InsideThe Hub: Sweet music, Page 4

Sports: Running at State, Page 7Westward: Germans have left, Page 2Viewpoints: Hard work pays, Page 3

WEST WORDNovember 16, 2015 www.greeleyschools.org/westword Volume XLVIII No. 6

Greeley West High School has been a Demonstration School for AVID for the last three years and on Tuesday, was rewarded as a demonstration school for another three years.

The school was first granted this opportunity in 2012 and now again in 2015. AVID at West is one of only two demonstration schools in Colorado, including Eaglecrest in Cherry Creek.

West’s AVID coach Gordon Mosher visited them in October and reported that West’s left hand questions weren’t the accurate style. But now they were ready to take on the revalidation and show how hard the 267 students involved in the program work at Greeley West.

The National AVID Committee was first given an in depth presentation in the auditorium of what West does for AVID and the students involved. “The presentation was put on by Mrs. (Elizabeth) Dent who was supremely fantastic and dynamic in presenting the Greeley West AVID Program in detail to the evaluators and significant people in Weld County School District 6,”

The junior class extends a rally during the Tough Guy Volleyball game last week.

Jacinda Flores/West Word

Juniors are best Tough GuysThe annual not so tough, Tough

Guy volleyball game was played last Tuesday. The seniors plan to allow the game to go to five sets completely back fired on them, and the juniors came out victorious.

The game started out with a massive spike by senior baseball player, Keegan

Wilcox. That spike set the tone for the rest of the first set, which the seniors won easily.

The second set was pretty much a lot of the same domination by the seniors; winning the game without any issues and making the juniors look silly.

Since the first two sets had gone by so quickly, the seniors made it evident in the third and fourth sets that they wanted to play more. In attempt to continue

the game, the third set consisted of an abundance of technical fouls given to the seniors for unsportsmanlike conduct, attempted soccer like volleyball, and a massive spike into the crowd from the seniors.

Referee and athletic director Mr. Jeff Cranson wasn’t too happy with what the

By Connor ThompsonStaff Writer

English teacher and AVID Coordinator Elizabeth Dent (above) leads a debrief about the AVID Dem-onstration Team visit on Tuesday in the audito-rium as the AVID team, led by Col-orado Program Manager Gordon Mosher look on. AVID Ambas-sadors hold the new Demo banner that will be put on display (below).

Sylvia Rizo/West Word

AVID celebration

Dent

By Mira AltergottStaff Writer

National program renews school’s Demo status

Continued AVID, Page 8

ContinuedTough Guy, Page 6

WestwardPage 2 11.16.15

Mira AltergottPeyton Book

Juliet ChaSamuel Dominguez

Jacinda FloresDaniel GuzmanElise Johnson

Michaela JoyceDiego Martinez

Drew MendezAngela Pearson

Sylvia RizoMadeline RodgersClarissa Roman

Kaylee RothElexys ShenemanConnor Thompson

WEST WORDEditor: Kennedy Spittler

Design Editors: TBAWeb Editor: Jordan Noland

West Word is a publication of the Greeley West newspaper production class. It is published bi-weekly. Letters to the edi-tor 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 October 15, 2015 to November 5, 2015, we’ve had 21 foreign exchange students come from Germany. Initially 50 students wanted to come but only 21 students got chosen. The purpose of them coming was for them to see the difference in education between the two countries.

“To me, the biggest difference was the view when I got off of the plane,” stated Aaron Straub,

a foreign exchange student from Germany. He said there are a lot more trees here and a lot more green on the land.

Aaron says his favorite classes were Spanish and Health. Gianna Cuttica, another foreign exchange student from Germany, says, “Everything is so much bigger.” Gianna was so impressed she says she’d love to attend school in the United States but return to her home when school was over with. She also adds that although the teachers are more formal in Germany, the teachers here at GWHS were super nice and fun to talk to.

Aside from our guests coming to learn, they also had a chance to experience other American activities. They had the opportunity to go to the mountains and hike as well as the opportunity to go shopping at the outlets in Loveland. They also were taken to the corn maze and before their departure they went to a Halloween party thrown in their honor.

