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.

Our girl’s tennis team squared off against Skyview August 25, 2009, at 3:30pm here at Maple Mountain High School. The competition was intense and a hard-hitting fight from beginning to end. Although our girls may not have won, they still put up a tough match against Skyview and exemplified good sportsmanship. Calley Bankhead (1st Varsity Singles) defeated her opponent in a tie breaker. Anna Cronquist (2nd Varsity Singles) also battled against her foe, but ended up losing in another tie breaker.

Maple Mountain Cross Country attended its first ever meet on Tuesday, August 25, at Salem Hills High School, and stunned the region. Every region team which consists of Springville, Salem, and Spanish Fork High, Payson High, and Unita showed up to the pre-season meet. Maple Mountain placed a very close second for boys, just a few points behind rival Springville High. The girls dominated the competition and took first place, prevailing over all the other teams. Maple Mountain Boy’s team was lead by captains Holden Adams, Brent Strong, and Spencer Hansen.