizona, Portland and Ashland. The age groups he’s taught have been just as diverse as his locations, including elementary, middle and the high school level where he is teaching wellness and advanced conditioning. He is also the head of the football coaching staff. In contrast to working at the middle and elementary schools, Lehnerz looks forward to having more mature conversations at the high school. To relieve stress he likes to play golf and hang out with his family and friends. He is also a misunderstood artist, his dance moves only becoming cool 5 years after the fact. Lehnerz is excited for a new challenge in and out of the classroom during his first year teaching high schoolers.
For AHS’s language department, the addition of Rachel Tennen is a major bonus. Tennen, born in the town of Teague, Texas, taught French in Austin for 7 years after picking up the language in college. She now holds a Master’s in French as well as a degree in education and will be teaching French 1, 2 and 4/AP. Since Tennen and her husband moved to Ashland over the summer, they have enjoyed taking part in many outdoor activities with their two dogs, like cycling and hiking. “I was blown away by the level of respect that students have here already,” she gushed. “I’m really excited to be here.” She emanates joy at the prospect of being part of the AHS community.
Letter from the Editors With the start of the 2017-2018 school year at Ashland High School (AHS) comes another great year of the Rogue News. We have both new and returning Editors-In-Chief this year, as well as a Creative Director, to continue the Rogue News’ endeavor to make a newspaper that is not only interesting and accurate in our stories and aesthetically pleasing in our pages, but cohesive overall in its design and direction. Together we will strive to make this year the best one yet, and we are sure we will accomplish our goal. We have a myriad of talents among us, including amazing designers, photographers, writers, and artists. Among our staff we have seasoned, experienced members who we look forward to working with again, as well as many new members who we are excited to get to know and to share the process of creating the Rogue News. Every year our staff and our student body is slightly different, which means our paper is constantly shifting in new, small ways to reflect the students that make up AHS and the As Editors-In-Chief this year, we hope to run Rogue News. Rogue News with kindness, comAs a newspaper for AHS, our primapassion, inclusion and efficiency. ry objective is to be a source of news for Our goal is to elevate the quality the students of AHS. Our peers are the ...we hope to of all that we oversee and to inones we are creating this paper for; they are the audience we think of everytime run Rogue News spire and encourage our staff to produce the best pieces that they we select what articles go into our pawith kindness, can. per and how each page will be designed. compassion, Above all else, the production With each edition we publish, we hope of the Rogue News is dependent to share facts, stories and ideas we find inclusion and on the collaboration of individuintriguing and relevant with our greater als working together to create a high school community. Journalism, efficiency. single unified paper. As editors, it as with every other form of media, is is our job to ensure that this uniabout communication and connection. ty exists and facilitate communiWe want to connect with the students of AHS because we are the students of AHS, which cation between our staff members. In order to create is a part of why the Rogue News is so special. We are a newspaper that can clearly impart ideas and news a student newspaper, and we are proud to be one. to the broader community, we must have communi-
Fun fact: Kip has over 400 Hot Wheels.
Fun fact: On the first day of school, Lili accidentially hit a freshman with her Hydroflask.
cation among ourselves. In years past, as the school year waxes and eventually wanes, the staff of the Rogue News has become like family - whatever our differences outside of the newsroom, inside of it we are all working toward a common goal: the production of an excellent newspaper. As always, the staff of the Rogue News is proud to uphold the standards of journalistic integrity at AHS. Of course, you, our readers, also have a role to play: to pick up our newspaper, often located at the front of classrooms or in the office, and read it. If you have any stories you think should be covered, the Rogue News can be contacted by going to room 202 in the English building during periods 2 or 6, or by emailing theroguenews@gmail.com.
Fun fact: Liv dreams of hiking Mount Blanc in France.
Fun fact: Ellie can’t drive without taking her right shoe off. Fun fact: Charlie hates fun facts.
Fun fact: Maisie plans to double major in Chemistry and Anthropology and would like to eventually work in a museum.
Fun fact: Zaida reads one book per week.