The SpectacleMesa Vista MHS ı PO Box 50, Ojo Caliente, NM 87549 VOL. II, ISSUE 3 ı May 19, 2011

The Spectaclec/o MVMHS PO Box 50

Ojo Caliente, NM 87549(505) 583-2275

(505) 583-9133 fax

Mesa Vista Middle School will receive $75,000.00 from the Title I RFI Grant for the 2011-2012 school year. To receive this grant, Principal Lillian Griego had to fill out an applications and tie it into the EPSS (Educational Plan for Student Success) plan. This grant is for restructuring and helps pay for supplies and materials for the middle school, as well as paying personnel who analyze test scores. This federal grant, sponsored by the New Mexico Public Education Department, is only for the middle school, but funding will also impact the high school since funds that would have been spent on supplies and materials for the middle school can now be spent at the high school. It is undecided as to how the funds will be spent.

New Drum Set for Music Program The music department has acquired a five-piece Sunlite drum set. Music teacher Andrew Valdez purchased them from his nephew, who had them for a year or two but never played them. With the new drums accessible to students, Valdez said he hopes to start a small pop, jazz band. “I have a lot of kids interested in playing them (drums) so they come in at times and go into the practice room and they are learning beats….It’s actually something that everyone wants to play,” Valdez said.

SBA Test Requirement ChangesSince 1986 Mesa Vista juniors have had to pass the New Mexico High School

Principal Brings Grant Funds for 2011-12

By Ashtyn MegArizRepoRteR

News Briefs

photo by Genna Salas // Music teacher Andrew Valdez purchased this gently used drum set from a family member for the Mesa Vista music program. Students have already shown interest in the drums, he said, and he hopes to start a small, pop jazz band on campus in the Fall.

Search and Seizure Headline

photo by Genna Salas // Senior Julian Marti-nez, freshman Athena Martinez and eighth grader Tiffany Archuleta help put together food baskets for a Winter community proj-ect. FFA members are now hosting a drive for the Espanola Animal Shelter.

FFA Wins, HelpsBy AnissA BAcAReporter

STATE COMPETITION Mesa Vista’s FFA team succeed-ed again at State Competitions. Competing March 28-April 1, the group did well, placing 1st in Nurs-ery Landscape, 3rd in Floriculture, 6th in Forestry, 15th in Entomol-ogy, 17th in Horticulture Produce, 11th in Landscape Design and 15th in Homesite. To celebrate this, as well as FFA’s other achievements, the FFA banquet is today, May 19 at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria. At the ban-quet, members will also recognize graduating seniors and community members, and accept awards. “We (the nursery team) did awe-some. We were the only team that placed first this year. The whole FFA team did well considering we had a lot of greenhand (new) mem-bers this year,” FFA member, senior Shawnee Suazo said.

FRIENDS FOR ANIMALS Every year FFA puts together a community project and the new FFA community project this year is “Friends for Animals.” FFA mem-bers are collecting for the Espanola Animal Shelter supplies like animal food, blankets and pillows. Every-one is welcome to contribute to this project. “I like it because we’re helping a local animal shelter. It’s differ-ent since were collecting from the whole school. Usually our com-munity service projects just involve

the FFA chapter and it’s good to get everyone involved,” FFA president, senior Genna Salas said.

STATE CONVENTION FFA members are also preparing for another competition this sum-mer. FFA members will participate in the State Convention June 6-9. “I feel that they have a good chance if they put out the effort,” FFA sponsor Connie Lujan said. The State Convention is similar to the State Competition earlier in the school year, in March. Mem-bers still compete against other schools, but State Convention isn’t as competitive and has a much more relaxed environment since this event does not determine who qualifies for Nationals.

