5-16-16 - Greeley-Evans School District 6 / Homepage

May 16, 2016
Bookends
www.GWWestWord.com
Volume XLVIII No. 16
Underclassmen: Don’t waste opportunity
Dave Falter, took me under
his wing and invited me to
join yet another group, the
newspaper. As a freshman
I didn’t know why he was
pushing me to be even busier,
but now I can see that he saw
the potential in me.
It was in my junior year
that I became the editor of
the newspaper and that year
also held a life changing
back surgery. Not only
Falter, but every single one
of my teachers, encouraged
me and kept me believing in
the potential that they saw. I
didn’t know at the time that
their encouragement would be
the inspiration I would soon
have when looking at my future. The future seems
scary, but I am prepared because I have not only
family who believe in me, but also an entire staff
who believes in me after watching me grow to the
person I have become during the last few months
of high school.
Don’t take your free education for granted
and think that these walls are a prison with the
teachers enforcing the law. Each teacher at this
school focuses on pushing their students to be the
best they can.
Teachers will believe in you even when you
think no one does. If you deny the opportunity
to let these amazing people change your life, you
will never know what you could have achieved.
So I just want to thank every teacher who believed
in me because I would not be where I am today
without them.
memories. High school is supposed to be the stage
in your life where you really find yourself. And on
that note, I would like to say I really found myself
and now have an idea on who I am. I would like to
thank the guys that helped me fit in and feel a part
of something bigger than me.
Although we say high school isn’t the way it is
in movies like Mean Girls and A Cinderella Story,
it really is. There are cliques, there is gossip that
spreads like wildfire, and there is an unknown
future ahead of us. Everything we’ve known
Daniel Guzman
Sylvia Rizo
about our friends and ourselves might as well be
thrown out the window because after high school
it won’t matter. It will be a whole new journey
where we can start over, fresh. With that being
said, who cares if you were prom queen? Who
cares if you were the star quarterback? Who cares
you were the richest kid in school who could get
whatever you wanted? Who cares if you weren’t
involved or that you didn’t speak up? Who cares
if you got in a fight?
Who really cares? No one, because although
high school was a great time to make some
unforgettable memories, none of it matters to the
real world. After high school you and I can be
whoever and whatever we want to be.
So make sure you made your last prom night a
night to remember, make sure you were nice to the
nerds in your class because they might become
your boss one day, and make sure you leave all
this high school crap behind you because we’re
not in high school anymore. This is the real world.
One last thing, don’t be the idiot who wears their
high school letter jacket to college. Thanks.
Sylvia out. *drops mic*
Every August, Greeley West comes together for
the first time to introduce the nervous excitement
of the freshman to the eager anticipation of the
upperclassmen. Hundreds of students enter these
halls just to wish away something that could
change their life.
As I approach the end of my personal journey
at Greeley West, it has come to my attention that
there are so many of us who take this educational
opportunity for granted. Every person who is
employed by this school district has dedicated
their lives to bettering students, but only a small
amount of students allow them to change their
lives.
You don’t go to high school to ditch or to spend
your time with headphones in your ears. By doing
this you are losing the opportunity for your life to
be changed for the better.
In my freshman year at Greeley West, I joined
the Poms team, which gave me a group of people
who encouraged success on
the dance floor, in the class
room, and within the real
world. These people are the
ones who kept me going when
I thought high school had
gotten the best of me.
As I indulged myself the in
education I was getting, I also
had no clue that my teachers
were the ones who were
handing me my success and
leading me to the path that
was best for me.
You can’t always see your
own potential when you
look at yourself in the mirror
because you see your flaws.
Half-way through freshman
year, my history teacher, Mr.
My whole life I thought I would graduate a
Valley Viking. I attended Pete Mirich Elementary,
North Valley Middle, and Valley High for my
first nine years of education. I had always hung
out with the kids in the neighborhood and became
really close with them. My sophomore year, I
moved.