Besides the difference in how we learn, there was also a difference in how the schooling system works. They have way more vacations than we do including autumn holidays, carnival holidays, pfingsten holidays, winter holidays, and summer vacation. Although they have more vacations than we do, their summer break is also shorter than ours.

Madame Faine, GWHS French teacher was the one who was in charge of how organized this years’ foreign exchange students trip was.

Germans join WestBy Clarissa RomanStaff Writer

German students who are visit-ing west pose for a picture oustide of their class in which they were observing.

Clarissa Roman/West Word

Colleges visit West seniorsCollege application day is a chance for seniors

who haven’t taken the opportunity to talk to advisors of the colleges or universities. Some big universities such as: CU Boulder, University of Wyoming, CSU, etc. came to Greeley West last Monday.

Many seniors took this opportunity to apply to one college or more for free. Seniors, Jacob

Simpkins and Joey Adair took that opportunity. Senior, Jacob Simpkins, applied to CSU and wants to go and get his degree in business administration and business management. Also senior, Joey Adair, applied to Aims and UNC. He said,” it benefited me because I got to apply to these colleges for free and got to talk to them

about the college.”It was nice of these colleges to waive their

application fees and let the students apply for free, and also to take their time and talk to students about the college. Counselor, Stephen Scott, said “It was a success and 150+ seniors got to apply to one college or more.”

By Jordan NolandStaff Writer

Adiar

As fall sports are coming to an end, winter sports are just beginning and Mrs. Sasha Cohoon is done reeling in all those who have not turned in paperwork. Cohoon, as many can see, is very pregnant and will be leaving soon to further populate this planet. With that being said, she was not as lenient as she has been in the past because she literally has a due date.

Cohoon explained, “It’s stressful but not as stressful as I thought it would be because I started collecting paperwork a lot earlier than I have in previous years.”

There was approximately just over 100 students who signed up for winter sports whether it was wrestling, girls swimming, or boys and girls basketball. Unlike wrestling and

swimming, basketball players’ paperwork had to be in earlier to be able to participate in try-outs, which were November 12th.

If paperwork was not turned into Cohoon by last week, November 13th, it was almost impossible to participate in winter sports this year, but if participated in fall sports there was

no need to fill out all that tedious paperwork.

Cohoon will be back in the second semester to make sure that spring sports registration is completed correctly.

As of now, the only way to participate in a winter sport is to be a fan participant.

Sasha races due dateBy Sylvia RizoStaff Writer

Cohoon

Jordan Noland/West Word

Tanya Herrera talks to Aims Com-munity College on College Applica-tion Day at West in the library during lunch.

Viewpoints 11.16.15 Page 3

Spartan Pulse

There’s no doubt the entire Greeley community supports the high school football programs. Every week students, parents, and community members

alike gather on Friday nights at District 6 S t a d i u m for football games. Due to all of this a t t e n t i o n , D i s t r i c t

6 Stadium has recently gotten some elaborate upgrades including a new artificial field. Football programs here in Greeley are highly funded, but what about the other sports that go unnoticed and unappreciated.

Some sports are not only deprived of community support, they also lack proper training facilities. For example, due to the recent closure of John Evans Middle School, the Greeley West swim team no longer has a pool to practice in. Instead West’s team along with both Central and Northridge’s teams will be forced to share pool space at the Greeley Recreation Center.

This is a problem due to the limited practice times available. Not only do the three high school teams have to compete for space, they also have to worry about the master’s team who practices in the morning, swim lessons in the afternoon, and Loveland Swim Club who practices in the evening. West’s practice schedule is still unknown due to these scheduling problems, and all of the swimmers are hopeful for a clear schedule by the start of the season.

Swimmer wants pool

Elise Johnson

Editorial

W h i c h is more important-t a l e n t or hard work? I am a firm b e l i e v e r in the idea that

no matter what you are doing, if you at least try your very best, it will be okay. Talents differ from people to people and that is honestly really

cool. Some people excel at math, some excel at reading, and others excel at art. These are some of the things that really set people apart from one another.

When it comes to school in general, I truly believe putting in your best effort is more important than how well you actually know the material. The fact of the matter is that we’re all going to forget most of what we learned, and that is something that no one can disagree with. That is why I believe school is less about the actual lessons and more about how we get through the lessons. I’ve learned more by how I’ve struggled

through math than I’ve learned of actual math, and that is what I believe we need to take from school.

