The Flash: The Origin Story

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A N OR A L H I ST ORY OF T H E F I R ST 25 YEARS

Established in 1993, Rocklin High School will be celebrating 25 years of commitment, perseverance, hard work, and academic excellence this year. Therefore, we took it upon ourselves to present you with the stories of 25 people who have helped to create a safe and friendly atmosphere, contributed to the success of the school and made so much intellectual and academic growth possible. As our school grows, both in size and in heart, we look back at the people and circumstances that shaped us, as we continue to move forward. These people have dedicated years of their life to this campus, and so we dedicate this issue to them.

The Flash is a student media production of Rocklin High School. It is created under the policies published on the school website under the media. The advanced journalism class is responsible for all content and the Flash is a public forum. It is created for students, by students, about students. For inquiries contact the staff at RocklinHSFlash@rocklinusd.org.

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on ten ts

Creating a Community Close Knit Campus Generaions All Grown Up Positive Reaction Changing Dynamics The Face of Rocklin Mayor's Daughter Seeing Potential Devoted Dancer Lifelong Learning Pure Love A Proud Mother Who Do We Appreciate?

The Road Back Home Living Legacy

STAFF Naeirika Neev Maria Hudson

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Jimmy Murphy Alex Ragan

...4

Lacey Richardson

...5

Janae Schmidt

...5

Josue Sanchez Emma Conway Hayden Essley

...6

Anne Fey

...7

Kailyn J Beily

...8

Emily Hioco Julia Lynn Nik McClaughry

...9

Casey Miller

. . . 10

Taylor Olivas

. . . 11

Alexia Najera Jenna Reis Darian Skultety

. . . 12

Alex Verhaag

. . . 13

Miranda DaVoulas

. . . 14 . . . 15 . . . 15 . . . 17

Caitlin Caffery Max Diven Justin Angellar Nikki Bhatia Abbey Connell Grace Gaumer Audrey Mayer Advisor: Casey Nichols

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re ating a ommuni t y

Camille Maben: “My name is Camille Maben. I am a trustee on the Rocklin Unified School District Board of Trustees and I have had that job for about 28 years.”

Julia Lynn: “My name is Julia Lynn and I am a student at Rocklin High School, and I am interviewing Camille Maben about the history of the high school and the district and how it has evolved over time. Let’s start by defining what you do within the Board of Trustees.”

CM: ”So our job as a trustee is really to develop policies that govern the district. How it runs, what goes on, and help support the school--so everything from principals to teachers--to help do whatever we can to support them. We also represent, obviously, all the people who elect us to ensure that we have the best district possible for children who live in this community.”

JL: “What’s one thing that you do?

CM: “So looking back over the years, when I started on the board there were actually three schools in Rocklin. There was Parker Whitney, Rocklin Elementary, and Springview. So over the years the board has led facilities growth as the town of Rocklin expanded.

We put together a building program to be able to ensure that kids had schools to go to as the town expanded. The policies that decide what that building is going to look like, what's going to go on inside the building. Now we have 14 schools; elementary schools, a couple of comprehensive high schools, middle schools, [and] an alternative center. So we have over the years really expanded where we are. When I first started on the board, facilities was a big deal. Rocklin was really growing quickly and we were opening schools probably at the rate of every two to three years.

We moved from being a K-8 district to become a K-12 district, and then ultimately to build Rocklin High, our first comprehensive high school. We oversee and approve curriculum that will be involved in a textbook adoption things like that so what exactly is taught we have a hand in. We just run the gamut of everything that goes on in the school, and in some ways we touch at the very highest level to set the framework and we have an incredible staff from the district office that implement all of those things.”

JL: “So as a member of the community of Rocklin, how have you seen the school district impact the community as a whole?”

Camille Maben

Scan for the full interview here.

Camille Maben has been a trustee on the Board of Trustees within the Rocklin Unified School District for over 28 years. She helped orchestrate the opening of Rocklin High School and has overseen many other projects within the district.

CM: “Good question. I think one of the things that we have done is really been a force that has drawn people to move here. If you question people ‘Why did you move to Rocklin?’ hands down one of the first answers they say is the schools. People are obviously looking for good schools for their children to attend and we have provided that for the community in the way of programs that we offer, strong curriculum, [and] nice facilities. I mean, it's kind of the total package, and so I think we have worked with the community in order to provide that for them. If you look at new developments throughout the years, high scoring, high-achieving schools is one of the one of the things you'll hear.”