My first year here was a little rough considering
I didn’t really have many friends. It was really
difficult to make new friends here at West because
I didn’t have anything in common with most of
the kids my age. I gave it some time and decided
to actually make an effort to meet new people. My
junior year was the year I started to actually fit in
again. I joined the baseball team and met a lot of
cool and talented guys. These are the guys that I
will be in the stories I tell my kids about West.
The big thing I learned at West is to not take
things for granted. Honestly I never would’ve
imagined high school going by so fast. If you are
the new kid and have no friends then I suggest
you make the effort to make friends. You don’t
want to have your kid ask you in the future “How
was high school for you?” and have no stories or
Kennedy Spittler
We’re who we choose to be Who really cares anyway?
Page II
Go get
involved
Anyone who has graduated high school will tell
you that getting involved in your school is really
important and you will learn some of the most
valuable lessons for the rest of your life. I really
couldn’t agree more with it.
I was so lucky to be involved with the softball
team, yearbook, and newspaper in high school
and it has taught me so much.
As I am lucky enough to give a few pieces of
advice to the students at West for the next few
years, I really encourage everyone to join some
sort of activity, club, or sport.
Greeley West is great at making you feel right
at home, and no one is there to judge or stop you
from finding who you truly are. So why not hop
out of your comfort zone and join something?
Being a part of the softball team has helped me
become much more of a respectful person than
when I was a freshman. I have learned how to
work in situations that don’t always go my way,
as well as learn to work with people that I don’t
exactly want to.
Senior year, as well as the rest of my high school
career has gone by SO fast, and I am so grateful to
have been a part of teams and organizations that
have helped me become the person I am today. So,
go out join something, get involved, and make the
most of these last 4 years as a child.
5.16.16
Seniors
Senior ends up with ones she loves
Everyone says high school is the best four years
of your life. Now that I am days from graduating,
I don’t think I can say they were the best, but
definitely the most memorable, especially with
the help of Facebook “On this day” to remind me
of this journey.
On my first day of high school, I felt like a
little fish entering a big pond, not just because
everyone always talked how scary the hub was,
how everyone hated freshmen and finding a way
to adjust to an new environment, but coming into
high school you were expected to be mature, to
find out who you are, and what you wanted to do
for the next four years.
I will never forget the time Sandra Tapia went
face first into the lockers because she thought it
was “cool” to jump on people. She looked like an
idiot, but we always end up laughing about the
incident every chance we get.
They say you’ll lose friends and gain friends,
and of course it was quite intimidating, facing the
fact that rumors and drama did happen in high
school. Looking back on these past four years it
has been amazing to find myself with the ones I
love the most.
You’ll never remember the essays, late work, or
the C you got on your math test. You’ll remember
the car surfing in the school parking lot, all the
dumb memories you can tell your grand kids.
Since it’s all coming to an end I am not only
excited to see what a new beginning can bring me,
but terrified at the same time for all the changes
that are going to happen.
Like they say in high school musical it’s just
a start of something new. We were all in this
together and now it’s time to part our ways.
Jacinda Flores
Don’t regret decisions you make in school
Diego Martinez
As I grew up, I was actually a three sport athlete.
Baseball was the main sport that I enjoyed playing
the most, but I also played football and basketball
as well.
Once I got to high school though, I kept hearing
from a lot of people that if you wanted to be
outstanding in a sport and go to college for it, then
you would have to focus on that sport and that
sport only. So being a freshman, I decided to drop
football and eventually after my sophomore year I
dropped basketball as well.
Now that I’m a senior looking back at it, I have a
small feeling of regret that I didn’t continue with
all three sports. Even though I feel like dropping
those two sports helped me a lot to become a
Everyone goes into high school thinking the
same thing—that this is the time we’re going to
find ourselves. What I have just recently come to
realize is that we are actually creating ourselves.
The most important thing I did at West was learn
how to unconditionally love myself, which is
something many people go their whole lives never
experiencing. Once you truly learn the extent to
which you are worth, the rest falls into place.
Obtaining the feeling that you are good enough
and wholeheartedly believing it is the key to
achieving greatness; I genuinely believe that.
