Salem Hills volleyball played their first home match Thursday, September 2nd. Pursuing their victories, the team took a win over Timpanogos High School. Salem Hills accomplished their victory by winning their first three sets against Timpanogos with the ending score 3-0 for Salem Hills. After the match sophomore Mckenzie Treanor said, “I thought are defense played very well, we were loud and attacked great!” Her mother, Kathy Treanor, head coach for the Salem Hills volleyball team, agreed saying “Our attacks have greatly improved and our defense did great.” She also stated, as most coaches do, “There is still plenty of room for improvement.” The volleyball team usually plays on Thursdays at 6:30 PM. So come on out and support out girls and cheer them on to their next victory. You might find it more intense and exciting then you think. So far this season the volleyball team has a record of 2-2. Pre-Season ends Sept. 14 and region starts on September 21st.

On August 30, the Skyhawk’s Cross Country team hosted their first home meet of the season with Payson, Juab, and Spanish Fork participating. The Cross Country team had a phenomenal showing running their first 5K, with Nathan Peck (time 17:53), Matt Chesnut(17:59), and James Wright(18:31) taking the top three spots in boys. The Salem girl’s team managed to take five of the top six, with only third place being taken by Juab. After the game was finished coach Bart Thompson said,” Our team ran a really good race today. We beat a really good Juab team and I’m really pleased with where we’re at for our first home meet.”

Skyhawk girls tennis team faced Payson’s girls tennis team on Tuesday, Salem being the home team. Salem dominated: Varsity 4-1 and JV 4-1. Salem Hills girl’s varsity team has a few secret weapons explaining such a vast victory on Tuesday. The varsity lineup is Morgan Miller: first seat, Jennica Dutson: second seat, Kenzie Saunders: third seat. And for doubles it is Hannah and Katherine Riley: first seat, and Katie Cook and Mckenna Davis: second seat. Coaches and parents had a lot to brag about. “Morgan’s backhand is unstoppable!” accounted the Assistance Coach Clarke. This being a strong point because more often than not, forehands tend to be the better of the two for most; this backhand is an extraordinary secret weapon for Morgan. Not only Morgan, but Jennica Dutson is one of the most competitive players on the team. Her drive is what leads to her wins along with her consistency with her shots. However, Kenzie Saunders being one of the youngest players on the team is dominating her third seat spot for single. Currently Kenzie is undefeated, even bringing home a win against the infamous Maple Mountain. Kenzie’s hard work for years resulted in perfect form, ace serves and beautiful tennis playing ability. “She is excited about her freshman year on the tennis team!” Recounts her Father. “Her secret weapon is the mango Gatorade!” For doubles varsity, the Riley Twins are a great pair. Despite being sisters they play extremely well together. These girls are charming and polite on the court yet their heads are always in the game. The ‘Twinners’ won it with a great fore hand hit by Katherine, they won all three sets. Mckenna and Katie took their match also. Skyhawks are looking at a great tennis season!

In the early morning of Wednesday, the first of September, an ultimate bonding experience occurred between this year’s seniors as they all met at the high school in the wee hours of daybreak for the annual Senior Sunrise. An exceptional breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs was served by the faculty and student council as they helped add yet another lasting memory to the senior year of the graduating class of 2011. Michael Roberts chipped in “I was so tired but there was a ton of bacon so it made up for it!!” It is more than safe to say that this activity will not go down unappreciated. A group of seniors could be seen huddled closely as they watched the sun rise atop the mountains, almost as if Mother Nature were trying to convey the fact we can all rise above our challenges and shine brightly with success as we climb the hill of life.

On February 25 and 26, students from Salem Hills High School’s DECA chapter traveled to Layton, Utah and competed at the State DECA Career Development Conference. This two-day event was filled with leadership training workshops, competitive events, and social activities. Eight students participated in four different categories. Competitors included:  Zack Beck (Hotel and Lodging Management), DeBryn Saunders (Sports and Entertainment Marketing), Jennica Dutson and Elizabeth Leach (Business Law and Ethics Team Event), Alyssa Wood and Logan Bennett (Business Law and Ethics Team Event).  Yuriko Nagao and Delite Orton served as “service associates” for the event. Congratulations go to Zack Beck, who placed 8th in Hotel and Lodging Management.  In addition, Logan Bennett and Alyssa Wood, placed 3rd, in the team event of Business Law and Ethics which qualified them to attend the International DECA Career Development Conference, held in Louisville Kentucky April 23 through April 28.   Logan and Alyssa had the opportunity to compete at the national conference, along with 11,000 students, representing 5,000 chapters, from around the world. DECA is an association of marketing students. Salem Hills’ DECA Chapter wishes to thank their advisor Shauna Whittekiend, Salem Hills High School, and many others throughout the community, for their generous support of the DECA program. The following businesses sponsored student travel to Louisville: Temkin International, Shepherd’s Foods, Shepherd’s Poultry Farms, Capital Community Bank, Crisp’s Grocery, and Drew Briney--Attorney at Law. 