JL: “Have you personally had any kids go through the school district?”

CM: “Four. I've had four kids go through the school district. And I now have a grandchild in the district. Of the four, my oldest son was a part of the last class to go to high school somewhere else.

He had a choice between Del Oro or Roseville. He picked Del Oro. But the rest of them did K-12 here in the district.

JL: “How has having kids go through the school district impacted your view of what needs to be changed?”

CM: “Certainly. Their own experiences and your experiences as a parent influence what you bring to the board, [especially] if you have a child who maybe has a specific need or a specific interest.

I had kids who were athletes, kids that were in drama, you know.

I had kids who needed services from special education, so as a parent you kind of see all of that. What you have to do as a board member is remember that you're not there just for your children.

You have to remember that you're serving all kids, that your scope is wider. It's really important that we keep a wide lens, we have to make sure we're serving all kids.

JL: “What do you think are some of the school district's weaknesses?

Where do you think that they need to improve?”

CM: “I think we're always on the road for continuous improvement.

There's always room to improve and to think about ‘How are we serving children? How are we communicating?’ We always are looking for ways that we can communicate better with our families as far as how their kids are doing, what they're doing [and] how they can be involved in that. My day job involves young children, I

3 "Your proudest moments are every year at graduation when you see well-prepared kids walking across the stage off to, hopefully, conquer the world." work for First 5 California, so I focus a lot on zero to five. I focus a lot, for the district, on what are we doing before kids get to school so that they come ready for school. We've done phenomenal work with partnering with Sierra College, so when kids leave there are opportunities. At Rocklin High, as you probably know, you can now take college classes. The other is, again on a road to continuous improvement, how are we supporting our teachers so that they, not only have the instructional materials they need to do their job, but how do we ensure that they have the the most recent and best practices at their fingertips? We have really pretty schools, but some of them are 20 to 25 years old. So now it's time to kind of go in and update them. and and think of you know some things have changed we don't do desks anymore we do balls, places to sit and so how do we make sure that that that's all there for them and that we can afford it. Plus it is providing services for all kids, with all needs, and then on top of that how do you pay people a good wage that attracts them to come and work in Rocklin and keep them here.”

JL: “At what point did you realize that you wanted to be on the Board of Trustees?”

CM: “I don’t think I did. I actually got a call from someone who said to me, ‘I picked up papers for you today to run for school board.’

I remember saying to my husband, ‘I got the funniest call today.

Somebody thinks I should run for school board.’ I decided I'd give it a whirl and was fortunate enough to be elected. I think I did, I don't know, three terms, and then I decided ‘No, we should give somebody else a turn,’ so I took a couple years off. Then, people came and said, ‘We need you back.’ So, I ran again, and I think this is my seventh term.”

JL: “Why do you think the community of Rocklin wanted you as a part of their school board over anybody else?”

CM: “Hopefully, it's because they think I’m fair minded. Hopefully, they think I have, which I do, the best interest of children and students at heart. Hopefully, they think I'm knowledgeable and will try my best.”

JL: “What do you think has been the most rewarding moment of your career as a board member?”

CM: “I don't think you can pick one. Certainly seeing Rocklin High built and opened was huge. The schools really are a focus of our community. [With Rocklin,] we were willing to take a chance and willing to take a risk, and we learned some things from that.

But, I think your proudest moments are every year at graduation when you see well-prepared kids walking across the stage off to, hopefully, conquer the world.

Scan here for Kailyn J'Beily's inrview with Nancy Hayes.

c l o se knit c a m pus

Kailyn J'Beily: “You’ve been here since the beginning, so would you say there has been a common theme, throughout the whole 25 years?”

Nancy Hayes: “Common theme as far as what we stand for as a school?”

KJ: “Yeah. Or how you or the other teachers who started still feel about it?”

