Nebo School District

Nebo School District
Location
350 S. Main Spanish Fork, Utah Utah County United States
District information
Superintendent	Rick Nielsen
Asst. Superintendent(s)	Scott Wilson
Other information
Website	Nebo School District

Nebo School District is a public school district in Utah County, Utah serving the southern part of the county. It lies beneath the Provo City School District and Alpine School District beginning at Utah Lake and moving south. The Nebo School District's slogan is "Your Partner in Education."

With over 31,500 students, Nebo is the 7th largest school district in Utah and among the fastest-growing. The district operates 5 high schools, 6 junior high schools, 27 elementary schools, and 2 alternative schools. The district is named for nearby Mount Nebo, the tallest peak in the Wasatch Range.

High schools

There are currently five high schools in the Nebo School District.

Maple Mountain High School

Maple Mountain High School was established within the borders of Spanish Fork in 2009. The school's enrolment area covers eastern Spanish Fork and all of Mapleton. The school's colors are Maroon and Gold, with the mascot being a Golden Eagle. Its slogan is "An Attitude of Excellence". The principal is currently John Penrod, whilst David Knudsen and DeAnn Nielsen are the Assistant Principals. Maple Mountain High School's address is 51 North 2550 East, Spanish Fork, UT 84660. It also operates mmhs.nebo.edu, a subdomain of the District's website.

Payson High School

General

Payson High School is the only high school in Payson. It has around 1,100 students, all of whom are in grades 10, 11 and 12. School colors are green, silver and white, and the school mascot is a lion. This is reflected in their motto, which is "A lion pride, together we conquer."

The school was founded in 1913. The current building, however, was built in 1967 serving both as a high school, and as a community bomb shelter during the Cold War. The current principal is Ben Ford.

Payson High School used to cover one of the largest geographical areas for one high school. It drew students from Payson, Santaquin, Goshen, Genola, and the rural communities of Elberta and Mosida. However, when Salem Hills High School was built in 2008, the areas of Elk Ridge, West Mountain, and portions of Payson ceased attending Payson High School.

Music

The school has a strong musical presence. Their Jazz band have received a number of honours, including winning the district competition in 2010; their chamber singers have received two '1's in the state competition; the Marching band received the color guard, visual, music, and first place at the Nebo tournament of Bands in 2011 and their Bagpipe band won a number of awards, including the 2010 WUSPBA Great Basin Branch Grade 5 Championship.

Other Notable Points

Payson High School has won awards for Journalism, specifically best layout, and individual for articles at the journalism conference at UVU. Payson has a rivalry with Spanish Fork, as well as a growing rivalry with Salem. They also won state wrestling in 2009 and 2010, the first back-to-back state championship in the history of Payson High School.

Payson High School was also a site for the filming of the 1984 film Footloose, as is much of the surrounding Payson area.

Addresses

Payson High School is located at 1050 S. Main St., Payson, UT 84651. It can also be found online at phs.nebo.edu, a subdomain of the district site.

Spanish Fork High School

General

Spanish Fork High School (SFHS) is one of high schools currently in the district. Spanish Fork High School was built in 1962 and was the first high school in the District. Both Spanish Fork Junior High and Diamond Fork Junior High feed into SFHS. Enrollment at SFHS is close to 1,300 students and includes grades 10-12. Spanish Fork is currently in the 4A division. Geographic boundaries include the city of Spanish Fork and outlying communities. The school principal is currently Dave McKee, and his assistants are Matt Christensen and Jo Lynn Ford.

Identity

The school mascot at SFHS is 'The Mighty Dons'. They have two mottos, "Here, We Learn for Life" as well as "Rock Solid", and the school colors are red and gray. The school's biggest rivals are Maple Mountain High School, and Salem Hills, however they maintain a healthy rivalry with Springville and Payson too.

Athletics

The school's boys' and girls' athletics teams have both been very successful.

Boys

The boys' teams were Utah State Champions in Wrestling (1984, 2003, 2004), Basketball (1914), Baseball (1988, 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015), Golf (1996, 1997, 1999), Track and Field (1930, 1931, 1976) and Cross Country (1992). The boys' baseball team also won The Sunshine Tournament and state championships back-to-back, and the boys' Tennis team won "The Duel in The Desert" alongside winning the regional trophy.

Girls

The girls' teams were also Utah State Champions in Track and Field (1997, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2008), Softball (2006, 2011, 2015) and Volleyball (1992, 1993, 1994).

The Spanish Fork High School Gymnasium is a historic building listed on the NRHC, National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1935, this original gymnasium is not located on the current campus of Spanish Fork High School.