Graduate Sectionpgs. 2-3

cont. p. 8, see SBA

Farewell

Seniors

page 2 May 19, 2011 GOODBYE GRADS The Spectacle

National GuardAlejandro Lopez

Northern New Mexico CollegeJerome ComposAndrew ClaveryJonathan GallegosAmber OcanaMelissa SerranoJason Slocum Bobby TainterTiffany Valdez

New Mexico State UniversityShawnee Suazo

University of New MexicoAnissa BacaAnnie ChaconMuriah DeanFelicia LuceroCarmelita TrujilloPia ValdezAlejandro LopezHighlandsErik GarciaChristopher Marquez

University of New Mexico - Los AlamosGenevieve Salas

Kendall College of Art and Design*Lily Greenman*for 2012-2013

UndecidedDavid Gutierrez

Work ForceJulian MartinezMario Ruybal

photo by Teresa Sandoval // Front row (from left): Amber Ocana, Tiffany Valdez, Shawnee Suazo, Pia Valdez, Melissa Serrano, Genna Salas, Muriah Dean, Carmelita Trujillo, Felicia Lucero, Anissa Baca, and Lily Greenman. Back row: Julian Martinez, David Gutierrez, Jerome Campos, Andrew Clavery, Bobby Tainter, Alejandro Lopez, Eric Garcia, Chris Marquez and Jason Slocum.

2011 and Beyond:Seniors Prepare for Next Step

The Spectacle GOODBYE GRADS May 19, 2011 page 3

TOP 3 SENIORS

The thing that I like most is that everyone knows each other, and we’ve all grown up together.

Carmelita TrujilloValedictorian

What is your best MVMHS memory? I guess (basket-ball) how we have improved over the years.

What will you miss

most at Mesa Vista? ...Probably the

people, definite-ly my friends.

I’ll miss all the little adventures.

I’ve been think-ing a lot lately about Mesa Vista, and what I’ll miss. I know it’s mean to say, but I had a hard time think-ing of anything. Maybe it’s the stress of finally leaving and having to face up to the real world, but lately my time at this place has been less than fun. I will miss the teachers who took time out of their busy day to help me. I know you guys hardly get paid minimum wage but the service you do is worth millions, especially Mr. Vigil (Thank you for always caring and talking to me like an equal). Big up to the journalism class -- not many people realize the work that goes into the yearbook and newspaper. I really en-joyed writing about important issues like school searches and am happy I had the opportunity to share my opinion with the school and com-munity. And, I thought since this is the last ar-ticle I’ll write for this school, you might take my opinion to heart and think about some of the advice I’m about to drop. I used to think high school was everything, that what people thought of me was more im-portant than anything else on this planet. If someone told me that they thought my shirt was lame, I would never wear it again. But now I see the world around me as more than Mesa Vista, I’ve noticed that if you listen to what

everyone says you start to lose yourself in their opinions -- you forget that you bought the shirt because you actually like pink. Just remember that if someone calls you “gay,” or “fat,” or even “too skinny,” that these are just words, just air pushed over their

tongue to make sound. You can be fat, and you can be gay. There’s no problem with being you. Live life for yourself – never live to impress someone else. You might be able to make some-one else happy, but that won’t make you happy. But who am I to give advice? I’m not an honor roll student. And, like everyone, I make mistakes -- lots of mistakes. I’ve been a jerk, and said hurtful things without thinking. Now, as I near the end of my last year here, I am feeling like I helped in making Mesa harder for oth-ers. That maybe what I say does leave a mark, maybe not an actual bruise, but a mark none-theless. I helped in making people feel bad. And if I could have a “redo,” I would have taken it easier on my friends, maybe not comment on everything I see as “lame.” I hope to try again at a new place, where I can be myself (maybe a little nicer), and not worry about what other people are wearing, or what other people think is cool, but what I think is cool - for me. Though I know I’ll miss my friends, and teachers, and the memories I shared with them; Freedom is on the horizon and my life is actually about to began.

Farewell Cruel JonathanSenioR opinion Column

By JonAthAngAllegos

Annie ChaconSalutatorian

Shawnee SuazoRanked #3

It’s satisfying to see how far we’ve come as a team.

What do you like most about Mesa Vista?

Fina’11y: SENIOR Facts & Figures

•Bill Clinton was President. •A postage stamp cost 29 cents. •A powerful bomb exploded in an underground parking garage beneath the World Trade Center, killing six.•Janet Reno became the first female Attorney General of the United States. •”Jurassic Park” was the top grossing film.•Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series.

•The Dallas Cowboys won Superbowl XXVII.•“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston spent the most time at the top of the U.S. charts•“Beavis and Butthead,” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” premiered •Over a dozen people were killed by the new Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, mainly in the Southwestern United States. •Wildfires in California destroyed more than 16,000 acres and 700 homes.