I know from experience that school can sometimes get legitimately difficult and there is no denying that. The point is that some things will be easier for other people than it is for you, just like some things will be easier for you than other people. Sometimes you can work really hard and give everything you have, and lose. But at the end of the day, at least you’ll be able to say that you did try your hardest and that is honestly the most important part.

Hard work is most importantMichaela

JoyceEditorial

District 6 has earned a fowl reputa t ion in overall intellectual ability. We as a school also have horrendous

average test scores on standardized tests. I bet you’re asking, how do we change that? Well, the answer is simple. In order to better the average test scores and IQ’s of individual students in District 6, they must all be required to read a book a month.

Reading isn’t as bad as it seems. Surprisingly, it can actually be fun. Reading takes the mind to places it has never been, and brings fantasies and imaginations to roam free. Yeah, you can go watch tv, but options are limited on what

material you can watch. With reading however, there is an infinite amount of materials, stories, and information you can take in. Most kids just assume they hate reading, and don’t try and indulge themselves in any part of it. If they would just try it, they might actually like it. I challenge all of you to try and read some sort of literature! Whether you read Harry Potter, a book on strange theories, or some sort of poem, it doesn’t matter, just read something!

Reading is the most essential component in bettering ones mental capacity and overall test taking skills. Studies have shown that reading can increase the human brain’s development by over 30%, in adolescents to young aged adults. By requiring students in District 6 to read, they will be able to comprehend material quicker, understand important details and issues within textbooks and problems, and have a more stable and percipient mind.

Reading excels scoresConnor

ThompsonEditorial

Are you ready for c o l l e g e ? Well with all these fees who can go to c o l l e g e . Of course you don’t

have to buy a class ring or letter man jacket or senior pictures but we all know we want them. Jostens come to our school eager to make bank out of you for a ring that you’ll probably lose next year. They don’t care about you, money talks. For that price we should all expect a nice jacket not something a 60 year old wears. It should at least have the Spartan included on the jacket and actually look nice.

Maybe we should have the option to create our own design for our letter men jackets .

Seniors pay

Kaylee Roth

Editorial

0 10 20 30 40

Hang out with family

Play outside

Eat, eat, and eat more

Other

What do you normally do on Thanksgiving?

Yes67%

No33%

Do you enjoy watching NFL games on Thanksgiving?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Turkey Stuffing Mashed Potatoes Ham

What's your favorite Thanksgiving food?

The HubPage 4 11.16.15

Saturday November 21, from 6 to 8 pm is Jazz and Dessert Night. It showcases all the jazz performing arts at Greeley West High School. It involves the jazz band, Dixieland band,

Spartones, orchestra, and a local professional band called Kream of The Krop. This event will be held at the Evans Moose Lodge, 3456 11th Ave. Evans CO 80620. These Greeley West groups have been preparing for this night all semester long. All students, families, and

anyone free Saturday night are welcome. They will repeat some pieces they have already played at other school events, but have new music they are waiting to share with the community. Each group will be preforming approximately 30 minutes’ worth of music, don’t miss out!

This event is very important to the jazz performers because the money raised will go towards the GWHS music department in hopes of going to either Disneyland or Disney World. It will also help pay for their yearly trip to Grand Junction. They will be selling tickets, $5 for students and $10 for adults. The music department is accepting any donations and there will be silent auction items According to Mr. Chet Arthur this event has been going on for approximately 4 to 5 years. Jazz band will be playing about 10 songs, For example, they have prepared to play “In the Mood” by Glen Miller. Spartones will sing about 5 songs and Kream of The Krop will be playing the most getting the community involved and showing off the Greeley West jazz groups.

Musicans plan sweet performance

By Peyton BookStaff Writer

Arthur

Aleks Rey-Alonzo (front)

and Jonathan

Arthur rehearse

for this week’s

Jazz and Dessert

Night.

Photo Courtesy of Bennett Mueller

During the past few weeks the senior International Baccalaureate students at Greeley West high school have been diligently working on their extended essays. Most students put in hours upon hours of hard work in order to have the best essay possible.