Music

The marching band's 2011 show was simply called "Band," in which all three elements of a musical ensemble: brass, woodwinds, and percussion, are represented by separate movements. The band took the show to the State Marching Band Festival in St. George in October that year.

The SFHS Jazz Band focuses on performing as a combo, learning how, in a small group, to listen and respond musically with each other. They toured in the 2011/2012 year with the Springville HS Jazz Band to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, ID.

The award winning concert band plays standard works for band and is a prerequisite at SFHS for admission to their marching band. Timing, tuning, and playing with a correct tone are the main objectives of this group. They have played such pieces as Clair de Lune, Sleigh Ride, and Great Gates of Kiev. All Bands are directed by Ellen Fudge.

There are two orchestras at Spanish Fork. They have an auditioned chamber orchestra, consisting of a double quartet, and a non-auditioned full orchestra. In spring 2011, the orchestra teamed up with the concert band to become a symphony and played Star Wars excerpts as well as Finlandia by Sibelius. The orchestra and band went on a large tour in the 2012/2013 school year.

There are two levels of guitar taught at SFHS: "Beginning Guitar", which teaches basic chords, strumming patterns, how to read notes on a staff, and basic song composition; and "Advanced Guitar", which focuses on genre playing through the classical, bluegrass, jazz, and rock styles. Beginning guitar (or the equivalent) is a prerequisite for admission to advanced guitar sessions.

The SFHS choirs are conducted by Shea Bradshaw and have been consistently successful throughout his tenure. Notably, in 2009, the Concert Choir achieved scores of 1 and 1+ in state competition. As of 2015, there were four choirs at Spanish Fork High School; Men's Chorus, Women's Chorus, Concert Choir, and the Chamber Chorus. Generally, students take either the Men's or Women's chorus their sophomore year and then may have the opportunity to try out for the advanced groups.

Addresses

The school's address is 99 North 300 West Spanish Fork, UT 84660. It is also available on sfhs.nebo.edu, a sub-domain of the district's site.

Springville High School

Springville High School is the only high school which serves, and is located in, Springville, Utah.

Mascot

Springville High School's mascot is the Red Devil. The origin of the mascot name dates back to the original construction of the school, when the Red Devil Cement Company assisted significantly in the building. This has become a focal point for controversy several times over the years, most recently in 2002. In this instance some local citizens organized a committee called "Parents for Mascot Review." They argued that the Devil was an unsavory mascot for teens and interpreted school literature bearing the character "pro devil" paraphernalia. Some Latter-day Saint members of this committee believed that they should not support the mascot for its Satanic allusion, citing their religious beliefs as their reasons. Other LDS community members disagreed saying that the church had no official stance on the matter, that the mascot was not satanic, but rather a mythical creature, and that the groups were promoting their own agenda.

Alumni of the school countered that the mascot was not satanic, and had been the official mascot since 1967 when students voted it in. Further they claimed it was historically significant. The name and image came from Red Devil Cement Co., a historically important employer in Springville. An actual cement bag with the Red Devil Cement logo on it can be found in one of the display cases in the high school.

The debate continued on all fronts. Even a popular local band "The Fifth Normal" wrote a song called "Band for Mascot Review," the lyrics of which sarcastically accused the group "Parents for Mascot Review" of being hypocrites, and of ignoring the real problems facing Springville High School, like drugs and teen pregnancy.

Controversy about the mascot drew national attention when the a spokesman for the Navajo Nation commented against it, claiming that "red devil" is a slur against Native Americans and should be removed from the school.

Nonetheless, traditionalists carried popular support in a non-binding poll, and the school board voted to retain the mascot in May 2002. In spite of promises by critics to seek school board offices on the issue, the Red Devil remains the school's mascot as of 2015.

Athletics

Former principal Rick Robins hired Scott Mitchell as head football coach in 2008. The hiring came after the firing of two-season coach Dan Hansen. With Hansen in 2007, the Red Devils posted 2 wins and 8 losses. Scott Mitchell, a former SHS quarterback who led the Red Devils to their only state title in the 80s, was also a former QB for the University of Utah and a 12-year quarterback in the National Football League before leaving behind a real estate job in Florida to come coach the Red Devils. While the recruitment was perceived by some as a high-profile visual hire, the community was hopeful that Scott Mitchell would prove to do something positive for the SHS football program and its students. Unfortunately, Coach Mitchell resigned following the 2011 season due to marital issues. However, Mitchell did lead the Red Devils to two showings in the Utah State playoffs with the Red Devils taking 2nd place in 2009 and 3rd place in 2010. The Red Devils have also enjoyed great success in athletics in recent years. Under girls' basketball coach Nancy Warner and former BYU Cougar, the Lady Red Devils finished the 2008-09 campaign as the state 4A tournament runners-up. The Red Devil swim team has continued its dominance by winning back-to-back boys' 4A state championships in 2008 and 2009 under coach Amyee Hargett. The Red Devils have also posted region championships recently in girls' soccer, boys' golf, volleyball, boys' swimming, and girls' basketball.