Most seniors were born in the year 1993 when:

page 4 May 19, 2011 OPINION The Spectacle

The Spectacle StaffThis is the third issue of the 2010-2011 Mesa Vista student newspaper, The Spec-tacle, produced by the school’s journalism class. The goal of this publication is to pro-vide accurate, informative and entertain-ing information in the spirit of responsible journalism and to operate as an open fo-rum for students, staff and parents. Those who are not enrolled in the journalism class may still contribute to the publication in the form of a letter to the editor, a guest column, photography or artwork. No editorials will be printed, however, which complain or attack with-out factual justification. All guest editorials must be signed and approved for publica-tion. The Spectacle also reserves the right to edit copy. Readers’ responses can be mailed to The Spectacle c/o MVHS, or sent in an e-mail to adviser April van Buren at avanburen@mesavista.k12.nm.us. Student journalists on The Spec-tacle staff will publish only legally protect-ed speech following the legal definitions of libel, obscenity and invasion of privacy. The adviser of The Spectacle will not determine the content of the paper. The adviser will offer advice and instruc-tion to help the staff cover all issues in a legal, objective, accurate and ethical man-ner according to the Society of Profession-al Journalists’ code of ethics. Gossip columns, horoscopes, song dedications, senior wills and senior superlatives will be avoided due to the narrow audience they serve and the prob-ability they possess of containing libelous material and content. Staff members will strive to cor-rect any errors before publication. How-ever, if the editorial board determines a significant error was printed, a formal cor-rection will appear in the following issue. Special thanks to the Las Vegas Optic publisher Tom McDonald and his staff for publishing The Spectacle.

The Spectaclec/o MVMHS PO Box 50

Ojo Caliente, NM 87549(505) 583-2275

505-583-9133 fax

Adviser: April van BurenEditor: Genna SalasStaff: Anissa Baca,

Jonathan Gallegos,Lily Greenman,Lily Hawley,Aubrie Kuykendall,Pauline Luhman, Morgan Mascarenas,Ashtyn Megariz, and Ben Sandoval.

The First Amendment to our constitution gives all citizens freedom of speech. People can talk about the government, religion and whatever else they

want without being censored or punished; unless it is damages someone’s reputation (libel), is an invasion of privacy or is considered “fighting words” (incitement). However, the First Amendment has been anything but a reality in many schools, especially for student pub-lications. Although newspapers and yearbooks at public schools are school-sponsored and the contents of school pa-pers have to be appro-priate for readers, this it does not give admin-istration the right to cut out articles simply because they do not agree with the writer, according to the prec-edent set by the 1988 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier Supreme Court case. Besides being illegal in some cases it is also pointless. Today stu-dents have access to more technology. If a school does not allow a story to be published or something to be discussed, students can and often do still pub-lish on Facebook or MySpace, for example. So, realistically, it is safer to supervise and guide students instead of turning them loose just because something is “too controversial” or isn’t all positive. Journalists, professional and even student journal-ists, serve as “watch dogs” for the public. They keep politicians, administrators and other power holders in check by informing the public about all their actions

- wrong, right and in between. Although the adminis-tration at Mesa Vista has been very supportive of the journalism class here, censorship in schools is still a very serious matter and affects everyone. If students are not aware of their rights as American citizens they can easily lose them. In Clovis High School (CHS) this spring, senior editor James Walker wrote a school newspaper article reporting on the troubles students were having get-ting a Gay Straight Alliance Club approved at CHS. The school principal and superintendant, Walker said,

would not allow him to publish his article because it was too con-troversial and it was not newsworthy. “Censoring le-gitimate, newsworthy materials is wrong no matter what. Doing it in schools shows not only that school systems are corrupt when something like this happens, but also contradicts itself,” Walker said. As a precaution-ary measure, admin-istrators should meet yearly with journal-ism students and the sponsor to go over the newspaper’s goals. In schools like Clovis, when administration and journalists do not see eye to eye, cen-sorship often stifles reporting, leading students to lose out. They can’t learn how to properly navigate journalism ethics or legal responsibilities

without practice and instruction. Administration should also understand students’ rights and work with students toward a well-rounded, informative and eth-ical school newspaper.

