The Rock
Issue 14
Homework, Hard Work and Holidays!
Email: rburk@sd365.us
Website: www.sd365.us
Location: 39678 State Highway 51, Bruneau, ID, United States
Phone: (208) 834-2260
Last Letter
After 130 days in Idaho and 345 days in the United States, I write this letter of appreciation to show my gratefulness to each person whom I met in this year, but even more to express how much I appreciate the warmth of Idaho people and their kindness.Thanks to my family that, even though they are in Colombia, have been giving me their support and thus I achieved my goal; finishing this exchange program in the best way, with the best thoughts and gratitude. “Be reliable, tenacious and constant thus everything will come true”, it was what my mom told me before I left my country. I am full of appreciation because I learned about another culture, I lived with a wonderful family, I met amazing people, I visited incredible places with magical landscape, I improved my English speaking, and that makes me feel so happy and proud of myself.
Always our lives show us different paths that we can follow through happiness or sadness, but decisions and attitudes have an important job in your destiny because they can help you to achieve your targets. To always try to make your dreams come true is the best decision, and that is what this whole year means for me; a big dream come true, something that was in my thoughts for a long time, even if all the days were not good, even if some days I cried, even if some days I felt homesick and I was wishing to go home, I had a thousand more reasons that made this year a perfect experience and one full of happiness. It's incredible how many little things and little gifts I got in these 4 months in Idaho, and my biggest present was my host family. Sariah was the most incredible person I have met in this time, she was like a mom, she gave me her kindness and her amazing personality with her friendliness, her beauty, her frankness, her respect and tolerance. Thanks to Joel and Sariah [Pearson] for letting me be a part of their family in this time. They and their kids made my last months in America a magical time. I am going to miss enjoying moments with them because; Heidi became as my friend and the little sister (taller than me) that I had never had, her explanations every time that I asked for the pronunciation of a word, and her Christmas music made her unforgettable. Hailey was really kind, nice, thoughtful, and also I admire her because she is so sensible and reasonable. Taylor took the best pictures of me, and also was really funny and friendly with me; I will never forget him. Leif, the baby of the family, gave me his tenderness, I loved his hugs and how loving he was with me. Regan always had something to say, I could say a lot of wisecracks, but curiously he is shy and the funniest boy. Torsten, even if he was not all the time at home, he was really nice and fun. The Pearsons made my days fun and moving, every day I was laughing with them.
I remember my first day of school at Rimrock, I wasn’t nervous but I was anxious to meet my classmates and to meet the teachers. While I was walking through the front door with Sariah, she said “It’s going to be fun and exciting, I hope you will like it,” and she was right I loved it. I met Mr. Burk who was gracious from the first moment I walked through the doors, Mrs. Burk: she was amiable and friendly, Mr.Smith: who always made me laugh, Mr. Schoen who was my favorite teacher: I loved welding, he was so nice and was always surprised at the quality of my welds, and Mrs. Meyers with her tolerance and kindness. I met nice and forthright Carmela, sweet and trustworthy Anahi, nice and tolerant Valeria, patient and kind Sierra, amiable Elizabeth, honest and gentle Andrés, shy and sweet Yobani, crazy Ryan, Shelbi and her comical and sweet personality, smiling Laura, sweet King, lovable Yesy, crazy Sintia, Ray and his parents who were really cordial, silly D-O , fun Ally, cool and kind Levi, the janitorial staff , loving Beth Gasper and her family, Sarah Hall and her wit and candor that I am going to miss, the Boren family who were warm, affectionate and they made me feel happy and welcome, supportive Melissa, and the cross country team who encouraged me throughout the season. Every person who I met and I had the pleasure of talking to, I won't ever forget them and I hope you will remember me and the memories we made. Now I am going back home, feeling happy, pleasant, contented, and full of hope that I can come back and visit this wonderful place with its magical people.
Sources of Strength Week
Our Rimrock Junior High
Schedule Change: A Survey on the Thoughts of the Students
This year at Rimrock, we have been introduced to a new school schedule! It is easy to say that there are many mixed feelings about this change! Some students really like the idea of having school Monday through Thursday and some students would rather have it be the way it was last school year, Tuesday through Friday. Needless to say, many students were very opinionated about the situation. So, the journalism class decided to make a survey to see how the majority of the school felt. The survey consisted of four simple questions that asked for the students specific opinion over the schedule change. When the survey was sent out, it showed that eleven percent of all students who filled out the survey had said that they liked school better when there was no school on Mondays. Another question on the survey asked “In your opinion what is the best thing about the schedule change for you?” The most popular answers were that the students had Fridays off and also that some students liked to have High School lunch a little later. Another question had asked if it was difficult for the students to adjust to the new schedule and the responses were half and half. Eight percent of students who voted said it was not very difficult at all which is a good thing!
