We would like to congratulate the boys golf team on an excellent season. After 8 tournaments, they came up only 9 strokes short of qualifying for state.  For the season, they improved 222 strokes from last year--that's an average of 28 strokes per tournament.    With 10 players coming back, they are expecting even better results next year.  We would like to give a shout out to yesterday's top performers at Wasatch:  Jayden Parkinson, Brock Nielson and Ty Bennett all led the team with scores in the 70's.

Salem Hills is offering an ACT prep class to help any students preparing for the  October 25th or Dec. 13th ACT test.  The class will be held from 8-12 in the morning on two Saturdays:  September 27th(Math/Science) & October 11th (English/Reading).  The cost is only $50 for all eight hours of instruction and students will have access to an ACT book as they prepare for the test.  Class is first come, first serve. If any of you are interested, you can sign up at the financial office.  Another class will be offered in February to prepare for the March 3rd test.

Ernest Hemingway, the great American author, said, "As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary." At Salem Hills High School this year we have been challenged by our principal, Mr. Peery,  to be heroes to those around us. He's challenged us to be heroes to our students, classmates, colleagues, friends, and neighbors and be a source of strength and support in their lives. We are extending the challenge to you, our entire school community, to, as Mr. Peery would say, "be a hero to those who need it most!" After all, to quote the author, "it is sort of necessary."

Skyhawk Highlights:

 SHHS Boys' Golf: The Boys' Golf team had a great tournament on their home course, the Gladstan Golf Course, last week. They moved to within five strokes of state tournament play. They play at Wasatch State Park, the Lake Course, today (9/23), and Coach Fillmore encouraged all of us to send the team our "good vibes" so that they can hit it straight, make up those strokes, and get into the state tournament. Good luck guys!

SHHS Girls' Soccer: The girls played great against Provo last Tuesday  night; They defeated the Bulldogs  4-0 in a hard-fought win. They played Timpview tough on Thursday night, but fell to the Thunderbirds 3-1. Right now they are battling for state playoff positioning, and each game is important for their region standing. It will be exciting to watch this team come down the home stretch. They next play  MMHS here today (9/23) at 4:00 PM. 

SHHS Girl's Tennis: The ladies had a hard fought match with the Timpview Thunderbirds on Thursday, and though the matches didn't go as well as the ladies hoped, they competed hard and made a good showing. Their next match is today against Spanish Fork High School, and their region tournament will be on October 2 and 3.  

Captain's Academy: A number of our students who represent their fall sports as captains attended the district's Captain's Academy on Thursday of last week where they participated in developing and strengthening sportsmanship in our district. Our student leaders represented our school very well as they shared their ideas about leadership and conduct as it relates to competition.

SHHS Cross Country: The cross country team will next run in a meet that is hosted here at SHHS, the Nebo Invitational, on Friday, September 26 at 3:30. Coach Thompson said the meet will feature 30 teams from all over the state and over 1500 runners. It should be a great event to come and watch.  

SHHS Volleyball: The ladies had another good week on the court. They defeated Maple Mountain High School 3 matches to 0 last Thursday night. They next face Wasatch High School today (9/23) at 7:00 PM.

SHHS Boys' Football:  The football team bounced back well with a dominant performance on the road against Wasatch High School. Many of the underclassmen got significant playing time in the 48-14 victory for the Skyhawks. Next up for the football team is the Provo Bulldogs at Provo High School on Friday, September 26 at 7:00 PM.   

SHHS Sadie Hawkins: The Sadie Hawkins dance was held last Saturday night, and the turnout was awesome. Greese was the theme of the night, and students came decked out in vintage 1950's style attire and enthusiastically danced into the night. A special thanks goes to Mrs. Boothe for her efforts in making the dance a success!  

Skyhawk Happenings:

• There will be a meeting on September  30th at 2:30 in the library for all students who are interested in applying to be a Sterling Scholar. Applications will be available at the meeting and thereafter in the library from Mrs. Rawle. The deadline to apply is October 15.
• The 2014 PTA Reflections contest being held this year at SHHS will be rewarded with cash awards for winners! The PTA would like to welcome all who would like to join. Participants are to choose project(s) based on this year's theme, "The world would be a better place if...." Projects are to be turned into the office by October 22. Winners will be announced at a luncheon the first part of November.

Reflection Categories: 3D art; Dance Choreography; Literature; Visual Arts. Film Production; Photography; Music composition (You may enter as many categories as you would like but only one entry per category).  

Reflections Website: www.shhsptsa.com.  Please go here to print off all forms and find rules and instructions.  