Take your anger, love, passion, and ambition and
make it worth something. We are in charge of our
own lives. If you want something, shoot for it. If
you believe in something, fight for it. If you want
different results, be the change.
I consider my high school experience to be an
unpredictable four year journey that resulted with
an epiphany that there is greatness in each and
every one of us. I have reached an understanding
that we, as human beings, are constantly evolving.
The person I was yesterday is different than the
person I am today, and certainly different from
the person I am going to be tomorrow. Life moves
on and all we can do is grow. I am departing this
chapter in my life with a feeling of simple clarity
that we are who we choose to be.
better baseball player, I didn’t think about the
games, practices, and tournaments that I’m going
to miss going to at that time.
My uncle always warned me about this feeling
of regret once it came down to it, but I always
just turned the other cheek when we would talk
about this. He would tell me that you only go
through high school one time and to do everything
possible and make the most out of it.
So my advice for all those underclassmen who
are thinking about not playing a sport anymore,
don’t! Do anything and everything that makes you
happy. Don’t be a person filled with regret once
it’s all over.
West teaches you about who you are
Kenya Grauberger
Michaela Joyce
May 16, 2016
WEST WORD
www.GWWestWord.com
Volume XLVIII No. 16
Scholarly
celebration
By Peyton Book
Staff Writer
Jana Datteri/West Word
Greeley West seniors are recognized for having over a 4.0 GPA at the Awards Night ceremony in the
auditorium last Monday.
Last Monday night, Greeley West hosted its annual awards night. It
is a night to recognize and reward students who have worked really
hard throughout their high school experience and persevered through
the tallest of mountains to reach their goals.
Senior Lobna Alsrraj was nominated for the Honor Crest award,
which is the highest given award. However, to win, you must be
nominated and you are required to make a resume of your high school
years. She explained, “This is a great event because it recognizes the
scholarship winners and the students who know what it means to be
a Spartan.” She won the IB Student of the Year.
Every year the Honor Crest award is given out to the top two
percent of the school and a committee is formed by teachers in each
department that nominates and votes on winners.
This year’s recipients were AJ Lopez, Preston Marion, DiAnna
Rowe, Jacy Layton, Lena Datteri, Ellery Sedlacek, and Severn
Young.
West students are moved by Holocaust survivor
By Ana Rivera
Staff Writer
On May 3, Greeley West High School was
visited by Holocaust survivor Peter Daniels.
Daniels spoke in the auditorium during third
and fourth period classes. AVID students and
history teachers brought their classes to hear the
presentation.
Daniels was born in Berlin in 1936, during a time
when Jews were not allowed to have radios or
have newspapers delivered. This meant Daniels
and his mother knew very little about what was
going on around them.
He shared with the audience that the Holocaust
all began for him when a few police officers
arrested him and his mother and they were taken
to a detention center. “We stayed there for a few
weeks so we must have had some food with us,
we were doing something right,” he remembered.
While staying at the detention center, he came
down with a fever and a Nazi official sent him to
the hospital and he returned to the detention center
after a couple of days.
Two days after returning from the hospital he
was thrown into a cattle car with his mother and
another 98 people for about a 24 hour trip to a
concentration camp where they were forced to
stand the entire time.
After he got off the train, he was to walk for an
hour to his camp in a single file line to be processed
Westward: Sharing soles, Page 2
Westward: IB farewell, Page 2
he was off to New York, where he was happy to
the next morning. He was separated from his
mother and lived in very poor conditions. Daniels live in a free country.
Daniels told the audience how powerful
told the audience, “We were served a
bowl of warm water and we were lucky
of an experience it was to be told the
if we saw a potato peel floating in it and a
meaning of the Statue of Liberty as they
passed it on the boat into the United
small piece of bread every day.”
States.
