KSL Radio Highlighted Spanish Fork High and Nebo School District - Answer to Wednesday’s Challenge

Submitted by lana.hiskey on
KSL Radio with Matt Christensen
KSL Radio with Morgan and Karen
KSL Radio with Sydnie
KSL Radio with Sydnie
KSL Radio with Tiffanie
KSL Radio with Andy
KSL Radio with Josh and Matt
KSL Radio with Matt and Lana

KSL Radio spent most of the day at Spanish Fork High highlighting just a small portion of all the successful activities happening this year. KSL Radio invited the following guests throughout the morning:

Principal Matt Christensen had multiple interviews discussing the growth of Spanish Fork High and the building of the new school building. Principal Christensen also mentioned many student successes, and how they couldn’t happen without the amazing faculty and staff and supportive parents and partnerships in Spanish Fork.

Andy Hunsaker, drama teacher, talked about his wonderful students and upcoming productions as well as earning the State Champion title for 2022.

Karen Avila, a senior and president of the Latinos in Action (LIA) student group, talked about the inclusiveness of Spanish Fork High and all the activities planned by the LIA student group.

Morgan Beckstrom, a junior, took the time out of her busy schedule to describe what it takes to be a two-time State Champion Barrel Racer, a National Champion Barrel Racer, and a Junior World Champion Barrel Racer. She even mentioned she would like to go pro like her aunt.

Sydnie Smith, student body president, was interviewed a couple of times where she mentioned the great school spirit at Spanish Fork High, and her plans for the future. She even answered the call of “Ashi Baba.”

Spanish Fork City’s Mayor, Mike Mendenhall, a graduate of Spanish Fork High, popped in to pay a visit to talk about this wonderful high school and of course he mentioned previous high school Golf State Championships.

Nebo School District’s communication and community relations administrator, Lana Hiskey, described how last year, Nebo’s graduation rate was 93.6% higher than the state average of 88%. Nebo students earned over $28 million in scholarships and Nebo saved parents and students over $10 million by providing Concurrent Enrollment and Advanced Placement classes for college credit.

KSL wanted to meet and visit with Principal Tiffanie Miley of Springville Junior because she was just honored as the State of Utah’s Middle Principal of the Year for 2022.

Josh Jensen, a teacher at Spanish Fork High, discussed opportunities like the Life Management class for all sophomores, and how the counselors and teachers help students communicate and be more resilient.

Throughout the early morning KSL played snippets from the following groups:

Drama Dons: “Mamma Mia!”, “Smokey Joe’s Café”, & “SpongeBob”
The 5A State Champion Drama Dons are so excited about a huge season. Having already conquered “Mamma Mia!” In November, the next month and a half the drama team will present two big musicals with over 150 students between actors and technicians– “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” in February and “SpongeBob” in March. Get tickets and information at dramadons.com. Andy Hunsaker is the Drama Dons instructor.

Choir: “The Music of Stillness”
There are five different choirs including the Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, Mosaic, Women’s Chorus and Men’s Chorus. Each choir performs at least once per term and all participate in UHSSA (Utah High School Activities Association) sponsored choir festivals in the spring. Chamber Singers is the top auditioned choir that performs throughout the community. Their most recent performances were at Temple Square during Christmas. In previous years, the choir has achieved superior ratings at region and state choir festivals and plan on doing the same this year. Instructor for choir is Bryson Gray.

Band: Fight Song, “Hip Hip Hooray!”
The Spanish Fork High School Marching Band is a major organization at Spanish Fork High School. They perform at football games, basketball games, pep rallies, and continue to be competitive in marching band competitions. This past fall, the Spanish Fork High School Marching band went to St. George, Utah where they competed against many other bands in the State of Utah. The band instructor is James DeLuca.

Orchestra: “Plink Plank Plunk”
The SFHS Chamber Orchestra has been awarded superior ratings at regional and state festivals and is full of students who are not only all-state musicians, but academic all stars and athletes. The students have loved the challenge of creating a bright and peppy song full of beautiful phrasing and tone all without the use of their bows. Madison Moline is the orchestra instructor.

We loved having KSL Radio here; and in Spanish Fork High’s words, “What a great day to be a Don!”

Congratulations to Marianne Mayne for answering this week’s “Where are we Wednesday?” challenge sponsored by Wiggy Wash.

#TheClimb #NeboHero #NeboSchoolDistrict #StudentSuccess #EmpowerStudents #EngageStudents #FocusOnStudents #LoveUTpublicSchools #UtPol #UtEd #ThankATeacher #LoveTeaching

Attributions
By Lana Hiskey