10th Grade Battle Projects
By: Naya Bradshaw
Mr. Smith’s 10th grade history did a battle project for the last week before finals. Mrs. Burk interviewed him about the assignment and these were the results:
1. What was the assignment?
Describe a critical event that helped determine the outcome of the war.
They were given five different projects to choose from, one of them being models of a battle from a specific list.
2. How did fit into what you were teaching?
Our class was working on the American Revolution, key people and events, and the impact of the war on America.
3. How did the students react to the assignment?
Many were excited that they had some control over what they would be doing. Other enjoyed the creativity that could unleash.
4. What were you looking for?
A final product that showed students understand in depth the importance of a specific event and how it tied into the bigger picture.
5. Which was your favorite and why?
The Battle of Yorktown; they continued to work on it after they had already turned it in. They wanted to create the best possible model they could even after it was graded.
A couple of Sophomores had the following to say about the project...
Hannah Field, “I liked building the mode; it was a lot more fun than normal class work.”
Nicolas Lino, “It was fun. A lot of hard work and dedication was put into that project.”
PLEASE ENJOY PHOTOS OF THE PROJECTS BELOW:
York Town
The Battle Trenton
The Battle of Saratoga
Spanish Class Projects
By: Elizabeth Varela
On Thursday, December 14th, Rimrock’s Spanish I and II classes had Spanish Day. Spanish II put it together (with the help of Mrs. Meyers, of course), and they had to group up and make a game for the Spanish I students from what they learned all semester. There was Jeopardy by Jasmine and Elizabeth, Lottery by Naya and Holley, Candy Land by Erick, and a word search by Mrs.Meyers. Spanish I got the chance to play all these games for 10 minutes and they were in groups of four that were picked randomly. Spanish II has been working on putting this together for two weeks and making the games possible; this is a part of their final for the semester. They got the chance to teach Spanish I in a fun way and review with them also. They had a food station also and students could bring Mexican food if they wanted to. There were tamales, empanadas, bunuelos, rice and juice. All of the students got to taste as much of it as they wanted. Spanish I and II had a great time doing this.
I asked students what their favorite part was. “My favorite part was creating the game,” said Jasmine Araujo. “My favorite part was the food,” said Jorge Alcantar.
Elizabeth Varela Senior Project
By: Sierra Swanson
Elizabeth Varela held her physical senior project on Saturday, December 9th. Her campaign was Hold On Pain Ends (H.O.P.E). She focused on suicide prevention. Her project was all about bringing spirits up and making sure students know they have people to talk to if they need help or are feeling low. On Saturday, we gathered in a group in the auditorium with Ms. Metcalf to have a more compassionate talk. I asked senior, Carmela Bazan, what she thought of the event she said, “Everything ran smoothly, I’m really proud of her!” We then ate breakfast, and split up into our groups. We also got little handbags to put all of the things we made that day. We went to different stations: painting rocks with inspirational saying, a word collage with things we love and put into a frame we picked out, a puzzle where we wrote something positive about us on every piece, put the puzzle together, and colored it, we also had an escape room.
The escape room consisted of a few puzzles to figure out the lock on some boxes and then the final clue opened the box where a paper congratulated you on escaping. We also had a “Get Snappy” portion where our groups took 10 polaroid pictures relating to the topics we needed. The polaroids were then put on a photo album and we got to decorate the page, which is hung up on the wall by the Sources Of Strength bulletin board by the office. Liz had also put together goody bags for everyone that came!
