51 North 2550 East
Spanish Fork, UT 84660
(801) 794-6740
"An Attitude of Excellence"
51 North 2550 East
Spanish Fork, UT 84660
(801) 794-6740
"An Attitude of Excellence"
November 2009
Maple Mountain Marching Band Takes 4th
Attributions:
by Marshall Levi, MMHS Golden Eagle Globe
On November 6, members of the Maple Mountain Marching Band competed in the Red Rock Invitational in St. George. Wearing their new uniforms, tension was in the air before the Golden Eagles were to perform “Take Flight.” Maple Mountain Marching Band was awarded 4th place overall.
Pictures:
Wearing new uniforms, the MMHS Golden Eagles received 4th Place Overall at the St. George Red Rock Invitational on November 6.
MMHS Teacher Proud to be a Golden Eagle
Mindy Hammond, English Department ChairAttributions:
By: Sarah Blancher and Marissa Clegg, MMHS Golden Eagle Globe
Melinda Hammond teaches a broad range of classes from AP Art History to Literature. Teaching isn’t the only characteristic that defines this exceptional teacher, but her broad range of interests and her bubbly personality.
Hammond grew up in American Fork, Utah, as a “Utah Valley Girl,” she says, coming from a long line of educators. She loves to travel to European countries; her favorites are Italy and France. But, Hammond can’t spend all her time traveling. Out of school, she also reads and listens to music, even going to concerts of popular bands such as Matchbox 20.
After leaving her childhood town, she started college at Dixie State, later graduating from Brigham Young University with a composite degree in Humanities. Hammond also spent time modeling when she was younger. She soon married and had three children. Eventually, she started teaching at Spanish Fork Intermediate, also known as Spanish Fork Junior High.
When she was asked to teach at the new high school, Maple Mountain High, Hammond accepted the offer. “I was excited to be a Golden Eagle,” she says. Hammond also expected more problems to be involved in the opening of a new school, “I was worried about everyone coming together,” she expresses. Hammond soon found the job was easier than she thought.
This is Hammond’s 23rd year of teaching, but her first at a new high school. Before Maple Mountain, Hammond taught at Springville High. Hammond also serves as Maple Mountain’s English Department Chair. Hammond expresses her love for teaching and for her students. Welcome to our school, Mrs. Hammond!
Debbie Thorn Registers with Students
Debbie Thorn, MMHS RegistrarAttributions:
By: Cameron Spilker and Keaton Atkinson, MMHS Golden Eagle Globe
Debbie Thorn has been working for Nebo School District for thirteen years. She is our new Registrar at Maple Mountain High School. Mrs. Thorn grew up in Idaho and graduated from Idaho Falls High School. After she graduated from high school, she attended at Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Mrs. Thorn chose to work for Nebo School District so that she could be more involved with her children and have the same schedule.
Mrs. Thorn has four children, three girls and one boy. Two of her children are married. In addition, she has four grandchildren and two more on the way. She enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren. Occasionally, they will come visit her at school. One of her pastimes is to listen to books on tape. Debbie Thorn is excited to be a part of Maple Mountain High School. She loves the students, atmosphere, and all the people she works with. Welcome to MMHS Mrs. Thorn, we are thrilled to have you!
Maple Mountain FFA does well at Snow College Competition
Kinsey Williams is Awarded High Individual Trophy in Dairy Cattle JudgingAttributions:
By Monica Giffing, Advisor
On October 13, 2009, Maple Mountain FFA Chapter traveled to Snow College for the Annual Snow College FFA Judging Day.
The Livestock Judging team placed 3rd overall--team members were, Luke Olsen, Brady Olsen, Daniel Jensen, and Derek Tidwell. Also, Kinsey Williams took 1st place in Dairy Cattle Judging. All students who participated did an amazing job at this competition; we are so very proud to call them members of Maple Mountain High School FFA.
Thank you to parents and community members for their support in making this event possible for these outstanding students to participate in this fun and effective way to build our talents in FFA.
MMHS FFA Participates in Festival of Trees
Attributions:
by Monica Giffing, Advisor
Maple Mountain High School’s FFA Chapter will participate in this year’s Festival of Trees. The Festival of Trees is in its 39th year and operates through a board of all women who volunteer their time to benefit the Primary Children’s Medical Center. Businesses and families throughout the state enter the festival displaying their talents and abilities in creating a unique Christmas tree. Over the years, the Festival of Trees has been copied throughout the United States and Canada; but, the Salt Lake City Festival of Trees is still called the “granddaddy” of them all.
The theme of the FFA Chapter’s tree is Agriculture--“All Things Beautiful.” FFA students will be decorating a 5’ tree; all proceeds will be donated to Primary Children’s Hospital.
We invite the public to view the Maple Mountain FFA Tree at the Festival of Trees that will be held at the South Town Exposition Center, December 2-5, 10 am - 10 pm. Monetary donations are greatly appreciated. Monetary donations can be taken to Maple Mountain High School Finance Office, or donation jars will be found throughout the school and community. For more information contact Mrs. Monica Giffing at 801-794-6840 or E-mail at monica.giffing@nebo.edu. Information can also be found on the MMHS website. The donation deadline is November 19, 2009. Let’s see if we can make it a Christmas to remember for these important children who need us.
FBLA & DECA Clubs Tour Businesses
SHS and MMHS FBLA and DECA Clubs Unite on a Business TourAttributions:
Carey White, MMHS DECA Advisor
On Wednesday, October 28, Springville High FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and Maple Mountain High FBLA and DECA (A Marketing Club) members had the opportunity to tour three businesses in Utah County—Fort Knox Safes, Graphîk, and Tahitian Noni.
First, students visited Fort Knox Safes in Orem, an upscale safe manufacturing company. Students learned from the owner, TJ James, how the business operates were able to see the process in which a safe is made from the first stages of welding and molding the metals, to the final stages of assembly, painting, and interior finishes.
Second, students had the opportunity to visit Graphîk, a company that specializes in making graphic designs larger than 11 x 14 up to gigantic posters and signs on the side of buildings. Graphîk has a printer called a “lightjet” that imprints the image onto paper using light then the paper is developed like a photograph. The quality of the print is so great that a normal inkjet or laser printer would need to print over 4,000 dpi (dots per inch) to closely match it. They have another printer that can print on any media, including large boards and metal.
“This one was probably my favorite,” Springville FBLA President, Jerich McAfee said.
Financially, students visited the manufacturing and bottling facility of Tahitian Noni, a business that distributes health drinks from a fruit called “noni,” found in Tahiti, hence the business’s name. The noni is not a fruit that you would just pick and eat, it is used mostly for medical purposes. The most peculiar aspect about the business was the odor that the fruit produced. There were many ideas of what it smelled like, Shay Gashler, one of Springville’s FBLA members, stated with disgust, “It smelled like Spaghetti-O’s!” McAfee added to her statement by saying, “It smelled like Spaghetti-O’s and old cheese.” The manager even admitted that the odor of the fruit is why they need a proprietary blend of either grape or berry juice. A proprietary blend means that not even the manager of the facility knows the formula. The formula is only known by the owners of the company to preserve copyright and trade secrets. Students observed the process in which the juice is bottled. The juice is first heated to start the pasteurization process. The glass bottles were also heated to prevent the bottles from breaking upon contact with the hot liquid. Nevertheless, often bottles will still break from the heat.