Not All Voices Created EqualStaff Editorial

photo illustration by The Spectacle staff // Members of the Mesa Vista stu-dent newspaper illustrate their opinion of student censorship. The Mesa Vista Consolidated Schools District has been supportive of the student newspaper and yearbook staff, however, not all student journalists in New Mexico are free to exercise their First Amendment rights.

CENSORED The Spectacle OPINION May 19, 2011 page 5

Not All Voices Created Equal [Purple Press student newspaper editor James Walker, a senior at Clovis High School, published this story in the Al-buquerque Alibi on May 5 after he was told he could not print it in his school newspa-per.]

Starting a new club at Clovis High School is usually a routine process: Fill out forms, get approval from the administration, find

members and establish meetings. All of this seemed to be going well for senior Steven De Los Santos, who spearheaded a Gay-Straight Alliance at Clovis High School — until administration postponed approval. After looking over the forms, Principal Wayne Marshall approved the Alliance on Tuesday, March 1. In the proposal, De Los Santos states the mission is to “build a bridge between gays and straights, to create a safe environment for students and learn to support each other, to educate the school com-munity about homophobia, gender identity and sexual orientation, and to fight discrimination, ha-rassment and violence.” “Mr. Marshall seemed to be supportive of the idea,” De Los Santos said. By Friday of that week, however, Marshall re-voked permission, saying he had overstepped his authority by not referring the club to Clovis Mu-nicipal Schools Superintendent Terry Myers. Mar-shall declined to comment. De Los Santos had gotten as far as making an-nouncements over the school’s public announce-ment system about the first meeting, which was to take place the first Tuesday after Spring Break. “Mr. Marshall called me down [to his office] the day after the announcement was initially ran and personally told me that he had made a mistake,” De Los Santos said. No one from the administration or staff noti-fied the student body that the club had been post-poned, he added. “The club’s cancellation was carried by word of mouth. There was no formal announcement saying that the club had been canceled, but I think every-one got the hint when the announcement wasn’t ran on the PA system anymore,” De Los Santos said. CHS students have attempted to start GSAs in the past, all with the same result: They weren’t approved.

Teacher Sherri Stephenson would have been the club’s sponsor. She said one GSA attempt in 2004 went as far as the superintendent — Neil Nuttall at the time — but was denied. “Others have asked about forming one but got discouraged,” said Stephenson. A GSA would give LGBT students a place to connect with people who support them, CHS stu-dent Erin Justice said. “[It’s] also a place where students can be them-selves without having to worry about being made fun of or having to hear rude, degrading com-ments.” Federal law states that if a public school allows noncurriculum-based student groups to meet on campus, then the school must allow all clubs with a sponsor to meet. This type of policy is called a limited open forum. Under a closed-forum policy, groups are allowed on campus only if they offer curriculum. “Under the Equal Access Act of 1984, if a public school allows even one student non-curricular club to form, it automatically becomes a limited open forum and must allow any other non-curricular student club to form,” said Alexandra Smith, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. On Tuesday, April 5, club sponsors at CHS re-ceived a slip of paper in their staff mailboxes ask-ing, “What curriculum does your club offer?” French Club and Drama Club would be cur-ricular because they are tied to courses that are taught at the school, Smith said. “Chess Club, service clubs such as Key Club and cheerleading are examples of clubs that courts have found to be non-curricular.” During their April meeting, Clovis school board members approved the change of policy, making CHS a closed forum. Superintendent Myers stated at the meeting, “I think what you hear from other groups or people is not true. We’re not defining what clubs are al-lowed. We’re defining what is considered curricular and not curricular. If it’s an organization relating to the students and their issues, then there will be no denial.” CHS has seen controversy around LGBT is-sues in the past. In May 2008, Clovis residents had mixed reactions when the yearbook, The Plains-man, was published showing two lesbian couples