• Detention will be held before school, during lunch, and after school in room C209 with Mr. Schwenke and Ms. Houghton
• Starting this week, our administrative team will be offering detention after school for students interested in biking, running, and doing cross fit. As an administrative team, we are calling the program "Double Time", and students can earn double the detention time for participating. This pilot program is based on Psychologist  John Ratey's theory that exercise sparks cognitive function and improves academic performance and behavior. 
• Homecoming week will begin on October 6 and run through October 10.
• Fall Break will be October 16-19.
• The end of first term is Thursday, October 23.

This Week at a Glance: (9/22/14 - 9/26/14)

Monday: Boys' Basketball Open Gym @ 6:00 PM

Tuesday: Girls' Soccer versus Maple Mountain High School (4:00 PM)

                   Volleyball versus Wasatch High School (7:00 PM)

Wednesday: Girls' Basketball Open Gym @ 6:00 PM

Thursday: JV/Sophomore Football versus Provo High School (3:30 PM)

                   Girls' Soccer @ Spanish Fork High School (4:00 PM)

                   Girls' Volleyball @ Provo High School (7:00 PM)

Friday:  Football @ Provo High School (7:00 PM)

Saturday: Girl's Basketball Open Gym @ 8:00 AM

                   Marching Band at Payson

Vince Lombardi, the great hall-of-fame football coach of the Greenbay Packers, once said, "There is only one way to succeed at anything and that is to give it everything!" We are committed to making our school the best it can be, and, like Vince Lombardi admonished, we are going to put everything we've got into ensuring that happens. We expect our students to give their studies and activities here at SHHS everything they've got. And we know that our students' parents are giving everything they can to help our students be successful.    

Skyhawk Highlights:

 SHHS FFA: Sakia Brost placed first at the state fair for showmanship of her lamb. Way to go Sakia! 

SHHS Band: Both the pregame and  halftime performances at the football game were excellent.   The band performed numbers from Sherlock which were arranged by Mike Larsen and Karl Hartman. The band's precision performance of "Dark Times", "Deception", "Deduction", and "Elementary"  was excellent. Great job band!

SHHS Cross Country: The cross country team had a wet one on Tuesday night, running through monsoon conditions, but still finished first (boys and girls) in a meet with Spanish Fork and Payson. On Friday night they placed second (boys and girls) at the Payson Invitational which they ran under the lights at the Payson baseball complex. Coach Thompson said the team continues to improve each meet.

SHHS Volleyball: The ladies played really well last week. They defeated Spanish Fork 3-0 on Tuesday night and followed that dominate performance up with a victory over Springville 3 games to 1. They next face Mapleton HS on Thursday, September 18 at 4:00 PM.

SHHS Girls' Soccer: The girls had a rough one against Wasatch on Tuesday  night losing 3-0, but bounced back nicely and defeated Payson 7-0 on Thursday night. Next up for the girls is a match with Provo here Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 PM.  

SHHS Boys' Football:  The football game was electric last week. Many stated that they couldn't recall a better crowd. Coach Higginson's staff focused on honoring the veterans in the area with dinner and acknowledgement of their service. KSL was here as well to focus on the game as one of the Games of the Week. The team played well and gave the Thunderbirds all they could handle before eventually succumbing 42-21. They next face Wasatch on the road.   

SHHS Student Council: Our student council did a great job hyping the student body up for the KSL Game of the Week. They provided face painting before the game for the student body in support of the students' decision to create a "blue-out" for the game. They cooperated with the cheerleaders in creating the electric atmosphere for the game; week in and week out, the student council does a great job representing our students in all that they do.

SHHS Cheer: The cheer team did a fabulous job at the games this week keeping the crowd active and involved in our games, particularly at the football game. Their enthusiasm is contagious and really creates a strong spirit of support for our school and its teams! It was good to see them stay positive when they experienced technical difficulties with their music at halftime as well.  

SHHS Girls' Tennis: The ladies had a very productive trip to St. George this last week. They finished 3rd out of 13 teams at the St. George Duel in the Desert Tournament. Coach Tolbert also wanted to recognize the strong performance from the JV doubles teams and singles performances.  

SHHS Boys' Golf: The Boys' Golf team gave a few strokes back this week at their tournament at Hobble Creek Golf Course, but look to bounce back this week with a strong performance on their home course, Gladstan Golf Course.  State is still within reach, and the boys are giving it everything they can to try to make it happen.

SHHS Lashays: The Lashays'  performance at halftime of the football game was awesome! It was particularly impressive that they were able to keep their time and finish their routine as well as they did after their music unexpectedly stopped on them.   