The only reason why he worked
“When he was speaking, he told us
packing boxes was to be awarded with
another meal. in just two years, 100
about the time they were holding white
children survived out of 1500.
boxes and one of them fell to the ground
Daniel’s said that if your age
and it had a skull in it,” freshman Nayra
Andrade said. “It just made me feel
wasn’t from 14 to about 50 you were
immediately send into a gas chamber. Andrade
really bad and I felt really afraid for him
May 8th 1945 the war ended and he and
in that position.”
his mom returned to Berlin for a few months then
Inside
Sports: Swimmers best in city, Page 3
Sports: Baseball finally wins, Page 3
Page 2
5.16.16
Westward
AVID students provide shoe resources for Uganda
Sophomore Ana Rivera stated, “We are helping
create shoes because we have them and they,
(Ugandans) don’t. So they need shoes to
Last week, the Greeley West AVID
help protect themselves from contracting
sophomore class was participating in a
the jigger parasite.”
community service activity to benefit
The Sole Hope project was brought
Ugandan residents. The project is called
to the AVID program by Ms. Susan
Sole Hope and protects the citizens
Eastin who learned about the project by
from a parasite known as the jigger.
following the footsteps of LULAC who
The jiggers burrow into the feet of the
has done this in the past.
Ugandans and lay eggs which cause great
There were 14 groups of AVID
pain and horrible infections.
sophomores making the shoe patterns.
The students acquired blue jeans
Each group hoped to create enough
through donations and used the material Hernandez
material to make 10 pairs of shoes.
to cut out fabric in the pattern of a shoe.
Sophomore Arturo Hernandez said the project
Those patterns will be shipped to Uganda where
was a positive experience. “I love helping people
Ugandan workers will assemble the shoe for sale.
This will not only benefit the cause for their feet, out and doing whatever I can to help people in
need,” Hernandez said.
but it will also benefit their economy as well.
By Ryan Rojas
Staff Writer
Sophomores
Stephanie
Leyva and
Ana Rivera
cut out shoe
patterns
for a
community
service
project in
AVID last
week.
Ryan Rojas/
West Word
Senior IB students say farewell
By Madeline Rodgers
Staff Writer
The time honored and annual tradition of
IB matriculation here at Greeley West High
School will take place Monday, May 16, in
the auditorium at 6 p.m. IB juniors and seniors
will be there as well as IB teachers, along with
Principal Jeff Cranson for the event. The IB
matriculation itself is a ceremony where IB
juniors give IB seniors gifts, this year the gifts
being keychains with the seniors’ graduation
cap tassels attached and a bumper sticker with
the seniors’ graduation year and a quote saying
say about the ceremony: “Personally, I think it’s
“All the Places You’ll Go”.
The IB seniors will also be giving, but
a really cool idea that the juniors
not to other students. They’ll be giving
are sending away the seniors, the
people who have really led them
gifts to their IB teachers who have helped
them throughout their journey in the IB
through their first year of real IB
and it’s really nice to say thank you
world. The gifts towards teachers can be
anything from something similar like the
and goodbye.”
charms they’re receiving from juniors to
To the IB seniors, matriculation
larger gifts like shirts, posters, and even
is a celebratory time, a time of
expensive gift certificates to restaurants,
feeling honored for their years in
the program and a time where they
stores and shopping centers.
IB junior Jessica Lieser, who will be Lieser
can show thanks towards teachers
speaking at the matriculation, had this to
who helped them along.
Band thrills audience in final performance
By Juliet Cha
Staff Writer
Greeley West High School’s annual band
concert was held in the
Greeley West auditorium
Tuesday, where the newest
additions to the group were
debuted.
Namely, these new groups
included a percussion group
which played music on trash
cans, a flute trio, a woodwind
quintet, as well as a trombone
Arreguin
quartet.
Junior Alondra Arreguin commented, “Our
freshmen are aces to be completely honest.
They worked so hard on the music and were
practicing a lot just for tonight.
I’m excited to play tonight
because it sounds so good.”
Arreguin played in the flute
trio.
After
the
concert,
the
performers held a band
matriculation as well as an
award ceremony for the kids
who had lettered in band and
for the band’s farewell to the Arthur
seniors.
The band members showed a slideshow full of
baby pictures of the seniors, and also showed
how long each senior has participated in band.
Additionally, the band gave Mr. Chet Arthur,
the band director, a gift as thanks.