and eight straight couples on the relationship pages. “We just wanted to show that there is a diversity, there [are] gay and lesbian couples in the school and they have a right to be in the yearbook just as much as anybody else does,” Editor in Chief Mag-gie Chavez told the Clovis News Journal in 2008. At the time, local businesses, Christian church groups and other members of the community voiced their opposition. “We don’t think that it reflects anywhere close to the attitudes and the morals of the community. I don’t have a child in school but I’m appalled. If I were the parents of those kids, I’d own that school. Those are minors,” said Will Cockrell, a member of the Christian Citizenship Team, a group at Central Bap-tist Church, in a 2008 Clovis News Journal report. Citizens threatened to cease financial donations to school projects. “If this is indeed the direction that this school system is going to take and continue to promote, then don’t look to me for anymore donations,” For-mer Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley said in a 2008 Clovis News Journal report. Youth who experience harassment on the basis of sexual orientation are: more than twice as likely to report depression and seriously consider suicide; more likely to report low grades, smoke, drink al-cohol or use drugs; more likely to become victims of violence; three times as likely to carry a weapon; and three times as likely to report missing school in the last 30 days, according to the Gay-Straight Alliance Network. There are other GSAs in high schools across New Mexico that are registered with the Network including: Albuquerque High School, Atrisco Heritage Academy, Bosque School, Capital High School, Cibola High School, Del Norte High School, Desert Academy, Eldorado High School, Ft. Wingate Reservation School, Highland High School, La Cueva High School, Las Cruces High School, Los Alamos High School, Manzano High School, Mayfield High School, Oñate High School, Pojoaque High School, Piedra Vista High School, Rio Grande High School, Rio Rancho High School, Robertson High School, Sandia High School, Sandia Preparatory School, Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe Preparatory School, St. Michael’s High School, Taos High School, Valley High School and West Mesa High School.

Student Journalist Shines Light on Clovis H.S.

page 6 May 19, 2011 SPORTS The Spectacle

 

In the last few years, the Mesa Vista baseball team has not done so well, losing 8 of 16 games in 2010 and 6 of 6 in 2009. The year, however, the team made it to State. “This is the second time we have qualified for State since the 1990s,” Athletic Director Ben San-doval, Sr., said. Although the team only made it to the first round of State, they had a fairly good season over-all, ending as district champions and with an over-all record of 12 wins and 14 losses. “I think this season went really well. We tried our best and got to the first round of state. Next year we will do even better,” freshman Emiliano Martinez said. Coach Clifford Richardson said he is also proud of the team. “As far as I know, in 22 years, Mesa Vista has never hosted a post season baseball game. The boys

should be commended,” Richardson said.

The track team also made it to Stare, in sev-eral events, including Women’s 100 meter dash, Women’s 200 meter dash, Women’s 400 meter dash, Women’s 800 meter dash, Women’s 3200 me-ter Run, Women’s High Jump, Women’s Long Jump, Men’s Pole Vault, Men’s 300 Hurdles, Men’s 110 Hurdles and Men’s Long Jump. “Everyone competed really well and when we asked people to step it up for districts they did a good job,” Assistant Coach Miguel Garcia said.

Junior Julia Martinez had an exceptionally good year and qualified for state in six events. Due to the National Federation of State High School Associa-tions rules, she could only participate in five events at the State level. Overall the team took 15th at State.

By AuBrie KuyKendAllRepoRteR

Spring Sports Report: Baseball, Track Make State in 2011

Baseball Wrap-up Track Review

Date Game Site Varsity Score

March 15, 2011 East Mountain Away L: 8-5

March 17, 2011 Taos JV Away L: 11-10

March 21, 2011 McCurdy Away L: 8-7

March 22, 2011 East Mountain Home L: 13-8

March 23-25 NRG Tournament Away (Mora) L: 19-2

March 29, 2011 Questa Home L: 10-9

April 2, 2011 Questa Away W: 9-7

April 5, 2011 Estancia Away L: 11-1

April 7, 2011 Jemez Valley Home L: 6-5, W: 12-4

April 8, 2011 McCurdy Home L: 13-9

April 9, 2011 Pecos Away L: 9-4, W: 12-10

April 12, 2011 Jemez Valley Away W: 6-4, W: 11-6

April 23, 2011 Estancia Home L: 19-6, L: 8-3

April 26, 2011 Navajo Prep Home W: 10-0, W: 14-4

April 27, 2011 Antonito HS (CO) Home W: 10-2, W: 23-8

April 28, 2011 Navajo Prep Away W: 11-3, W: 12-2

May 3, 2011 NMMI High School (10th seed)

State Tournament

L: 4-2

District Record: 7-1 (District Champs), Overall Record: 12-14

2011 Baseball Scores

photo by Aubrie Kuykendall // Freshman Emiliano Martinez waits in the dugout to bat during a home game against East Mountain. The team made it to the first round of state this year which is the only the second time in about 20 years.