Skyhawk Happenings:

• The PLAN Test for sophomores will be on Wednesday, September 17th (This is a test that helps students improve testing skills and prepare for taking the ACT as juniors). Only Sophomores need to come this day; school will be excused at 11:15 AM.  
• Our first Parent Teacher Conference will be held on Wednesday, September 17th from 3:30 to 7:30 in the auxiliary gym.
• Our school has an excellent book fair planned for the week of 9/15 through  9/19; information regarding the book fair's details can be found at the following website: http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?method=homepage&url=salemhillssrhighschool1
• The Sadie Hawkins dance is this Saturday evening (9/20) from 7:00 to 10:00 PM.
• There will be a meeting on September  30th at 2:30 in the library for all students who are interested in applying to be a Sterling Scholar. Applications will be available at the meeting and thereafter in the library from Mrs. Rawle. The deadline to apply is October 15th.
• The 2014 PTA Reflections contest being held this year at SHHS will be rewarded with cash awards for winners! The PTA would like to welcome all who would like to join. Participants are to choose project(s) based on this year's theme, "The world would be a better place if...." Projects are to be turned into the office by October 22nd. Winners will be announced at a luncheon the first part of November.Reflection Categories: 3D art; Dance Choreography; Literature; Visual Arts. Film Production; Photography; Music composition (You may enter as many categories as you would like but only one entry per category).  Reflections Website: www.shhsptsa.com.  Please go here to print off all forms and find rules and instructions. 
• Detention will be held before school, during lunch, and after school in room C209 with Mr. Schwenke and Mrs. Houghton
• Starting next week, The administrative team will be offering detention after school for students interested in biking, running, and doing cross fit. As an administrative team, we are calling the program "Double Time", and students can earn double the detention time for participating. This pilot program is based on Psychologist  John Ratey's theory that exercise sparks cognitive function and improves academic performance and behavior.  

This Week at a Glance: (9/15/14 - 9/19/14)

Monday: Golf @ Gladstan

               Boys' Basketball Open Gym @ 6:00 PM

Tuesday: Girls' Soccer versus Provo (4:00 PM)

Wednesday: PLAN Test (Sophomores Only)

                        Parent Teacher Conferences (3:30-7:30 PM)

                        Boys' Basketball Open Gym @ 6:00 PM

                        Girls' Basketball Open Gym @ 6:00 PM

Thursday: Girls' Tennis @ Timpview

                   JV/Sophomore Football versus Wasatch (3:30 PM)

                   Girls' Soccer @ Timpview

                   Girls' Volleyball @ MMHS (4:00 PM)

Friday:  Football @ Wasatch (7:00 PM)

Saturday: Cross Country at Soldier Hollow

                   Sadie Hawkins Dance (7:00-10:00 PM)

Come join Mr. White, Mr. Burton, Mr. Peery or Mr. Tischner for the greatest detention experience you may ever have.  If you would like to roll back the number of detention hours from last year, come and talk to one of the Administration Team about Double Time.

Double Time is a unique opportunity for those who have excessive of detention from last year to "work it off" through exercise.  As the name implies we will credit you double the hours for your hard work and dedication to cleaning up your attendance record.  Regular exercise is also credited for helping students do better in school, making them feel more happy and improving all around health.

Each afternoon you will have the opportunity to "Work Off" hours through Cross Fit, Running, Cycling & Weightlifting by attending Double Time with one of the Administrators.  This opportunity will only be available through the Administration for now.  We are excited to add this new intervention for students of Salem Hills High School.

While walking through the halls of our school and supervising our various activities this last week and interacting with our students,  teachers, staff,  and coaches and watching them perform academically, musically, and athletically, I had a bit of an epiphany: our school is really AWESOME! I witnessed how tremendously talented and motivated to succeed our students are, and I witnessed how committed and devoted our teachers, coaches, and staff are to helping our students tap into and discover their potential. It is so cool to see it happening and to be a part of it every day. Are we perfect? No, but we are striving to be "Positive in the Present", and awesome things are happening as a result.  

Skyhawk Highlights:

SHHS Cheer: Our state championship cheer team is doing a tremendous job setting the tone for Spirit, Heart, Honor, and Success at our school's athletic events and activities. They also did a great job representing our school in the Onion Days Parade on Monday in Payson. Coach Simmons, Coach Best, and the team's capatins have worked incredibly hard to have their team performing at the highest level. Thanks and great job cheer!

SHHS Volleyball: The volleyball team has high expectations this year. They defeated North Sanpete HS on Tuesday, and lost a heartbreaker in the 5th game against Timpview HS on Thursday.  After learning some lessons about themselves at a invitational tournament at Lonepeak HS over the weekend, the team is committed to moving forward and starting region play successfully!