Each IB senior had a teacher supervisor to help mentor them while writing their essay. The essays were due November 4 by midnight to the student’s teacher supervisor to grade. The supervisors read the essays and gave the students critiques and suggestions on what to change before the essays are sent to the IB headquarters to be officially graded in February.

An extended essay is one of the many requirements for seniors to graduate with the IB diploma. This rigorous research paper is extremely time consuming and has a requirement of 4000 words.

Students were encouraged to investigate a topic of special interest to them, which is also related to one of the student’s six DP subjects. These six DP subjects include studies in language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, and the arts.

The goal of the extended essay is to help IB seniors formulate research questions, engage in exploration, communicate ideas, and develop argument skills. These skills won’t only help students in college, but also in all of their future jobs and endeavors.

“I spent around 15 hours on my essay,” said Greeley West IB senior Severn Young, “But the diploma makes the hard work worth it in the end.” Young, along with about thirty other IB seniors, will have to anxiously wait to find out his extended essay score until next summer.

IB seniors stress By Elise JohnsonStaff Writer

Young

Extended essays due

Greeley West Pom’s are prepping the third annual Dancing with the Teachers competition. After three years the competition still remains fresh and amusing, and the girls are more energetic than ever. With only six planned practices, each teacher must learn their own dance along with a group dance including all of the teachers.

Last year Mr. Diebold took the win with former senior Savannah Lucio due to his signature move and secret weapon, the toe touch. This year the dance genres range from jazz to hip hop and consist of some pretty unique choreography. The ten dancers have already chosen their partners and the smack talk has already begun.

After interviewing Mr. Ruffer it was clear that he was excited and had already commented on his

eagerness to win. “I have the best dancing Datteri in the school”

claimed Ruffer. “I have no doubt we’ll come out with a win.”

Freshman Lena Datteri picked Mr. Ruffer because she knew he could pick up choreography

fast after watching him dance with her sister, senior Lena Datteri last year.

Despite Mr. Ruffer’s confidence he also noted on how difficult the competition is for him saying, “it’s the most stressful thing I do as a teacher.’” “I am not a dancer, and you feel sick from nerves before the show.”

There are many other student teacher duos to look out for when the competition debuts November 20th at 7pm in the auditorium.

Diebold chases the gold for a second title

Diebold

By Angela PearsonStaff Writer Dancing Participants

Katie Gorsline & Mr. Dave FalterLena Datteri & Mr. Tom NugentVictoria Ochoa & Mr. Chuck WolfeSofia Mejia & Mr. Travis KrausePeyton Book & Mr. John DieboldJana Datteri & Mr. Stacy RufferJaclyn Hays & Mr. Mark JarnotBryana Martinez & Mr. Brian HolmesAnna Medow & Mr. Jousha Edmonson

*DiAndria Sanchez will not be dancing because she is injured.

--Kennedy Spittler

11.16.15 Page 5

FFA returns from Nationals

Above, the West FFA stands for a picture at the National FFA meet-ing that took place in Louisville, Kentucky. Above right, the group members enjoy a pleasant lunch during their time in Kentucky. Last-ly, to the right Ashton Martin poses on a mini tractor as the group takes a silly photo.

Photos courtesy of Ashton Martin

On October 25th, the FFA chapter from Greeley West had a meeting with many FFA members from all over the United States. Around 64,000 people showed up to the event that took place in Louisville, Kentucky.

At the gathering the leaders presented them self’s and they also had presentations taking place. The most important presentation of course was the head President introducing herself. She talked about how important and exciting it was to have so many people show up.

Many people don’t know this but that head

president was Kristen Schmidt, who happened to go to Greeley West a few years ago and was

president of FFA. Mr. Kelly Longacre, who was and

still is, the FFA teacher happened to cry because Schmidt was once one of his students. He explained that she was a very introverted student who accomplished all her work. He was happy to see that she went from being so introverted, to an adult that gave speeches in front of thousands of people, therefore making this trip even more exciting and enjoyable.

“The trip there happened to be long but fun because some of the people on the ride didn’t

really know each other but, by the end of the trip they acted like friends who had known each other for a long time,” senior Ashton Martin explained.

Ashton happens to be this year’s FFA chapter president so he was really excited to attend this conference. He said that they had many stops on the way to Louisville. One of his favorite stops was the John Deer Factory and museum.