“The seniors have all been in band for all
four years of high school, and as a family of
band members we were all both sad and proud
to see them get this far. ” Arreguin added.
The next band event will be in the fall when
a new band begins marching season.
-Letter to the EditorSART explained
Dear Editor,
I wanted to help explain and describe the Sexual
Assault Awareness Pledge from April. It was a one
day effort and we had a great turn out! Our goal
was to spread the message that if you are witness/
victim of sexual assault the best thing to do is use
your voice. The following is an accurate description
of SART.
The SART (Student Advocate Resource Team)
Peers Program is run through the Sexual Assault
Victim Advocate (SAVA) center that has been
educating students and preventing sexual assault
and sexual harassment in Poudre School District for
over 20 years. The program utilizes the enthusiasm,
talent and credibility of high school students to
educate their peers on sexual violence. SART also
works to create a school culture that does not tolerate
sexual violence and is supportive of survivors.
Peer educators participate in an initial seven-hour
training (today) which is followed by monthly
follow-up trainings throughout the year. The
Peers foundational 90-minute SART sexual assault
prevention/education presentation is integrated into
the freshman/sophomore level health curriculum.
Therefore, every student experiences the dynamic
peer-led presentation in their classroom.
Thank you,
Becky Hensley
Sports
5.16.16
Page 3
Tennis duo
competes at
state tourney
Track builds
momentum
into next year
By Drew Mendez
By Jordan Noland
Staff Writer
The girl’s tennis team definitely turned around
their performance at regionals after an ugly League
Tournament. The team placed 2nd at the Regional
tournament and sent 2 single players to the state
tournament this last weekend. No. 3 singles Kayla
Hoskins and No.1 singles Emily Hopwood both
made it to the championship.
However, it was good enough
to still qualify for the state
tournament. Results were
unavailable at press time.
The team itself took home
the silver with a total of 39
points and beat Grandview
by one point to take second.
Cherry Creek took first place
with 81 points.
Hopwood
Hopwood and Hoskins both
lost to Cherry Creek in the
finals. Hoskins had a lot to say
about her experience at her last
regional tournament, “It was
really sad actually, especially
at my last practice. Knowing
that I’ve played tennis for four
years and know it’s all over.”
On the brighter side, her last
tournament was obviously
Hoskins
a successful one. “Me and
Emily both made it to state. The tournament went
really good, except our finals match which was
kinda embarrassing because she was so good.”
Hoskins lost the match 6-1 6-0 Hoskins was still
looking forward to getting the job done at the state
tournament.
Staff Writer
Elise Johnson/West Word
Greeley West teammates swim the backstroke during the Greeley City
Meet on May 3.
West is best in city
By Elise Johnson
Staff Writer
On Tuesday May 3, the Greeley West boys
swim team dominated Greeley Central and
Northridge at the annual Greeley City Meet.
The Greeley West swimmers took first in
every event with the exception of diving and
the 100 butterfly. In addition to an astonishing
amount of victories, four meet records were
also broken.
Frontier Academy senior, and Greeley West
swimmer Brody Lewis broke three meet
records: including the 200 freestyle, 50 freestyle
while leading off the 200 freestyle relay, and
100 breaststroke. He won all three events with
state qualifying times in each. Greeley Central
sophomore, Drake Manuello, also broke a meet
record in the 100 butterfly, winning the race
with a 5A state qualifying time.
Due to his impressive performances that day,
Brody Lewis was awarded the MVP Mark
Hummels award.
Hummels attended multiple Greeley public
schools including John Evans and Greeley
Central. He was an outstanding swimmer who
continues to hold a Greeley Central record
in the 400 freestyle relay; He was also an
Continued
Swimming, Page 4
Baseball team finishes season with walk-off win
By Staff Reports
Shawn Clark completed his first season as a
Greeley West Spartan with teammates mobbing
him after his walk-off single up the middle that
propelled the Spartans to a 2-1 come-from-behind
victory over Loveland on Saturday afternoon at
Butch Butler Field.