NH: “Yeah I think that there is, I, well it’s hard for me to say whether all the other teachers in the school, for me and I know from some of the others that I’ve talked to from those first years, it really was that first year staff and then as we brought more staff members on board those building years, like I’d say the first five years we were very bonded and we talked a lot about our vision and philosophy that drove us so that didn't change. I do have to say though that over the years as we’ve grown larger, and things have changed just in the educational environment because there is so much more to do, people are so much busier, kids are busier, teachers are too and it’s just there has been less time to really focus in on that philosophical part of what we do because we are just really busy being teachers. We work hard on curriculum and we work hard on different, um, you know there are different educational processes that come along and we put them into place. We try lots of things different all the time, the educational initiative that comes along. You know like common core? And some of the testing, and all of that. I think that has in some ways gotten in the way of being able to find time to really talk about the core of what we do which is really serving humans, you know serving kids. In those earlier years we spent a lot more time, and it was easier too because we had fewer kids. I mean we started out with 225 freshman, so. “ KJ: “Yeah, like a smaller family?”

NH: “Everybody knew all of them and we worked in teaching

teams. So we talked, would get together in groups of teachers that had common students. So it was much easier to maintain that small kind of community feel to it to the school. So that has changed just because of logistics.”

KJ: “What about, when you hear the word student, is there like a specific person or student who’s made an impact on your life as a teacher in the last 25 years?”

NH: “Oh my gosh… too many. Too many to really name specific names.”

KJ: “Well is there any that, like, stand out?”

NH: “I do remember several of the students from that first- my first advanced class, so the first class of students that I’ve had for four years, I’m still in contact with several of them. Couple of them live in the community, some of them are working in the arts, but their kind of out [there]- one’s in New York, one’s in San Francisco.

That's always the, a very special group. That first group that comes through. And there are others that I’ve had for four years that have really made an, I think J’Beily, you are gonna make an impact because I remember- when I see your face, I see little camper face.”

KJ: “Oh Yeah!”

NH: “It’s interesting because all my kids came through Rocklin schools so I remember when their friends who are now graduated from college, when their friends were in my classes, I saw their little kid faces, I saw the faces that I remember from coming to their birthday parties when they were 5, or whatever. So it's kind of similar when I think about you, and some of the other kids I’ve had known since they were little kids, they just make a lasting impression in your mind. To watch and to have the joy of watching them grow and turn into young adults. And then you can go off that so, yeah, those are the ones- there are so many…”

"The other kids I’ve known since they were little, they just make a lasting impression in your mind. "

gener ations

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Janae Schmidt: “So how does it feel going to the same school your mom went to?”

Scan here for Janae Schmidt's interview wih Eileen Anrobus.

Eileen Antrobus: “It’s pretty cool, you know, because she was the first year at Rocklin. It’s pretty weird seeing the same teachers around here that she knew growing up, but it's cool at the same time.”

JS: “What kind of things did she tell you about the school coming into your freshman year?”

EA: “She told me that if I did almost every sport, I wouldn't have to do PE. Then I got here and I guess it changed because I asked them about it and they said I couldn't do that.”

JS: “What was different when she went here?”

EA: “What she said was different was that there wasn't any older classes than her. They were the first year so there was only like 300 kids at the school, which is kind of weird to think about. She also told me that when we came here for freshman orientation, the school was like half the size when she came here [than it is now]. So the school looked really good from her perspective.”

JS: “What were the sports teams like when she went here? I know you said she does sports.”

EA: “Yeah. She was on like every team, and she said that they were not very good when they first started out, but they got better as the years went on.”

JS: “Do any of the teachers remember her? And do you have any of the same teachers she did?

EA: "Yeah. Mr. Muscarella always says ‘Hey, I always forget your name but I know you are Natalie's daughter, right?' She also had Mrs. Hayes, who was her art teacher when she was here, and now shes mine, so that's pretty cool.”

JS: “Okay thanks for talking to me and thanks for the interview!”

Scan for full interview with Josue Sanchez and Mrs. Sarah Gillette

Josue Sanchez: "How has your life changed since High School?"

Sarah Gillette: "Pretty drastically, I would say. I moved away from town. Went to college. Got a degree. Got my teaching credential.

I did come back to the Rocklin area. But I’ve gotten married, and I have a daughter. So, pretty different I would say."

JS: "How does it feel being an alumni and now teacher at Rocklin High School?"

SG: "At first it was pretty funny, pretty weird. Everybody thought it was strange. Being back here with my former teachers. Working with them. But after a while I got used to it, and I still usually don’t call them by their first name, which is kinda funny. But I was really proud to be a Rocklin High grad. I loved my experience here. And that’s why I wanted to come back. I mean it was always kind of my dream to teach at Rocklin and so being able to have that opportunity is pretty exciting. I loved it."