At the museum, they got to watch different types of agricultural machinery and different tractor generations. At the factory, they were able to see a whole tractor get built from the frame up and the John Deer workers even started it for the FFA members to see.

Martin

By Sam DomginuezStaff Writer

DECA sends four to stateDistributive Education Clubs of America, better

known as DECA, is a national club that many students at Greeley West High School partake in. Recently, the DECA District 7 Conference occurred at Johnson and Wales University where five, possibly six Greeley West students qualified for the Colorado State DECA Conference that will be taking place at the end of February.

Prior to going to the District Conference, all students were tested on different marketing exams that they signed up for. Once they got there, they role played a situation, had ten minutes to prepare, and then were interviewed based on the situation they were given.

Mr. Rich Dufault, the Greeley West DECA advisor spoke about his pride in the students’ performance at Districts. “With it being my first year at Greeley West and my first year as a DECA advisor, I am completely blown away with the quality of work that the students did; it was really fantastic” Dufault said.

First place finishers include juniors Andrew Wethington and Diego Ruis and sophomore Tosh Swapp while second place finishers included senior Eric Miller and sophomore Spencer Evans. Sophomore Allison Ramirez is currently waiting to see if she can qualify for state, though she won’t know for a couple more weeks.

By Michaela JoyceStaff Writer

Cans for College benefits county

Mr. Colin Shaha’s Spartan Time and AVID class are teaming up together to collect cans from students around the school in attempt to raise money that will be donated to Bright Futures. Students are willing to participate seeing that nearly everyone drinks things like soda, tea, and water on a daily basis. The only thing that students have to do is dispose of their recycled goods in the designated trash cans.

It is clear to see that Greeley West students care about their local community and are trying to make a difference.

By Elexys ShenemanStaff Writer

Page 6 11.16.15

Ask Your Teachers

“Really cool.”-Mr. Greg McAdams

“Being honest.”-Ms. Paige Ecker

“When a Star Wars trooper actu-ally hits his target.” -Ms. Amy Zulauf

What does the phrase “Straight Fire” mean?

Zac Bitton serves the ball during the Tough Guy volleyball game last week.

Jacinda Flores/West Word

seniors were doing, so in the fourth the seniors had to make it look like they were trying.

However, the fifth set took a turn for the worse for the seniors. Darren DeLaCroix and the juniors came out with an outstanding performance to defeat the confident seniors.

When asked about the win, Darren DeLaCroix stated, “The seniors are idiots and should of

won when they had the chance. I’m proud of the junior class. It was a great effort by all our guys.”

The seniors thought they would easily win the fifth set and it backfired on them. Lesson learned: don’t get too cocky. However, it made the game extremely exciting and was one to remember for the classes of 2016 and 2017.

Sophomores ASPIRE for success on ACT Starting last Wednesday through today,

sophomores at Greeley West high school took the ACT Aspire test. This practice test helps students asses their knowledge, the ACT, which all Colorado students are required to take their junior year. ACT Aspire maps the student’s progress

from third grade through early high school by using the same grading system. Thanks to newly developed technology the ACT Aspire test was taken 100 percent online. The testing session lasted from 7:15- 12:10 during which students were assessed in five subjects.

Although students enjoyed getting out of class, many complained that students should not be

tested as much as they are not only by teachers, but also by the state. “Because the PARCC test does not count for a grade, students did not take the ACT Aspire test seriously,” said West sophomore Hana Cropper. .

FBLA collects canned foodsIf you didn’t already know, October was

Violence Awareness Month. The FBLA decided to extend the Violence Awareness Month into November and help fund for the Crossroads Safe House to help those who live in unsafe homes and find support in safe houses for a short time of being. The FBLA team has designed key chains to sell to students and parents at Greeley West to give the profits to the Crossroads Safe House foundation.

Mr. Mark Jarnot explained how important it

By Kaylee RothStaff Writer

By Elise JohnsonStaff Writer

ContinuedFBLA, Page 8

Cropper

FromTough Guy, Page 1

Healthy Kids Survey returnsThe Healthy Kids Colorado Survey is here

at Greeley West High School, which is simply a survey that collects anonymous information from students in middle and high schools about health related behavior. The survey aims to collect information specifically about the health and well-being, both physical and mental of students, so that communities can be aware and supportive of healthier environments.