State Qualifiers Person(s)Time/

Distance

Women’s 200m Dash Julia Martinez 27.2

Women’s 400m Dash Julia Martinez

Caitlin Ortega

62.0

74.0

Women's 800m Dash Julia Martinez 2:28.6

Women's 3200m Run Haliey Lucero 12:26

Women's High Jump Julia Martinez 4'10"

Women's Long Jump Brandy Valdez 14'10"

Men's Pole Vault Andres Coronado 9'0"

Men's 300 Hurdles Santiago Terrazas 49.66

Men's 110 Hurdles Santiago Terrazas;Evan Jaramillo

18.75

18.37

Men's Long Jump Andres Coronado 19'4"

2011 Track Stats

Baseball Coach: Clifford RichardsonTrack Coach: Ben Sandoval, Sr.; Asst. Coach: Miguel Garcia

stats compiled by: Aubrie Kuykendall

The Spectacle FEATURES May 19, 2011 page 7

During the summer most students plan to have fun and hang out with friends, but many Mesa Vista athletes also choose to dedicate much of their time to summer practices. Participating in these practices improves the athlete’s and teams’ perfor-mance during the season. Basketball will hold open gym at the high school, and cross country practices will be at the springs in Ojo Caliente and at the camp grounds in El Rito. Volleyball practices will start sometime in June, and the cheerleaders begin next week. “We train in the offseason so we’ll be in shape for the upcoming season and to establish a base,” Cross Country coach Ben Sandoval said. Practices range from 40 minutes (cross-country), to two and a half hours (basketball and volleyball). For cheerleaders, try-outs were the week of May 9 and summer practices begin Monday. The cheer-leaders will practice on campus every Monday and Wednesday from 3:30 until 5:30 p.m. (times are subject to change), junior Katie Salas said. “We are going to teach stunts and gymnastics. We want our group to be more athletic and bet-ter received by the fans. We’re even having an ex-

perienced cheer coach coming to teach us more extravagant stunts,” Salas said. Each sport also requires dif-ferent skills to advance one’s position on the team. Cross-country only had three runners this past season and all three were on the varsity team, but the small numbers of partici-pants did not guarantee them a place on varsity. The runners were and are still required to at-tend practice as if there were a full, seven-person team. Positions on the basketball team is also based, in part, on attendance at summer practic-es. The more practices an ath-lete misses, the least likely it is that they will make it on the varsity team. Also, attending these practices are past Mesa Vista graduates who played basketball here and have experience playing in big games.

“As a team, we would like to get better in every way possible so we can finally win that State trophy,” sophomore Matthew Richardson said.

H.S. Athletes Gear Up for Summer Practices

photo by Pauline Luhman // Junior Phillip Rodriguez joins warm-ups with his team mates. The school will host summer practices for boys and girls basketball, volley-ball, cheerleading and cross country.

By BenJAMin sAndovAl, Jr.RepoRteR

Don’t miss your last chance to pre-order a 2010-2011 Yearbook for only $35!

To ORDER:Bring cash or check to the library, and Ms. van Buren will give you a receipt.

Checks should be made payable to: Mesa Vista Yearbook

Please write on the MEMO line which MVMHS student will be picking up the yearbook when it arrives in August.

You can also order online and pay with a credit or debt card:

http://mesavista.yearbooksales.com

5. The Mesa Vista yearbook is an award-winning publication, covering the 7-12 grade campus. 4. For less than the price of a good pair of tennis shoes, you can buy something that will last a lifetime.3. It captures all the memories of the entire year that will begin to fade with time. 2. You will regret not having one as the years go by. 1. You want to be able to show your children what you looked like in high school.

