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Show Thursday, July 26, 2007 Schools The Gunnison Valley Gazette GVHS students attend leadership conference Nine GVHS student council members attended the Dixie Leadership Conference in St. George on July 11-14. The Dixie Leadership Conference is for student councils around the state of Utah that are looking for a positive environment to communicate ideas that will improve their student body as well as learn some important leadership skills. Twenty-eight schools ranging from 2A to 5A from across the state were in attendance. Nine students from Gunnison High School attended. They included the five student body officers; Jordan Caldwell, Tessa Christensen, Cari Garff, Jimmy West and Tilly Miller, Senior class vice president Lacee Watters, junior class president B.J. Starks, sophomore class president Wyatt Hopkins and freshman class president Breanna Fredrickson. They were chaperoned by student council advisor Melissa Judy and Elise Bown. The students participated in various breakout sessions that included leadership training, the listened to guest speakers, participated in a spirit bowl, water wars and a ropes course conducted by Leader Core; they had a beach party at Sand Hallow, attended Cinderella at Tuacahn and concluded their week with a concert by Alex Boye with a dance to follow at Zion’s Amphitheater. Gunnison’s student council was ecstatic as they caught the vision and excitement shared from other schools. Their en- Page 5 Peer to Peer By Cari Garff Courtesy Photo Front: Jordan Caldwell. Middle row: Breanna Fredrickson, Lacee Watters, Tilly Miller, Cari Garff, Tessa Christensen and Melissa Judy. Back: Jimmy West, B.J. Starks and Wyatt Hopkins. ergy in planning and sharing the ideas they learned will be a much needed boost to getting the school year off to the right start. “An awesome year is in the making,” says student body vice president Tessa Christensen. Some of the new ideas include a spirit bowl, date auction, senior swap, the Wheel of Vomit, Spontaneous Week, Hello Week, student body dares, new spirit week ideas and games, and so much more. The student council also learned some valuable lessons, such as repetition destroys cre- ativity, quitters never win and winners never quit, have a common goal to work better with others, involve everybody, and to stick together as a team—this they learned quickly with the unfortunate event of the district car breaking down. Each school had a representative participate in the Dixie Idol. This was a contest patterned after the T.V. series American Idol. Wyatt Hopkins, representing GVHS, performed a dance routine that included multiple eras of music and dance. True to form, Wyatt brought the house down and was a hit amongst the crowd. We are proud to announce that Wyatt was one of the top five finalists. The group had a great time with a lot of fun and memories. They brought back experiences that are sure to make this year at GVHS one of the best! Gunnison Valley was well represented by these student leaders. Look out 2007-08 as student leadership soars to new heights. The GVHS theme for this next school year will be, “I’m a Believer, Be an Ogre Achiever!” School starts August 21st. The Peer to Peer column features one local youth each month who exemplifies leadership qualities in overcoming the negative peer pressure so common in our world today. July’s Peer to Peer is BJ Starks. BJ was born on April 12, 1991. He is the son of Brent and Sabrina Starks of Gunnison. BJ and his family moved to Gunnison in the year 2000. BJ is very involved at Gunnison Valley High School. He is the 2007-2008 Junior Class President and is very involved with the Upward Bound program at school. BJ is a member of the track team and soccer team, as well as playing the trombone for the Gunnison Valley High School band. BJ has been part of the high school musicals for the past 2 years. He portrayed Ephraim in the musical “7 Brides for 7 Brothers” in 2006 and Harry Beaton in last year’s production of “Brigadoon”. In BJ’s spare time he loves to garden, play video games and hang out with his friends and family. Anyone who is acquainted with BJ knows that he has got quite a sense of adventure and humor. BJ is always doing things for a laugh, which usually leads to a visit at the local hospital. “I love to goof off and have fun with my friends. But, sometimes things can get out of hand and that’s when I no longer care if it’s funny and I back off.” B.J. Starks I asked BJ if he had ever been in a situation where things have gotten out of hand and he felt pressured to doing something wrong. BJ answered, “I sometimes feel pressured by my friends to pick on other kids during school. When I’m in that situation, I try to convince my friends to do something else.” To overcome negative peer pressure, BJ tries to avoid bad situations, but when he finds himself in a situation that he feels is wrong BJ stated, “I assess the situation and act on standards I set for myself before hand and do what I know to be right.” BJ has some advice for youth who are currently experiencing negative peer pressure, “Know your standards, think for yourself and don’t let others make decisions for you, no matter what!” Do Your Best Do Your Best is sponsored by: Peterson Refrigeration and Mechanical 550 South Main, Gunnison • 528-3365 Stanton A. Bailey, MD Central Utah Equipment Sales OB/GYN Specializing in • Menopause • Infertility • Period Problems • Bladder Problems ACTION VIDEO PLUS 178 SOUTH MAIN • GUNNISON 1991 Chevy Pickup • 160,000 miles Only $3,900 Gunnison Medical Clinic Central Utah Equipment Sales Nephi office Buy, Sell and Trade 435-528-5919 35 East Center • Gunnison 435-250-6134 48 West 1500 North • Nephi 435-623-3214 420 South Main • Centerfield Subscribe to Gunnison’s Hometown paper -- The Gazette! Call 528-5178 or email gazette@gtelco.net SPECIALS FOR JULY BUY FOUR (4) VHS MOVIES AND GET A 5TH FREE! BUY TWO (2) DVD’S VALUED AT $12.99 AND GET A THIRD VALUED AT $9.99 FREE! FOR OUR SOLDIERS FAMILY FROM THE 145TH GET 10% OFF MOVIE RENTALS WITH MILITARY ID |