SHHS Cross Country: The cross country team is really off to a great start. They are running well and improving each meet. This past week they competed in the Bear Canyon invitational in Juab, and both the boys and the girls team finished 2nd place overall. On Friday both the boys' and girls' teams also finished in the top 10 at the USU Aggie invitational, a meet that featured 30 of the top teams from Utah and Idaho. "Long may you run!"

SHHS Club Rush: On Friday of last week students had an opportunity to learn about and sign up to be a part of the various clubs offered at the school; SHHS students certainly seemed excited about participating and being involved in the various clubs offered here. We look forward to a fun and productive year of club participation and service.

SHHS Band: Our state championship band also looked and performed awesome in the Onion Days Parade. Their precision and sound was excellent. Their parade performance made us proud to be Skyhawks!

SHHS Girls' Soccer: The girls' soccer team had a another great week by defeating the Dons 8-0 and Springville 2-1. Excellent defensive plays and a seldom seen header goal were a couple of highlights of this last week for the team. They are an energetic fun team to watch!  

SHHS Fall Musical: The cast for the fall musical has been picked and rehearsals started last week on the 2nd. We are all looking forward to our students' performance of Footloose. The  performance will debut in November .   

SHHS Boys' Football:  The boys football team had another solid performance against Juab on Friday night winning 42-14. The game was close midway through the third quarter, but excellent plays offensively, defensively, and on special teams broke the game open for the Skyhawks. Next up for the team is the Timpview Thunderbirds on Friday night here at SHHS. 

SHHS Girls' Tennis: The tennis team continues their good play. They took 2nd in a tri-team tournament at Mt. Pleasant, and they also took second in a 10-team Spanish Fork tournament. The team is 4-2 with wins over Mtn. View, Juan Diego, Payson, and Provo. Their two losses are to Maple Mountain and Wasatch. Our JV team is undefeated! Great job ladies!

SHHS Boys' Golf: After a strong performance at Hobblecreek last week, the team finished the tournament third in region competition and moved to within eight strokes of state tournament eligibility. The team continues to play historically well!

SHHS Lashays: Like cheer and band, the Lashays represented our school very well in the Onion Days Parade last Monday. Their vivacious performance  allowed parade goers  to see how talented and spirited a performing group they are!  

Skyhawk Happenings:   

• Students will be receiving mini-report cards on Friday of each week, so check with your student each week to see how they are doing with their grades.
• The Plan Test for sophomores will be on Wednesday, September 17th (This is a test that helps students improve testing skills and prepare for taking the ACT as juniors; juniors and seniors do not attend this day).
• Our first Parent Teacher Conference will be held on Wednesday, September 17th from 3:30 to 7:30 in the auxiliary gym.
• The counselors will be presenting NCAA (sports) eligibility requirements on September 17th at 5:00 and 7:00 PM during Parent Teacher Conference in the Spirit Room A107.
• Detention will be held before school, during lunch, and after school in room C209 with Mr. Schwenke and Mrs. Houghton.

This Week at a Glance: (9/8/14 - 9/12/14)

Monday: 6:00 PM Boys Basketball Open Gym

Tuesday: Cross Country here @ SHHS

                  Soccer @ Wasatch (4:00 PM)

                   Golf @ Nephi

                   Tennis @ Spanish Fork

                   Volleyball @ Spanish Fork

Wednesday: Boys' and Girls' Basketball Open Gym (6:00 PM)

Thursday: Tennis @ St. George

                    JV/Sophomore Football @ Timpview (3:30 PM)

                   Girls' Soccer versus Payson (4:00 PM)

                   Volleyball  versus Springville

                   Choir Comfort Zone #1 Due

Friday: Cross Country @ Payson

              Football versus Timpview (7:00 PM)

We are certainly off to a great start to the 2014-2015 school year here at Salem Hills High School. Students, faculty, staff, and administration alike are excited to be back to the endeavors of learning, and pursuing victory, in all that we do as Skyhawks, with honor. As an administrative team, we desire to keep you, our community's parents, informed about the awesome things that are going on at our school as well as keep you informed about upcoming events. We plan to send out a weekly email by way of Parentlink regarding the highlights and happenings at our school.