To end this, I asked Elizabeth about how she felt on how her senior project went and she replied with, “I think my senior project went really good, it felt like a lot of kids really enjoyed it. It took a long time to put it together but to me it was really worth it. It also meant alot to me to see all the kids that supported this project and suicide prevention which makes me really happy. There was a lot of time put into this and it was great to see that it turned out really good. All the activities went well and there wasn't a big problem that we couldn't help get fixed. I wish all the kids that had signed up would have shown up but, after all, more than half of them showed up and it was fun. For the most part, I think that the polaroid pictures and the escape room were the groups’ favorites to do and it was really fun to watch everyone come together and have fun.”The Polaroid Activity
Elizabeth Varela, Senior
The Puzzle Activity
Sierra Swanson Senior Project
By: Mrs. Burk
Rimrock Senior, Sierra Swanson, promoted positive mental health as the physical aspect of her Senior Project. Throughout an entire week, Sierra orchestrated themes and activities that promote positive mental health. First, she distributed green ribbons and encouraged the students and teachers to wear them all week. Monday, she showed an inspirational video and had students identify inspirational people in their own lives. Tuesday, Sierra set up an activity in the cafeteria that allowed students to leave "worries" behind in a jar and take what they need from another. These sticks were color coded to represent different mental and emotional needs. She also distributed "Little Bags of Happiness" that contained various items that represented criteria for positive mental health. Wednesday, Sierra created a wall titled "I Am" and encouraged students to write a positive thing about themselves. The week wrapped up with a "You Are" wall on which students wrote positive things about others.When I asked Sierra what she has learned from this project, she stated, "I've learned that mental health goes a lot deeper than how one presents themselves."
Leave a Worry, Take What You Need
Sierra Swanson, Senior
Students participate in Swanson's Senior Project
Sophomore, Christian Sharek, Does Eagle Scout Project in Grand View
Healthy Sleeping Habits
Have you ever had a problem sleeping? Well here are some ways that will help you sleep better. Healthy sleeping habits can improve your quality of life. The first thing that you can do is stick to a sleeping schedule. It would help if you went to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning. Eventually, you will get used to it and do it on your own. The second thing you can do is practice a relaxing bedtime ritual. You can listen to music that relaxes you or watch a relaxing movie. The third thing you could do is exercise daily. This will help you relieve energy and make you more tired at night and help you fall asleep. It would help if you sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillow. This will make you more comfortable and help you fall asleep faster. Don’t use your bed for anything other then relaxing on. Your brain will get used to your bed for relaxing things, and if you do things that keep you up, your brain will see that and not get tired when you lay on your bed. Another thing you can do is reduce your caffeine or liquid intake be for bed. Source http://www.sleepeducation.org/essentials-in-sleep/healthy-sleep-habits
Working in Construction
The job I talked about in the last newsletter was about welding. I had also talked about a job I was going to do before I get into welding, which is construction working. One of the reasons I would like to work in construction is because my father had worked in it before me, and it is going to be a kickstarter for what I have in store for later on in life. What I have in store for later in life is quite interesting. But back to Construction Working...general labor men are required to have at least a high school diploma or a G.E.D. In order to be a heavy equipment operator you also need to have a high school diploma, but in addition to that you have to have on the job training which means you would have to be experienced in working with the heavy equipment.
This is how that kind of system works. You start off as a labor man for at least 3 to four years. Then you move into either heavy equipment or hauling dirt, depending on the company and depending on the type of construction work you are looking into. You also don’t start off with the biggest piece of equipment they have in their shop. You would usually start off with a skid steer and then work your way up. Also, most of this doesn’t pay well until you show that you have experience or you have a higher degree. You also can’t expect to go through this in a breeze either; this kind of thing takes time to learn in order to have a Grade A kind of job.
I plan to use this knowledge in my next field which I had mentioned in a previous newsletter. The other reason why I want to use this knowledge in my other career is because I plan on building a log cabin. But the twist is, I would need some kind of support because land in the mountains isn’t always flat. The construction plays a part in this also. I am going to help build my own house. It is kind of like what my uncle did; he had a house right beside a hill but his current house was too small and, at the time, he had a sort of family company. So what he did was asked if anyone would like to help him build a house on top of this hill, and my father was part of the company and volunteered to help. A couple of months before the house was finished, he had a heart attack and passed away, so all of the volunteers had finished the house and had a stone engraved and it said, “In Memory Of Don Our Beloved Manager.”
Rimrock Sports
Junior High Girls Basketball
"My goal was to get better and, I feel like I did," said Brynn Burk, 6th Grader.
6th Grader, Rhylan Burbank, had this to say about the season, “Basketball is my favorite sport. I’m glad that I played this year. I had a great coach.”
Coach, Jamie Metcalf stated, "Our 2017 JH Girl's Basketball season was fun and challenging. It was full of new learning opportunities and skill building. Our team showed true dedication and passion."
PLEASE ENJOY SOME PHOTOS FROM THE SEASON BELOW:
High School Girls Basketball
By: Maddy May, Cedar Hammock and Mrs. Burk
This year’s High School girls basketball season has been full of exciting surprises and intense games. We have gone through a lot as a team and as individuals. We have all felt sadness, anger, excitement and happiness.
