December 2014 Volume 4 Issue 2

The skiing season is here once again!Photo of Snowmass Mountain;; Photo by: William Orben;; Effects by: Drew Olson // More on winter sports pages 8-9

“When they find real aspira-­

tion, fighting for that dream

becomes second nature.” -­ So-­

fie Stenstavold, a teacher at

Basalt High School

A guide to get good grades — not for dummiesBy Ben Koski

continued on Page 3

SEEN & HEARD

970-704-0664

The valley is full of drug temptation and dangerBy Anders Brucker

A guide to get good grades continued from Front Page

Leticia Ingram wins state teaching honorBy Raquel Vasquez

Leticia Ingram alongside some of her adoring students Photo by: Raquel Vasquez

SudokuBy Ben Koski // Answers on page 14

I just believe that she is one of the nicest people I’ve met and I have no idea what I would do without her,” Castillo said.I just believe that she is one of the nicest people I’ve met and I have no idea what I would do without her,” Castillo said.

You wake up and see a world of crisp white snow. You look at your alarm clock and notice it’s 10 a.m. That’s awfully peculiar, consider-­ing the fact that you were supposed to be in school two hours ago. You leave your bed, a bit confused but hopeful at the same time. Oh. It’s winter break. You are now left with a variety of activities to choose from.Winter break has many meanings. It could be to catch up on sleep, to get away from the insanity of school. It could be a time to spend with friends and family, a time to travel. No matter what people are doing, winter break seems to be a special time. What do Basalt High students do during the win-­ter break? When they were asked, a wide range

of activities were mentioned, from competitive sports to playing video games and everything in between. Based on the graph below, recreation appears to be the primary activity students are going to be doing. Most students seem to be active, with only 10 percent answering our informal survey saying they would stay home. Nobody is sledding over winter break because sledding lost its coolness factor as we reached the age of 5.

A few individuals were asked what they would be doing, including Henry Ferguson, an Aspen High School student. Ferguson said that he’ll be in South Africa “because it’s fun and I’m visiting a friend with cancer.”

He said that his friend is 20 and could possibly die in a year if she doesn’t get a lung transplant. A freshman in Basalt, Alex Siebert, is going to visit his father who lives in Texas. Alex’s dad moved to Texas three years ago and Alex has visited him ever since. Siebert likes visiting his dad because “we get to eat a lot and go to foot-­ball games.” Alex and his dad may not spend the most time together, but when they do, it seems to be quality. Morgan Ash plans to play basketball, but her season was temporarily interrupted when she got a concussion. Wrestler Thomas Wirth will be rehabbing his injured ankle. It is apparent that no matter where you are and

what you’re doing, you can feel the holiday spirit and spread it, whether it be visiting someone with cancer, visiting your dad, studying, being with friends, helping your team win games or staying home. All these activities feel slightly more special when it’s wintertime.

Freshman Alex Siebert Freshman Morgan Ash AHS Freshman Henry Furguson

What will BHS students be doing this winter break?By J.D. Glenn

BHS choirs ring in valley tree lighting eventsBy Will Orben

Winter is here and it’s around the time you’ll be seeing beautiful light arrangements strung up on trees and houses. This means it is also time for annual tree-­light-­ing ceremonies in the valley. The Basalt Tree Lighting, which occurred on Friday, Dec. 5, started off with the Basalt High School’s Concert and Chamber choirs singing holiday songs for a small crowd in Lions Park near the Wyly Community Art Center. The arrangement included Con-­cert Choir singing “Little Drum-­mer Boy” and “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” Then the choirs combined to sing the song “A La Nanita Nana” followed by a performance by Chamber Choir of “Carol of the Bells,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Winter Wonderland” and “The World for Christmas.” In between the two choirs Christian Gomez, a Basalt High student, performed a Christmas themed ballad on his guitar.Members from the choir said that their performance was OK — Chamber Choir member Oriah Clarke said, “I think we did good. Last year we sang under the tree which I liked but singing on the new stage was just as cool.” It was a nice and short performance that had a warm response from the crowd afterward.Before the concert, a fire truck drove up to the tree lighting

carrying Mr. and Mrs. Claus to greet the residents of Basalt and find out what the children wanted for Christmas. The event also featured free hot chocolate and treats provided by local businesses. Others enjoyed rides around the town in a horse-­drawn wagon before the tree was finally lit around 5:15 p.m. The Chamber Choir also made an appearance at the Aspen Sardy House on Dec. 7 to sing “Carol of the Bells” and “The World for Christmas.” It was performed on a small stage made from the front steps of the Sardy House. The sound system was hooked up to speakers which could be heard many blocks away, spreading the festive spirit across Aspen. The choir did a good enough job singing that an Aspen band asked the choir to sing along with its instrumentals.Ultimately, this year’s tree light-­ing and other festive events were an exciting success. See you next year!

By: Kara Williams

By: Kara Williams

By: Will Orben

Opinion

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Students need the option of listening to music to perform betterBy Atlanta Ellison

An ongoing debate: Life

or no lifeBy Oriah Clarke

Benjamin Koski

SNOW SPORTS

To many of us, skiing is

merely an ordinary win-­

ter activity. But people

of the Roaring Fork

Valley don’t usually take

into consideration just

how lucky they are.

To be able to live so

close to one of the most

highly acclaimed ski

resorts in the world is

something not many oth-­

ers can share, and is an

amazing opportunity to

participate in an endless

winter adventure on the

slopes.

An abundance of people

living in or around

Aspen were introduced

to skiing at a young age,

filling the valley with

countless expert skiers

and riders who have a

passion for hitting the

mountain.

From park to back-­

country, everyone has a

place where they belong.

Although on the outside

these athletes may just

seem like they are slid-­

ing down a mountain, in

reality, it’s much more

than that.

The feeling of gliding

down a glittering slope

is unlike any other;;

ecstasy, yet calm. Time

spent on the mountain

is time to get away from

all troubles and be at

complete ease, a feel-­

ing of being in complete

control.

No matter what kind of

problems one may have

in their lives, a wonder-­

ful, fun escape in the

Roaring Fork Valley is

to go for a ride on the

slopes.

— Andrew Olson

‘Ecstasy, yet calm’ on the mountain

Independence Pass;; Photo by: Maile Wood

Snowmass ski area;; Photo by: Andrew Olson

17%

33%

50%

Snowmass ski area;; Photo by: Andrew Olson

Snowmass ski area;; Photo by: William Orben

Snowmass ski area;; Photo by: William Orben

SPORTS

Photos by Maile Wood

Basalt High BasketballThe basketball season gets started with practice, drills and determinationBy Maile Wood and Maria Esquivel

Basalt High School WrestlingBasalt wrestlers finish first week 2-­3 in dualsContributed by Ryan Bradley

Photos by Ryan Bradley

SPORTS

Photo by Aline Sanchez

Photo by Jim Ryan

Elegant, rugged, unique: Polo By Oriah Clarke

Photo’s courtesy of Melissa Ganzi. Top photo: 2013 World Snow PoloBottom photo: Aspen Valley Polo Club

The Dream Act

White House Photo

Sudoku Answers

Basalt’s Alpine Bank Team

HEIGHTS

REACH

WITH

NEW

A hair-­raising fundraiser

Smalley: Before Smalley: After

Blaeser: Before Blaeser: After