The winning single capped a season that saw
Clark compile a 12 game hit streak, hit .415 in
the 5A Front Range League, and earn the starting
shortstop role with solid glove play. The best
part? He’s only a sophomore.
Another sophomore, Cedric Corrales, picked
up the victory for the Spartans on the mound.
Corrales struck out eight in the complete game,
102-pitch effort. It was his third victory of the
season, meaning he was the only starting pitcher
to get a win for the Spartans (3-16) this season.
Despite all of the attention being paid to the
sophomores on Saturday, seniors finished their
last game in a Greeley West uniform. Of the
seniors, Andrew Rome (2-for-3) and Keegan
Wilcox (1-1 with two walks) had the best games.
This year the Greeley West track team did
fantastic. They are sending more people to state
and placing higher at meets. Also the participation
rate this season was outstanding with 90-100
athletes going out for track.
For some runners, they have been running track
for a few years and some it’s their first year.
For junior, Jordi Trejo, it is
his first year running track.
Trejo reflected on his first
year of track and stated, “I
did great for my first season
doing track. I have improved
greatly since the beginning of
the year but there is always
room for improvement. I love
my team and the people I got
Trejo
to associate myself with. I’m
definitely looking forward to
next year’s track season.”
Junior Jayden Martinez had
more experience coming into
the season and found that the
experience had actually helped
him. ”I’ve been running track
since my freshman year and I
have improved dramatically
since then. This year I did
Martinez
pretty well and have set new
personal records in each of my
main three events but there is still time to improve
for next season,” Martinez
said.
Next year the team expects
to do better than they did
this season. Assistant coach
Rich Davis said” We will do
better than we did next year,
because we are building the
momentum up. We also have
a great head coach.”
Davis
State track is Thursday
through Saturday at Jefferson
County Stadium in Lakewood. Stay tuned to
GWWestWord.com more details.
Page 4 5.16.16
Pulling the
strings one
last time
By Jana Datteri
Staff Writer
On May 11, an orchestra concert took place
at Greeley West High School in the auditorium.
This concert marked the end performance for all
orchestra groups.
Chamber orchestra had an amazing year with
outstanding scores at Grand Junction which
included the awards of Large Group Superior
rating award and Large Group Outstanding
String Orchestra.
Senior, Lena Datteri said, “It has been the best
year since I have been in Chamber Orchestra.”
Freshman Evelyn Soucie said, “This year has
been fun and it’s fun playing challenging pieces
and getting better.”
At the concert, Chamber Orchestras will
be playing one of many songs, “Dives and
Lazarus.” This appeared to be many of the
students favorite song they have learned and
will be performing. This piece was split up into
about 4 parts and was the biggest struggle to
preparing for this story. Seniors in Chamber
Orchestra played their senior song, “Nimrod.”
In the underclassmen orchestra the students
favorite song they played was, “St. Paul Suite.”
Senior
DiAnna
Rowe plays
first chair
violin at her
last
orchestra
concert for
Greeley
West.
Jana Datteri/West
Word
WEST WORD
Editor: Kennedy Spittler
Design Editors: TBA
Web Editor: Jordan Noland
Peyton Book
Juliet Cha
Jana Datteri
Jacinda Flores
Kenya Grauberger
Daniel Guzman
Elise Johnson
Michaela Joyce
Diego Martinez
Drew Mendez
Angela Pearson
Sylvia Rizo
Madeline Rodgers
Clarissa Roman
Kaylee Roth
Elexys Sheneman
Zach Streeter
West Word is a publication of the Greeley West newspaper
production class. It is published bi-weekly. Letters to the editor and story ideas are accepted in room 306. Letters must be
300 words or less. Opinions expressed on the Viewpoints page
are those of the editorialist and are not those of the West Word,
Greeley West High School, District 6, or its faculty and staff.
Visit West Word online at www.greeleyschools.org/westword
for bonus content and a color PDF edition viewable on your
tablet.
From
Swimming, Page 3
impressive scholar who won the Boettcher
scholarship in 1988. Later on Hummels received
his undergraduate from Colorado College, a
degree in journalism from the University of
California Berkeley, and a law degree from
the University of Arizona. He then pursued a
career practicing law, and on July 31, 2013 was
tragically murdered following the litigation of an
enraged client.