Again this year we are going to strive to follow the admonition of celebrated psychologist and author Shawn Achor and strive to be "Positive in the Present". To be "Positive in the Present" as a school, we are going to identify, daily, three things for which we are grateful; we are also going to write about something positive that we've been involved with each day; additionally, we are going to commit to daily exercise and meditate; and we are going to look for opportunities to provide/perform random acts of kindness for those who we come in contact with. By doing these things, we believe we can improve our outlook on learning and social interaction for ourselves, our peers, our school, and our school community. We'd love to have you join us in being "Positive in the Present" this year.  

Skyhawk Highlights:

SHHS "Hello" Week: Last week each class participated in our annual "Hello" Week. On Tuesday the sophomore class enjoyed a "dirty" game of mud volleyball at the Salem Fair Grounds. Wednesday night was lit up by hundreds of juniors wearing their glow in the dark bracelets and trying to capture their opposing team's flag, as multiple rounds of Glow in the Dark Capture the Flag were played both inside and outside of the school building. Pancakes and bacon were on the menu for the Senior Sunrise Breakfast, and, as usual the sun was the highlight of the morning. On Thursday night all the classes came together for a pool party at the Spanish Fork Community Pool. All the activities were planned and organized by the SHHS student body officers who did a great job with the week's activities and have helped us get off to a great start this year.

SHHS Band: Our school band is the embodiment of enthusiasm and spirit. They helped kick off the year with an awesome performance of the school song at our first assembly, and they certainly set the tone for spirit and support at our home football game.

SHHS Girls' Soccer: The girls' soccer team had a good week by nearly beating Timpview on Tuesday evening, falling just short as time expired 3-2, but they  bounced back nicely on Thursday night to defeat defending region champs Maple Mountain High School 2-1.   

SHHS Girls' Tennis: Members of the tennis team are hitting it true and in the right spot. With great performances from individuals and the team against Mountain View, Mt. Pleasant, Wasatch, Juan Diego, Payson, and Maple Mountain High Schools.

SHHS Cheer: Like the band, the cheer team has done a tremendous job setting the tone for enthusiasm and spirit at SHHS. Their hard work and commitment to their performances have set the tone for spirit, heart, honor,  and success this year.

SHHS Lashays: When it comes to hard work, the drill team certainly puts in their time. Their hard work and commitment to precision has been displayed through their performances at the school's opening assembly and the football game; we look forward to seeing more.

SHHS Boys' Football: The football team is off to a great start to the year with two victories. Their first victory came against Hillcrest High School as the team persevered and prevailed through extremely wet conditions to win 22-16. They next defeated Payson High School 42-7 with the team performing well on offence, defense, and special teams. The team next faces Juab at Juab High School on Friday. September 5th.  

SHHS Boys' Golf: The Boys' Golf team is off to its best start in school history. They are currently 19 strokes out of state competition but feel confident they will make those strokes up in the coming weeks.

SHHS Fall Musical: Tryouts for the fall musical, Footloose, were held last week, and Ms. Stubbs and Mr. Bills are excited about the talent which was on display and will be featured in the upcoming November production. Ms. Stubbs said, "It must be something in the water here because the talent at this high school is awesome!"

We look forward to reporting on all the students, classes, organizations, and clubs who represent our school so well throughout the year.

Skyhawk Happenings:

• Club Rush Day will be on Friday, September 5th.
• The Plan Test for sophomores will be on Wednesday, September 17th. (This is a test that helps students improve testing skills and prepare for taking the ACT as juniors.)
• Our first Parent Teacher Conference will be held on Wednesday, September 17th from 3:30 to 7:30 in the auxiliary gym.
• Detention will be held before school, during lunch, and after school in room 209 with Mr. Schwenke and Mrs. Houghton

This Week at a Glance: (9/1/14 - 9/5/14)

Monday: Labor Day (No School)

Tuesday: Cross Country @ Bear Canyon

                  Boys' Golf @ Hobble Creek

                 Girls' Tennis versus Provo (3:30 PM)

                 Girls' Soccer versus Spanish Fork (7:00 PM)

                 Volleyball versus North Sanpete (7:00 PM)

Wednesday: Girls' Basketball Open Gym (6:00 PM)

Thursday: Girls' Tennis @ Springville

                    Volleyball @ Timpview

                   JV/Sophomore Football versus Juab (3:30 PM)

                   Girls' Soccer versus Springville

Friday: Cross Country @ USU Invitational

              Volleyball Varsity Tournament @ Lone Peak High School

              Club Rush (11:25 AM)

              Choir Tour Parents' Meeting (5:30 PM)

              Football @ Juab (7:00 PM)

We will hold our first School Community Council Meeting (SCC) on Monday, September 8th at 3:30pm.  The meeting will be held in the Conference Room directly across from the Media Center, RM #D103.  SCC meetings are open to the public.