The survey is taking place at West right now, with food science and fashion teacher Ms. Cheryl Spittler being a teacher that will be handing

By Madeline RodgersStaff Writer

ContinuedSurvey, Page 8

Sports 11.16.15 Page 7

Runners rank high at stateDiana Rowe pulls

away from a group at the State Cross

Country Meet in

Colo-rado

Spring.

Photo Courtesy of Dave Falter

Andrew Rome runs in part of the pack at the State Cross Country Meet.

Photo Courtesy of Dave Falter

Cross Country is coming to an end, with regionals and state now over, they were happy to accomplish as much as they did this year. Although some got better results than others, they all did better than they expected just by going to state. “I’m happy that all of our hard work over the summer and in season finally paid off,” stated senior Sandra Tapia.

All the boys finished better then what they were expected to. They placed 16th out of 25 teams. This is the highest they’ve ever finish in 5A. Andrew Wethington ran so hard, he ended up in an ambulance to get an IV in after his race. “The

last 800 meters, my legs felt dead I fell running onto a hill I got really light headed. I knew my team was counting on me. I knew if I didn’t run, I wouldn’t only give up on myself but my team as well.”

For the girls they had mixed results. The girls performances were on par with what they were seeded. As a team, they were seeded 24th going into state and got 25th coming out.

“You can blame the coach for that, I trained the girls as if they were boys, and they’re not. As a result they didn’t race as well as they should have, it was all on me,” coach Rich Davis said.

Next up for the team is the Nike NxN Southwest race on November 21 in Arizona.

By Jacinda FloresStaff Writer

Diego Martinez/West Word

The Greeley West football team runs onto the field in its final game of the season against Loveland, a 29-21 loss.

Loveland upends SpartansThe football guys fought a hard battle against

Loveland in a crucial game that was not only senior night, but a game that decided whether or not the Spartans would make it to the playoffs.

“We knew it was a big game and we needed to put it down for our seniors. And if we didn’t win this game, our season would be over,” said junior Paul Cangilla.

Unfortunately, the Spartans quickly found themselves down 14-0 in the second quarter. However, they picked up their offense quickly there after, scoring a touchdown of their own.

The touchdown was scored from a pass from AJ Lopez to Darren DeLaCroix. Unfortunately, the West defense could not hold and Loveland answered back every time West scored a touchdown. The final score to the game was 29-21 with Loveland winning the game and moving into the playoffs. The loss ended the Spartans season at 6-4.

By Diego MartinezStaff Writer

Football season was a tale of two halves

A season that started with so much promise with a blowout victory against Northridge ended Friday at District 6 Stadium, as the Greeley West football team lost to Loveland; its third straight loss, eliminating the Spartans from the playoffs.

While the final loss crushed a student body that was looking forward to a playoff game, West’s season can be remembered as much for its successes as for the hiccups at the end of the

By Drew MendezStaff Writer

Poms, Cheers participate in Front Range competition

The Front Range League Spirit Competition was hosted by Fossil Ridge High School on November 4. The Greeley West Poms took first in the jazz division and the cheerleaders took first in the coed division.

Both the Greeley West cheerleaders and the Poms enjoyed their wins in their divisions, however they were the only teams in their division. While West’s Poms competed in contemporary jazz, other schools competed with hip-hop. While the West cheerleaders competed in the coed division, other schools competed with girls only.

Nonetheless, the scores proved the effort the two groups were putting forth had paid off. Junior cheerleader Taylor Holm said, “The outcome of the competition was excellent, but there is always room for improvement.”

Mrs. Peggy Freemole, the Poms coach said, “The other schools did a great job. Our Poms did very well as well and although the routine was not entirely perfect, the girls were able to absolutely nail the technical elements of the dance.”

By Juliet ChaStaff Writer

ContinuedFootball, Page 8

Page 8 11.16.15

FromFBLA, Page 6

is to really help out with this fundraiser as its providing canned food for those who need it in these safe homes. Other items can be donated such as clothes, shoes, blankets, equipment for the homes, etc. FBLA is hoping to raise a truck load of canned food and supplies so they can ship it off to Crossroads.

