Spanish Fork Junior presents to Nebo School Board--Answer to Wednesday's Challenge

Submitted by lana.hiskey on

Spanish Fork Junior presented to the Nebo School Board of Education. As part of the presentation, Principal Robert Fleming mentioned the school’s mascot is the Lobos which is wolf in Spanish and Portuguese. The school slogan is “Back the Pack.” This slogan supports the school’s effort to help and lift all students.

Principal Fleming said, “This slogan has really caught on, and we feel it is helping us focus on the unique needs of all students. ‘Back the Pack’ is an effort to reduce bullying, to increase academic achievement, to improve the overall climate of the school, and to ensure that no student is lost.”

Spanish Fork Junior also provides an English Essentials and Math Mentoring classes that also support this “Back the Pack" effort.

Gaye Christiansen, a School Community Council representative, presented on the English Essentials class. She said, “One of our School Improvement Goals is to improve reading and writing skills for deficient students. Through Trustland funds, we identify students who are behind in reading and writing skills. We then assign these students to an English Essentials class. Trustland funds help us to keep this class at only 12-15 students.  We have an English Essentials class taught for each grade level with a highly-skilled teacher. With Trustland funds, we have also hired an instructional technician to work with the teacher in helping students one on one and in small groups. We have found tremendous success with this program, and students have been able to increase their levels of learning in the important skills of reading and writing. We
appreciate the Trustland funds and the School community Council for providing these benefits to students.”

One of the highlights of the evening was listening to the Lobo Jazz Ensemble directed by Matthew Wendell. The students played “Jammin' with Charlie” and a Gordon Goodwin chart called "High Maintenance." The featured soloists included Gabe Montesino on Drums, Katy Paulk on Alto Sax, Lucas DelGreco on Trombone, Jose Aguilera on Clarinet, and Spencer Devereaux on Tenor Sax.

The Lobo Jazz Ensemble will be performing soon with all new music at the Nebo District Jazz Assessment at Maple Mountain High School on March 25th. The Jazz Ensemble is made up of musicians from the Lobo Concert Band and Orchestra and meet every morning at 7:00 a.m. before the normal school day begins. The Concert Band is traveling to the BYU Band Festival on Saturday, March 15 and at the Nebo Concert Band Assessment at Salem High on March 19. All the bands at Spanish Fork Junior will have a concert at Spanish Fork Jr. High on Thursday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. All these performances are open to the public and are free of charge. Spanish Fork Junior High musicians would love to see your support for these young musicians.

Congratulations to Maria Ruiz for being the first person to answer this week’s challenge sponsored by Wiggy Wash.