TOP FIVE reasons to buy a yearbook:

The Spectacle BACK PAGE May 19, 2011 page 8

It’s the end of the year and almost every student is looking forward to summer. While some students plan to kick back and re-lax, others hope to use this time off to earn some cold, hard cash. For students over the age of 18, check out the classified ads in the Rio Grande SUN and the Taos News. Both have weekly job open-ings posted in the print edition of the newspapers and online. The jobs in the classified sections aren’t really for high school students un-der 18, however. Don’t worry if a job isn’t posted online or in the newspaper. Some-times it helps to call around to local, teen-friendly business like McDonald’s, the Dream Catcher movie theater, Sonic, the Red Door Coffee House, video rental shops

and other fast food or retail places. If gas expenses make working in town impossible, there is always baby sitting, yard work, house and pet sitting. To get started, call your neighbors, talk to family friends, or make an advertisement to post around your community. One of our very own teachers, Denise Archuleta, began her first job by baby sitting in high school. After high school, she worked at a casino and eventually became a teacher. The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps is a summer job program and, last summer, RMYC jobs paid $8 an hour for physical labor such as picking up trash, cleaning paths and weeds, fixing fences, swamping brush and painting for-est service buildings. They are cur-rently hiring for the summer. “We worked outside. It’s really a good experience if you follow a

forestry career after high school,” junior Lawrence Trujillo said. For all RMYC jobs, you must be under 19 to be a crew member. One of the easiest ways for teenagers to get a summer jobs is to ask around. Ask the counselor for a job application from other places, and don’t forget to talk to local businesses and community members. Chances are there will be a job out there, junior Alejan-dro Griego said. Griego worked with the For-est Guild/Youth Conservation Corp last summer, which is similar work to the RMYC. Greigo’s aunt helped him find the job, so it is good to ask people for insider in-formation and hiring tips. “Lots of times if you know some-one who can get you a job that is a lot better than looking at newspa-pers or online,” Archuleta said.

Land a Summer Job, TipsBy PAuline luhMAnReporter

After being away from Mesa Vista for 16 years Luis Peña is back, but this time, instead of a stu-dent, he’s the new Information Technology Direc-tor for the school district. “I am having a blast here in my position at Mesa Vista. As a former student, the campus brings back a lot of memories. It has also been great see-ing some of my former teachers such as Mrs. Lujan and Ms. Galvez,” Peña said. Peña has three years of experience in k-12 tech-nology and six years technology experience overall. He has a strong background in network security, networking routing/switching, application man-agement, student information systems and finan-cial systems, he said, and he currently holds an AAS in Computer Science and is working towards his Bachelor of Science Engineering Information Technology at NNMC. “I decided to pursue a career in Technology

because it’s a field that changes constantly. I en-joy learning new things and figuring out how they work,” he said. On the technical end of things, there is a lot of work that needs to be done, Peña said. Recently, he put in a new web filter that meets CIPA federal compliance and made some major overhauls to the network routing. There are still a lot of old com-puters that need to be disposed of properly and he needs an accurate inventory of all our computers. “I love my job. The funniest thing about it is helpdesk calls. Sometimes people call in with wacky problems which can create some funny situ-ations. I also enjoy making people happy by fixing their problems.” Peña is originally from Servilleta Plaza and attended school in the district. He is the son of Luis and Renee Peña. He is now living in Santa Clara Pueb-lo with his wife and two daughters. Both his children, Maya and Kateri, attend El Rito Elementary. “I have enjoyed working with Luis so far. He is a

very intelligent young man who will do wonders for our school district,” teacher Bernadette Galvez said.

New Tech. Director Returns to Mesa VistaBy MorgAn MAscArenAsReporter

photo by Genna Salas // Technology Director Luis Peña pauses outside the library on Friday, May 13 after working to update broken phones on campus. Peña, a MVMHS alum, joined the Mesa Vista staff in April, after former Technology Director Ed Kedge left for a new job in Los Alamos.

SBA, from p. 1By lily hAwleyReporter ...Competency Exam (NMHSCE) in order to graduate with a diploma, according to Tom Dauphinee, PhD, Interim Supervisor of Assessment & Accountability for the New Mexico Public Education Department. “The SB 360 passed by the 2011 Leg-islature and signed into law by Governor Martinez temporarily suspends require-ments for passing the SBA/HSCE or the Alternate Demonstration of Competency (ADC) for high school graduation in the 2011-2012 school years,” Dauphinee said. Therefore, the SBA testing taken this spring will be used more as a statewide pi-lot so policymakers and school districts can look at performance and observe the re-quirements for retesting or ADC. Also, by not requiring the 2012 graduating class to retake the exam, districts can save the cost of retesting. The class of 2013 will be the first to actually take the SBAs as a requirement for graduation (or complete an acceptable ADC), school counselor Denise Lopez said.