Jarnot stated, “It’s ridiculous that we’re in the 21st century and not a lot about this situation is being done about it besides a couple NFL

commercials. It’s still a big issue, and no one’s doing anything about it.”

So FBLA has decided to make a change in the amount of effort being put into this and are trying to see if next semester if they can do a contest between all the Spartan Times. Whoever brings in the most will get some type of reward

Ali Tovar was the one who came up with the key chains and having a can food contest between the Spartan Times.

FromAVID, Page 1

said Mr. Mark Jarnot, an AVID teacher of three years.

The AVID administrators were then showed tutorials and how AVID is in every classroom setting for the students to learn.

“The senior class did very well during the AVID demonstration because we all were on top of things, asked higher level questions, and had our notes organized and prepared,” said Edgar Trevizo an AVID senior.

AVID students were pulled from their classes for the announcement by Mosher and then took pictures with the dignitaries in front of

the school. Some of those pictures will likely end up in District 6 and AVID promotional materials.

Students at West that weren’t AVID were instrumental as well, as being a Demo school means that teachers across the school use the strategies from the program. As a result, students were released about 10 minutes early to start their afternoon early on Tuesday.

Only the current freshmen will experience West’s next revalidation, as that will happen in the fall of 2018.

FromFootball, Page 7

year. West started its season with a big opening

night win against Northridge High School with a score of 56-13. They then played D’Evelyn in Lakewood at and beat the Jaguars 28-20.

West celebrated Military Appreciation Night with their third straight win before beating Mountain View in the Homecoming game.

West had another blowout victory against cross-town rival Greeley Central, winning 43-0.

West’s first loss of the season came against Windsor. West ended up losing the tough fought game by 14 points and a final score of 21-7. The Spartans snapped that quick one game losing streak by beating Adams City 42-16.

By this far into the season the Spartans record

was 6-1 and looked to still have a playoff making season. The Thompson Valley Eagles had something to say about that. After a cold long night, the Spartans fell once again to the Eagles with a score of 8-0.

With 2 conference games left, West was still hoping to make the playoffs by winning at least one of their last 2 games. But what followed were losses to undefeated Longmont by 31 points and to Loveland last Friday by eight points.

Fans and players were crushed after the loss after starting the season off so hot and looking so promising. West will practice during the off season and train even harder to improve upon this finish.

Elise Johnson/West Word

AVID sophomores Isael Ramirez, Amal Kemeha, and Jose Silva high five students on their way out of class early last Tuesday. Students were dis-missed eight minutes early in celebration of Demo School Status.

Greeley West High School students are beginning to prepare the next chapter in their lives by committing to the colleges of their choice. Last Wednesday, three students signed off to three different colleges on national early signing day.

Kenya Grauberger committed to Black Hills State University, Connor Thompson to Nebraska Wesleyan University and Cordell Gillingham

to Nebraska Concordia University. All of these Greeley West students based their decision off athletics.

Kenya thought about going to Metro and other schools in California, but states “I made a visit to the school last February and really liked it.” The softball coach at Black Hills made her an offer and she followed her dreams.

Although she will be focusing on softball, she has great plans for herself in the future. “I would like to major and study history, but after college I have hopes to move back to Denver,” stated Grauberger.

Gillingham has the same hopes after college, to move back to Colorado, but wants to just go with the flow and see where life takes him. Gillingham will study business and knew wherever he’d end up, it would be because of basketball.

Thompson and Gillingham will be going to school approximately 20 minutes away from each other. Thompson said, “It will be really cool because we will be able to play against each other in basketball.”

The benefit to signing early for the basketball players will be able to focus on the upcoming season without the distraction of “Will I be going to college to play?”

By Peyton BookStaff Writer

Three athletes sign early

Elisabeth Henry/West Word

Kenya Grauberger, Connor Thomp-son and Cordell Gillingham sign letters of intent for college Wednes-day.

FromSurvey, Page 7

out the surveys to students. In fact, all career and life choices teachers and AVID teachers will be handing these surveys out to their students.

Students should be honest on the essay. Spittler said, “The only thing to keep in mind is to be

honest, since the test in anonymous. We just want to know the honest answers to questions that concern healthy behaviors and habits.”

In the past, the survey has revealed interesting facts that seem to oppose common beliefs.