September 2009

On September 3, MMHS girls soccer battled Uintah Utes on their home turf in Vernal. The Eagles won 3-2 in a close game. Jayci Peay, sophomore, scored two of the three goals from free kicks; both shots were perfectly placed in the side nets, just out of reach of the keeper. The Eagles were ahead 2-0 at the end of the first half, but the Utes came out hard and scored two goals. The game winning goal was scored by Baylee Nielson, a sophomore, by slipping the ball past the goalie in a scramble. The game was hard fought.

When interviewing Joy Maughan, Maple Mountain’s front office secretary, it was hard to get a full comment in without being interrupted with a matter of school business. When you call the school, you will most likely be greeted by Joy. Married for 30 years, Joy has five children, four of who are married and one currently attending college. Mrs. Maughan enjoys the thrill of four wheeling and wave running. Each year she travels to the coast to enjoy the beach; vacationing with her family is definitely what she loves to do, outside of school of course.

If it’s Health, Psychology, or AP Psychology, Mr. Darrell Wyatt covers them all! Darrell Wyatt is a fabulous social science teacher and committed cross country coach at our new Maple Mountain High School. Darrell has a beautiful wife, Camille, and a son, K.J. The most unusual job he ever had was working at Pretzeltime for four hours. He quit due to sheer boredom—Maple Mountain is anything but that! When asked what the hardest part of being a cross country coach is, he said, “It’s keeping the students motivated to attain their goals.” Mr.

Amy Bond is one of our fabulous counselors here at Maple Mountain High school. She is married and has two children who she loves very much. Mrs. Bond has been a counselor for a total of fourteen years and has lived in Mapleton her entire life. She graduated from Springville High School and went on to Utah Valley University and Utah State University. At UVU she was point guard on the basketball team and shortstop on the softball team. Wow! In college she admired her counselors which inspired her to pursue a career in counseling. Mrs.

Matt Pugh, Brennen Hyatt, and Chris Clark, varsity players at Maple Mountain high school commented on their work ethic, teamwork, and learning experiences. They also stated their opinion about what they like about being on the new football team here at our new school. Matt Pugh said, “We all get along very well coming from so many different schools. The team is learning to work together. It is exciting for us to set new traditions.” Matt plays center and has been playing football since 7th grade.

Having taught for 14 years, Mr. Tom Porter was ready for his next task--teaching at the new Maple Mountain High School. Needless to say, Mr. Porter is no newbie to teaching. He has taught at Springville Junior High and Spanish Fork High. Tom has taught a wide variety of subjects including science, ESL, Spanish, and English. Last year, before coming to Maple Mountain, Mr. Porter taught several Spanish classes at Spanish Fork High. Mr. Porter is married and has six children, ages 2 – 16. If he isn’t teaching, or preparing, he enjoys spending free time gardening and playing sports.

Our new school has a new football team and a new coach, Brad Burtenshaw. Brad is married and the father of three children. Brad began playing football at a young age. For four years at his home high school, he played receiver. Brad has been playing football for 12 years. This will be his 8th year coaching high school football and first year coaching the MMHS football team. Although we have lost the last two games, Brad Burtenshaw has high hopes. He believes the team has a lot of potential, but a lot of room to grow and learn from their mistakes.

On Tuesday, August 25, at an early 6:30 am, the Maple Mountain student council invited and prepared breakfast for the entire student body, faculty, and staff. Fresh orange juice and pancakes were served with warm, delicious syrup which made for a scrumptious way to start the day. The student council’s goal was to bring our community together and to celebrate the opening of our newest high school in a friendly, inviting atmosphere.

Opening up a new school takes hard work and dedication; but Maple Mountains High’s Principal, John Penrod, is up to the task. Mr. Penrod spent most of his career teaching elementary, kindergarten through sixth grade. After a while, he was assigned to become an administrator of a junior high. When he isn’t teaching, Mr. Penrod is hiking, fishing, or spending time with his five children and nine grandchildren. Teaching is not the only job Mr. Penrod has had. One of his first and most interesting jobs was collecting garbage in Provo.