As far as this season goes, Varsity is 11-4 and Junior Varsity is undefeated with a small team. Coaches from from all around are asking about our integrity, drive, hustle, heart and desire. It makes us as a team and our coaches feel honored and privileged to have had such a great season so far.
As for the rest of the season, we hope to keep playing our best and continue to win. We hope to become closer as a team and be unstoppable on the court!
Sami Jewett, Freshman, said, “It’s been a good season and we’ve all worked really hard.”
Hannah Field, Sophomore, had this to say, "We've all bonded as a team and done really well for being such a young group."
"We've all worked hard and I've really enjoyed the season so far," said Freshman, Sintia Varela.
PLEASE ENJOY SOME PHOTOS FROM THE SEASON BELOW:
High School Boys Basketball
PLEASE ENJOY SOME PHOTOS FROM THE SEASON BELOW:
Christmas
A Holiday Celebration Concert held December 14th
PLEASE ENJOY A COLLECTION OF PHOTOS FROM THE EVENING BELOW:
Joshua Smith, Holley Bretas, Dalton Allison, Martin Gomez
Dalton Allison, Martin Gomez, Ray Draper and Anthony Herrera
Director and Music Teacher, Cathryn Volk
Mattie Draper and Gentry Kunsky
Gentry Kunsky, Echo McNeely, Teresa Marquez, Shyann Carothers, Treau Smith and Braxton Carothers
Mitchell Erwin
The History of Christmas
Christmas is a sacred holiday celebrated world wide. People have been celebrating it for 2 millenniums, and traditions have been changing over time. The holiday was made for honoring the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas began as mostly a religious holiday but it has evolved into a world wide holiday. Christmas is celebrated on December 25th, and the reason for this is because it is believed to be the day Jesus was born. Many people honor Jesus on Christmas and celebrate his birth. However, one of the most popular traditions throughout the world is now Santa Claus.
A popular custom is when Santa Claus brings presents to all the children that have been good. The legend of Santa Claus is tracked back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. He was very nice and kind, and it has been said that he gave all of his inherited wealth away as he traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. Over the years, his popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. People celebrate him on the anniversary of his death, December 6th. Traditionally, it was considered that the 6th was a lucky day to make big purchases or to get married. By the time of the renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe.
Please enjoy the photos below that depict how Christmas has changed in the United States over the last 100 years...
1920's Christmas
1930's Christmas
1950's Christmas
1960's Christmas
1980's Christmas
Christmas 2000
A Mexican Christmas
There are many different and unique ways that people celebrate Christmas. But today I am going to tell you how the people from México celebrate it. Mexicans celebrate Christmas not just one a few days but for about a full month. You might find it weird but you are now about to find out how they celebrate it.
They start celebrating it on December 12 of every year all the way through January 6th. They start with decorating the “Nacimeinto” (Nativity Scenes). Which are really popular all over México. They are very large (like life-size large). When it comes to these traditions, Mexicans go all out with the Nacimeintos. Many people put them outside because they are just too big for their house. A lot of them turn full rooms just into a huge pretty Nacimeinto.
They also start the posadas that day which is like the word “Lodging” which is when they celebrate the story of Joseph and Mary, when they looked for somewhere to stay. For the Posadas, the houses from outside are decorated with moss, lanterns, Christmas lights and more. People are given a cup where the candle is standing. They go to the houses that they have planned and go sing the song about Joseph and Mary looking for somewhere to stay.
But they are told that there is no room. So after that, they usually have a dinner at that house because the owners of the house make the dinner. It is typically a delicious Mexican posole and tamales ponche or avena, followed by a desert (usually Muñelous). That happens every night just with a different dinner usually. Eventually, they get told yes which is at the last house on Christmas Eve. A baby Jesus is put into the manager and then the families go to a midnight church service. After the church service, there are a lot of fireworks to celebrate the start of Christmas. During the months of December and January you will see and hear a lot of fireworks being lit up to celebrate the month and Christmas season.
On Christmas, the kids go around the houses asking for alginaldos, which are like candy bags. They go wherever they see the nativity scenes. After that they kiss “El Niño Dios,” they get the Aguinaldo (candy bag). This tradition has been going on for a long amount of time and it is a nonstop story. But overall, it doesn’t matter how they celebrate it as long as they’re with family.