Hummels’ legacy lives on not only in the Greeley
community but also in the many lives he saved
when he donated his organs. Coach Colin Shaha
described Hummels’ character as, “even when
he was dying he was helping others.” For Senior
Brody Lewis, receiving the Mark Hummels award
for the second time in his high school career was
a huge honor.
Online coverage
will continue
With the end of the school year
approaching, all kinds of fun and exciting
things happen at Greeley West - graduation,
IB Matriculation, and state competitions just
to name a few.
Typically, the West Word has been unable
to cover those events because they happen
past our print deadline. However, with the
creation of GWWestWord.com, coverage of
these events can continue through the spring.
Please continue to check the website for
information throughout the summer. And
don’t forget to follow us on Twitter at @
GWWestword for breaking news.
--Staff Reports
AVID seniors
pack theater
for ceremony
By Madeline Rodgers
Staff Writer
IB isn’t the only program to have matriculation,
with AVID matriculation taking place at the
Union Colony Civic Center on Thursday May 5
at 7 p.m..
The ceremony for AVID matriculation and IB
matriculation are pretty similar, with just a few
differences, as the AVID seniors will be passing
things down to their younger peers, the AVID
juniors.
The AVID juniors gave
back, this year with mason
jars filled with an AVID
senior’s favorite candy, a
class photo, and a paper
with their quote or favorite
memory of one of their
favorite teachers.
The
ceremony
also
included
a
slideshow
Contreras
showing all the senior photos
and where individual seniors
will be going on to college.
To sum up the entire ceremony, the AVID seniors
are passing down knowledge from their time as
high schoolers and AVID kids to the juniors and
underclassmen, while the juniors have the duty of
presenting the seniors with a gift.
The theme of these yearly ceremonies is a
celebration and honoring of the graduating AVID
class, with the entire thing centered on memories,
knowledge, tips and tricks to the AVID world.
AVID junior Jailene Contreras commented “I
really had a good time putting together the gifts
for the seniors and I think it’s a fun idea, giving
the seniors a sending off party sort of thing.”
AVID senior Morgan Gonzales stated, “It was a
great experience and turned out a lot better than
we had expected. The amount of stress it took to
plan was well worth it.”
The highlight of the night was the return of Ms.
Sarah Bruemmer, who flew from Minnesota for
the event.
Bruemmer teamed up with Mr. Dave Falter to
hand out certificates of completion of the AVID
program as well as a speech that honored the
senior class.
Page III 5.16.16
Four years go quick, make
sure you don’t have regrets
Zach Streeter
Strict teachers love us
Entering high school as a freshman you are
automatically considered very immature and
babyish. The teachers as well as the campus
monitors and other staff members are really
strict and not lenient when you’re in the
hallways, classrooms, or on the hill going to
lunch at king soopers. My freshman year I
didn’t like very many teachers due to them
being strict and always watching over my
shoulder. As I have grown up and went up in the
“class pyramid” all of the teachers and staff in
the school became cooler with us and treated us
as adults rather than little trouble making kids.
Being a senior now and looking back at how
hard the teachers were on me personally, I
couldn’t thank them enough because they made
me into the student I am today.
My relationship with my teachers is awesome
because I can give them “crap” and joke with
them all the time and they will joke back with
me. This has made high school so much more
fun. Being a true senior with three gym classes
and just chilling all day has made my senior
year a very relaxing and full of time to get my
college stuff prepared.
My advice to incoming freshman is to work
your butt off the first three years of high school
and take the hard classes that you need to do for
your future so your senior year you can relax
and focus on college requirements.
The whole saying that, ‘high school goes by
quick’, and ‘you should enjoy and cherish every
moment given to you’, and all that other cheesy
jibber jabber, well…It’s true. High school fly’s by,
and since I am privileged with being able to give
some advice, I am going to suggest one simple
thing to you cute little freshman; keep every
graduate of 2019 as close as possible for as long
as possible, while also attempting to make new
friends at all times.