  The Salem Hills High School Envirothon team competed in the 2010 Utah State Envirothon which was held at the Wasatch State Park near Midway on April 30th & May 1st. The Envirothon is a natural resource competition for high school students. Teams of five students must prepare themselves for this two-day outdoor competition. Teams are tested on their knowledge in five designated study areas: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils/land use, wildlife and a current environmental issue. This was the first time a school from Nebo School District has competed in this event.  The team placed 3rd overall out of 26 teams from across the state. They also placed first in Wildlife, third in Forestry, and third in Current Issue. The five team members were: Bryanne Colver, Serena Hunsaker, William Behling, Zachary Jolley, and Troy Shuler. Also participating as alternates at the event were: Michael Haskell and Joseph Ashton. The advisors of the Salem Hills Envirothon teams were Brad Shuler and Steve Haskell. The team was sponsored by the Timp-Nebo Conservation District and also earned money by doing a fundraiser in which they did soil testing for local residents. The Envirothon Team and the AP Environmental Science class are continuing the Soil Testing Fundraiser Through May 17th. The money earn will help buy environmental science equipment as well as help fund a WeatherBug weather station at the school in Salem. Any one interested in supporting the fundraiser by having their soil tested or making a donation please contact Brad Shuler at brad.shuler [at] nebo.edu (brad[dot]shuler[at]nebo[dot]edu) or calling 801-423-3200.  

On Thursday May 6, 2010, the special education students at Salem Hills High School had the opportunity to run with the Special Olympics torch. This is a yearly event for the special education students; however, when asked if they were excited special education Teacher Mrs. Wilider said “They are very excited, a lot of them haven’t had the opportunity to run with the torch.”                 When asked if he was excited, special education Student Chance Cloyd said “On a scale of 1-10 I was about a 6. It was cool because we got to hold the torch and we got to wave to everyone in the school.”                 Rachelle Grady, a peer tutor for the special education class, was asked which of the students was most excited, she said, “Its hard to say, they were all very excited, some were even nervous.”                 Officer Greg Gurney of the Salem Police department helped spearhead the project this year. When asked why he did it, he replied “Well it’s a yearly event, also all the special education students get a chance to be stars for the day. They always go out and support our school events and it was our chance to support them.” The excitement was clear in the faces of the students as they walked down the road holding the torch, with a thousand screaming Skyhawks cheering them on.

On April 29th and 30th Dance Company at Salem Hills High School held a concert showing off the vast abilities of all the dance company members. The concert was called On the Edge, and had near 300 attendants each night.                 The dance teacher Ms. Auger said, “I liked how the company danced as a unified team and not as individuals, I was happy the girls rose to the occasion and pulled together as a team.”                 They’ve been working on the concert all year; most of their efforts were put in during the fourth term, and spent the two weeks before the concert working on the stage getting the dances in flow with the costumes and sets.                 Ten of the numbers were student choreographed; all senior dance company members choreographed their own dances, one of which was Sammi Magoffin who said:                 “I put in a lot of hard work and was really super glad to see it pay off in the end.”                 The president Alisha Slade said, “I was so proud of my girls, they all did a great job and we all worked so hard putting it together.”                 Dance 2 also had two numbers in the concert and said they had a lot of fun, that they are also happy to just have it over with. Some said they enjoyed dancing so much they hope to make it on Dance Company next year and keep the tradition of great dancing going year after year.

On Tuesday May 4th 2010, Shelby Ainge was one of the lucky contestants in the Keys to Success assembly and WON THE CAR!!!! Whoa!!! Shelby says “It scared the crap out of me, I didn’t think I’d win.” But she did! She said it was a humongous surprise and feels good to win. She said she actually won a couple key cards all from Mrs. Wadley for good test scores and good citizenship. She’s planning on driving that car to Oregon to college to become a psychologist.  On top of that, there was Pursuing Victory with Honor awards given out. Blake Mservy for tennis, Buddy Adams for baseball, Trisha Christenson for soft ball, Braden Ashton and Erica Pratt for track. Congrats to everyone that won an award.

                The 2010-2011 new student council members have been chosen, and it is looking to be a promising year. The new members have very different personalities so when brought together they will be full of ideas to start some new traditions for the next year.                 “The way I see it, next year is gonna be my burrito, with each day being a bean, and as the days go by, the burrito will grow more full day by day until we have a wonderful meal, the other toppings will just be an added bonus from all the good times we will have,” says a young but rugged Trevor Williams.                 Or as Jordan Daniels put it, “This school is my baby, and I’m helping it grow into the mighty sorcerer that it needs to be to fight off our rival schools.” Jordan plays for the soccer team and is hoping the schools new found spells will be able to bring victories to not only the sporting teams, but to our hearts.                 So as you can see the new Salem Hills student council is full of enthusiasm and spunk and is ready to make the new year at Salem the best it can be. New Student Council Members: “Motherly” Mitch Howell, “Jiggly” Jordan Daniels, “Tacky” Trevor Williams, “No monkey business” Marissa Sainsbury, “All or nothin” Alison Reece, “Dubious” Dalen Ficklin, “Careful” Katelyn Burraston, “Marmalade” Marissa Christensen, Parker Dunn, “Crazy Keebler elf” Kaitlin Olsen, “Hulk Smash” Roberts, “Pedestrian” Megan Clark, “Real Super” Siale Vaitohi, “Malicious” Megan Wilson, “Avada Kedavra” Amanda Campbell, “Funky” Kyle Adams, “Donkey Door” Daniel Christensen, “Spot on” Spencer Davis, “Slappy” Stefani Dimond, “Leathery” Luke Haney, “Ostentatious” Aubree Head, “Keep your enemies Closer” Kaycee Jacklin, “Makeshift” Michelle Jones, “Courageous” Chrissy VanAusdal and leading the wolf pack is the one and only “Sharing is Crazy” Cheri Campbell, Student Council Advisor.