March 2015

DIAMONDBACK GEMS

HOPE Squad: Our first annual MARCH FOR HOPE is coming soon! All of Nebo district's HOPE Squads as well as anyone interested in joining the walk are welcome to march. HOPE Squad members will wear their HOPE shirts from their different schools.  Everyone can bring banners and posters promoting hope, mental health awareness, and positive messages. They can also bring lanterns, glow sticks, flashlights, etc. since it will start to get dark during the walk.

Last Thursday Mr. Tuckett's 5th period Concert Choir class could be heard singing a Polynesian song with a touch of the Haka. Each term when the students have perfected their songs, Mr. Tuckett allows them to sing it in the front foyer of the school under some incredible acoustics. The students enjoy doing this and those in the neighboring offices and classrooms are drawn into the front hall to watch as they follow the sounds of beautiful melodies. Thank you Concert Choir and Mr. Tuckett for the wonderful music. 

Last week Ms. Hanks class continued the dissection unit to include pigs. Students worked together in groups to observe differences between the reptilian and mammalian anatomy and physiology. Students also learned proper dissection technique and conduct, lab report procedures and analysis and the importance of set up and clean up before and after the lab. 

When asked about overall impressions of the labs, students stated:

Diamond Fork Parents,

Fourth term is upon us as we wind down from the school musical and next year’s school registrations and gear up for spring sports, musical performances, Diamondback Days, and academic achievements. Teachers continue to prepare students to take their knowledge to the next level by teaching skills such as inference, comparing and contrasting, cause and effect, and evaluation embedded within math, science, PE, health and social studies lessons.

Recently, students were asked to write to Barnes & Noble to nominate a favorite teacher. 9th grader Kynsie Hone took on the challenge and chose to write a poem entitled, "The Best Teacher Ever" about 9th grade English teacher, Mrs. Moses. DFJHS was informed that Mrs. Moses won one of the awards! Thank you, Kynsie and congratulations Mrs. Moses!

If the cast, crew and help for our school musical had just one wish, it would be to have a successful show and loads of fun. Well, guess what, that wish came true!

Wow! What an incredible musical put on by our very own Mrs. Poulsen and Mrs. Lewis! Watching the singing, acting and dancing made me want to dance and sing along with the students. The cast and crew practiced for over a month every weekday and some Saturdays to memorize and deliver six amazing performances for our student body, parents and other patrons, and the students of Larsen Elementary.

Last month the English Department held a contest to see who could write the best first sentence of a novel.  Students looked at numerous examples from books in their classroom libraries and discussed the criteria for good opening sentences before writing their own.  Many of the submissions contained the perfect amount of suspense and intrigue to make one want to read more; when it came time to choose winners, though, three stood out for their originality:

DISSECTION - DAY 1: Evidence of teamwork and collaboration were apparent as Ms. Hanks' biology classes began dissecting frogs today in the science lab. The student group conversations were that of removing membranes, using the scalpel, probing the eye socket and cutting connective tissue. The first task was to examine the frogs and record findings such as size, color, and shape. The next task involved the removal the eyeball of the frog along with analysis, observation and recording of data. 

Calling ALL BOYS! Join the boys' tennis team today! Even if you have never played tennis, this is a great opportunity to learn a new sport. You will meet new people, learn new skills, and have fun at matches! See Ms. Parrott in room 20 to sign up this week! 

Being a superhero is a hard job, but these students are up to the challenge. At DFJHS part of our vision statement is to live responsibly and lead ethically. We all look up to our favorite superheroes because of their great qualities. Superman is strong, humble, selfless, courageous and he works well with a great team of other superheroes. 

Taylor Summers and Sadie Ryan were caught today in the halls as they smiled and had a good time. Even the slightest smile toward someone is heroic. Ladies, thanks for the smile!