February 2010

By Amanda Sonderegger             What’s the most wonderful time of the year? Duh, Christmas. Heaven’s no...THE TALENT SHOW!!! Yes, I did just have a conversation with myself. The magical talent show was held February 26, 2010, and personally, it really was the best assembly I’ve ever been to. With the variety of talents r­­­anging from singing to unicycling, it’s safe to say Payson High School has some awesome talent.         &nbs

  The Payson High School debate team cleaned house at the region tournament held last weekendat Payson High School.

Autumn Allinson took second place for her Original Oratory on gratitude, Jessica Smith took first place in the National Extemporaneous category, Destry McCoy took first place in the Foreign Extemporaneous category, and Ashley Byington took first place in the Lincoln Douglas debate.

Payson High School has witnessed history: the first back to back state championship!! Our wrestling team dominated in 2009, and they’ve done it again for 2010 baby! In fact, we had 16 wrestlers go to state, 13 placed in the top six, and 5 Payson High School wresters, Mitch Brown, Zac Loveless, Brock Brown, Colton Cannon, and Brady Loveless, placed 1st in the state by winning both their matches at state! Cannon had this say about the team and the championship, “As a team, we’ve been working hard together since we were freshman, and all that work has paid off.

Sweethearts’ week has rolled right back in and out already this year with all new competition: Poster making, cow milking, interview, and cake making were a few things involved in becoming the royalty for the annual FFA sweethearts dance. Monday started off with poster making. We had to somehow incorporate the theme LEAD OUT LOUD and in some way advertise for the dance as well. The winners for the poster making were Rachelle Whatcott, Nicole Mellen, and Saige Bertschi.

  With the State FFA Convention coming up, our FFA Chapter is excited to be sending five of our members to compete at a state level. Two freshmen, Hunter Siggard and Kristen Robbins, both won at the chapter and area contest and will be representing our area Creed Speaking Contest. They have both worked hard to prepare for this contest. The Contest consists of reciting the creed to a panel of judges, and a roomful of people, then answering questions on the meaning of the creed and how it is applied. Mary Ann Rowley was the chapter’s winner and will be competing in the J

                On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a catastrophic earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 destroying many homes, buildings and orphanages. Since that time, The Foundation for Children in Need has been raising money to send a Utah-based construction crew to Haiti to rebuild the “Enfants of Jesus” orphanage. On Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010; Payson High School and Salem Hills High School joined forces for one cause, one purpose and one thing in mind, to raise money to help Haiti. The night

       PHS Journalism class recently visited Special Need kids at PHS as well as two classes at Santaquin Elementary in an effort to spread holiday cheer.    The Special Needs students received a morning full of holiday carols, candy canes and fun as Journalism students read them Christmas-related books.  While there, many of the students reconnected with their younger selves.  Journalism members were seen singing along to the book The Twelve Days of Christmas and really getting involved with the kid-friendly environment.

This year PHS wrestling has had an amazing season! The Lions have brought a lot of experience and depth to the mat; with the 4 returning state champions they are working to repeat as 4A state champions. While wrestling in one of the toughest regions in 4A Payson will continue to dominate in region 8. Wrestling in the Lions’ Den, Payson beat Maple Mountain by a whopping 53 points with a final score 59, Payson, 6, Maple Mt.

         January 21st-23rd were some very exciting days for the drama students of Payson High School. Utah Theatre Association Conference (held at UVU in Orem) requested a performance of their contemporary play, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abridged].

            The lights are slowly turning on, the floors are clean and waxed, the bleachers are being pulled, and the students are arriving. The Lion’s Den has been opened.              Whether it’s a volleyball game, wrestling match, or basketball game, the Lions are there to support the team. All of the members of the Lion’s Den are PHS’s finest. They are an elite group of students who are there every game to support. The game could be predicted as a complete