Identity and Addresses

The school's colours are red and blue, whilst its slogan is "Dedicated to Excellence - United in Service - Educated for Success".

The school's web address is shs.nebo.edu, a subdomain of the district's site.

Salem Hills High School

General

Salem Hills High School opened on 20 August 2008, under the direction of Principal Ann Anderson. Salem Hills was the first new high school constructed by Nebo School District since the 1970s. The structure was completed in the summer of 2008. The student body comes from areas of Payson, Salem, Elk Ridge, and Woodland Hills. Salem Hills High School is populated mainly by two Junior High Schools, Salem Junior High School & Mt. Nebo Junior High School.

In December 2008, Salem Hills was awarded the "2008 Best K-12 Education Project Design" by the Intermountain Contractors for the State of Utah.^[1]

Salem's current principal is Bart Peery, whilst the current assistant principals are Wade Tischner and Brett White.

Identity

The school's slogan is "Pursuing Victory With Honor". Its mascot is a Skyhawk, whilst the school's colors are light blue, navy blue, and gold.

Music

Salem Hills High School's choir is directed by Justin Bills. Whilst on a tour to Anaheim, the concert choir received a gold and a silver award, with the singers receiving a further silver award when they competed in the Heritage Festival.

The school's band, the Skyhawk Marching Band, is directed by Mike Larsen. Under drum majors Kayla Snell and Nate Adams, they came 3rd overall in their class, and took the caption for outstanding percussion, at the Bridgerland Band Competition hosted at USU on 31 October 2009.

Addresses

Salem Hills High School's address is 150 North Skyhawk Boulevard, Salem UT 84653. They are also available at shhs.nebo.edu, a subdomain of the district's website.

Junior High Schools

Mapleton Junior High School

Sports Offered

Mapleton Junior High School offers Track and Field, cross country, golf, tennis, basketball and football.

Classes Offered

Mapleton offers the following courses: 7th Grade Science, 7th Grade English, 8th Grade Integrated Science, 8th Grade Clothing Exploration, CTE Intro (FACS), CTE Intro (Business), Clothing, Computer Technology, Earth Systems, Foods 1, Foods Exploration, Teen Living, U.S. History, 7th Grade PE, 8th Grade PE, 9th Grade PE, Algebra, Pre Algebra, Secondary Math 1, Band, Guitar, Music Appreciation, 9th Grade English, CTE Intro Tech, Exploring Technology 1, Exploring Technology 2, Intro to Manufacturing, Intro to Construction, and Orchestra. ^[2]

Spanish Fork Junior High School

Spanish Fork Junior High School (SFJHS) is a public junior high school in Spanish Fork, Utah, USA. It belongs to Nebo School District. The School was originally constructed in 1976, and has undergone many changes over its years of service to the community.

Previous Locations

Spanish Fork Junior High School was located at two previous sites before it took up its current residence at 820 East 600 South, about two miles west of the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon.^[3]

History

Since this building’s construction in 1976, Spanish Fork Junior has undergone several changes. Originally constructed as an intermediate school, housing sixth through ninth grades, the building’s physical layout separated the students: Sixth and seventh grade classes were located on the north side of the building, eight and ninth on the south. At the time, the classrooms operated openly, without many walls. The administrative offices held everything together at the center of the school. Outside hallways were constructed in 1990. A separate middle school was built in 1997, taking the sixth and seventh graders away. Extensive remodeling occurred in 2001, whereby the administrative and counseling offices were relocated to the north of the building; a new media center, faculty room, and additional classrooms were also constructed.^[3]

Elementary schools

There are 26 elementary schools in the Nebo School District. The district is scheduled to build 5 new elementary schools in the next ten years.

References

Salem Junior High School Website: http://sajhs.nebo.edu/

Payson Junior High School Website: http://phs.nebo.edu/

Nebo School District Website: http://www.nebo.edu/

External links

• Nebo School District Online
• Mapleton Mountain High School Online
• Spanish Fork High School Online
• Salem Hills Online
• Springville High School Online
• Payson High School Online