Some of my biggest regrets I will have as I say
bye to Greeley West is that I didn’t stay close to
everyone I was friends with freshman year, and
didn’t aim to find and create new relationships as
the four years flew by.
I often reminisce on freshman year; every
freshman, and I mean basically every freshman,
having their parents drop them off at the bowling
alley or someone’s house, going on an adventure,
ding dong ditching and teepeeing people, etc…It
was all fun! But as the years went by the unified
Greeley West freshman class of 2016 split into
groups and no longer all hung out. Now granted,
we all found our own special interests and
hobbies, but I would have still enjoyed being as
close with everyone as I was freshman year.
To go along with keeping everyone together,
I wish I would’ve expanded my horizons and
indulged in the various excitements which can
come from befriending different types of people.
DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT become too
comfortable with your group of friends to a point
where you don’t even try to talk to other students.
Meeting new people and spreading positivity is a
huge part of what life is about, so do it!
I really did enjoy the four quick years I had here
Connor Thompson
at West, but I will leave wondering what would’ve
been had I stayed friends with everyone in my
class and made an effort to make new ones... :(
It’s all good doe, life’s good and so is Greeley
West, so throw yourself a party and enjoy every
moment you have left!
West’s size leads to bigger opportunities for kids
When I was a freshman, the idea of West made
me nervous. I came from a tiny private school
with 19 kids in my eighth grade class. Entering a
place where there was over 300 kids in my class
alone was intimidating to say the least.
I met a lot of people, and every day was different.
I made a lot of new friends and met a lot of people
that impacted my life. I always rolled my eyes
when people told me “High school flies by” but
they weren’t wrong. These four years flew faster
than I thought they would. Although not all of my
decisions were the brightest, I am so thankful that
I made the choices I did. Without my mistakes,
I wouldn’t be the person I am today. In fact, the
only things I regret are things that I didn’t do.
If there’s any advice I could give to
underclassmen or juniors, it would be to be
involved in high school. It sounds cliché, but
that is how I made some of my best memories
and closest friends. Participate in sports, join
clubs, and try to step outside your comfort zone.
Go to every football game you can, go hard at
assemblies, and try not to care too much about
what people think.
Be nice to your teachers because most of them
genuinely care about you and your future. Do well
in school from the start, because freshman grades
will haunt you when you’re filling out college
applications. Meet lots of people, but never forget
about the friends you started with.
The list can carry on, but the general idea is high
school is what you make of it. Make sure you
make it great.
Angela Pearson
5.16.16 Page IV
Making it through high school is a victory
Elexys Sheneman
These past four years of high school have been
a melting pot of emotions, triumphs and learning
experiences. All of these lessons have seemed
to have one central theme; transformation. I still
remember walking into those big scary doors
on the first day of freshman year, completely
oblivious to all I was to encounter in my near
future. Now I see my cap and gown hanging in
my closet, and I look into the mirror and I see
a completely new person. I see someone who is
well prepared for “adulthood” and someone who
is capable of handling all that life has to throw
my way.
I do not believe that I would not be the person I
am today without going through all that I have in
high school. I am thankful for all of the struggles
because they only added petals onto the evergrowing flower that is myself.
Looking back, I remember being terrified of the
day that I would be on my own in this big, big
world. I feared all of the mistakes I would make
and I feared that one day I would throw away my
dreams for a job that I hate. Transformation. Now
that the finish line is placed only feet in front of
me, I have a euphoric feeling rushing through my
body when I think of all of the things I have yet to
see, and all of the people I have yet to meet. One
of my most relevant revelations I have had this
year is that I can do and become anything that I
want to be.
High school was rough for some of us, and at
points I seriously considered dropping out and
changing my name; but now, looking back at all
that has happened all I see is victory. I made it.
I went through the routines, exams, and rumors
and now I am stronger than I have ever been. High
school has been nothing short of a hurricane but
that hurricane washed away the me I once knew
and left someone strong, with her feet firmly on
the ground and her mind full of ambition and
passion. Time really flies.