ALL GROWN U P

JS: "What is something you are proud of that you accomplished in high school?"

SG: "I worked really hard. I was a pretty good student. I wasn’t the one of the top AP, it didn’t come super easy for me, but it was really important for me to do well. So getting a 4.0 throughout my time at Rocklin High was something that I was always really proud of."

JS: "Can you tell me one of your most difficult moments in your life and in high school?"

SG: "It wasn’t in high school, it was actually in college for me when my parents split up, and got a divorce. So being kind of older, later in life, it was harder in some ways because, so many of your traditions that you had for a long time, all your life, has to change."

Scan here for Jimmy Murphy's interview with Paul Werner.

Jimmy Murphy: "How has preparing students for the real world changed over time at RHS?" Paul Werner: "When I first came to Rocklin High School, it was right at the height of STAR testing, and we were being measured and compared against all other schools based upon our scores and subject areas, so everything we did was trying to tailor our curriculum to make sure the students could perform as best they possibly could on these test. In retrospect, that is a horrible decision because in life, students don’t take tests everyday… But then over the last let's say five years it’s changed a lot because there’s been a real shift towards critical thinking, collaboration and communication; they call them the 21st century skills."

JM: "How has phone policy changed at RHS over the years?"

PW: "I have an opinion on phones that might differ from a lot of the campus. I feel like the phone is a tool, and that this is a training ground - we are training students for their professional lives, so in the classroom, if I take away that tool, I never teach them how to use the tool. If we’re in a professional learning environment, I want them to learn how to use the tool professionally. [school] is where mistakes need to happen - [students] can make these mistakes, but then I’m here to guide them and say ‘listen, you know what, maybe this isn’t the right time to [play on your phone].’ Then, when they start their job, if they’re used to checking their social media and their games every five minutes, and they get in their job, they’re going to want to do the same thing. But I would rather have them make the mistake here where I am understanding and can help them, than in the job where they’re going to get fired."

JM: "How has soccer changed?"

PW: "I coached other sports at Springview, and then when I got to Rocklin, the athletic director said ‘we want to start a freshman girls team,’ and Mr. Clarion said ‘I think we should do that, Mr. Werner would be pleased to coach with me…’ I was able to do that for about three years, we helped start the team, we got it going, it was

posi ti ve re action so much fun the girls are fantastic. The thing that I love about soccer at high school is that soccer in high school is really about school spirit. No college is coming to any high school game to watch, because it’s all club teams - they want to see you in the clubs. At the high school level it’s about fun, it’s about team spirit, it’s about school spirit, it’s about really making a good experience."

JM: "What did you think of Rocklin High while you taught at Springview?"

PW: "It’s interesting, because Springview is primarily a feeder for Whitney High School, so most of the people I had contact with were at Whitney High School, so I didn’t know very much about Rocklin.

At the time, when I was there, Mr. Flowers became the assistant principal there, and he came from Rocklin High School, so I had this new experience with Rocklin, and I was really impressed by some of what they were doing. The way that they were approaching education, and I really liked the essential skills and how they were emphasizing that."

JM: "What have you learned in your time at Rocklin, and what type of advice would you give to students?"

PW: "Honestly, you can continue learning your entire life. The idea of this continuous improvement, you can always learn, you can always improve, it’s just a matter of if you want to or not. I think it’s really hard right now because there is so much on a student’s plate.

The idea of taking all the classes, and being involved with clubs and activities, and being involved in sports, and you don’t get enough sleep, and sometimes it’s hard to eat right, and it’s such a stressful environment, and I feel awful. I feel like high school is so much more stressful than it was maybe ten years ago. I wish that wasn’t the case… Rocklin High School has been a little bit guilty of this; We’ve been so focused on college, for so long. There are students who are not going to college… How are we supporting them too? I feel like maybe they might have felt left out, because everything had to be UC A-G approved."

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ch anging dynamic s Anne Fey: “What do you think some of the best things are about Rocklin High School?”

Shawn Speiss: “Well I think for me and for the students, probably the power of our eightperiod class schedule. It’s pretty unique with other high schools in the area. Most high schools have either a traditional six-period class, or a four by four system, but having eight classes that you can tap into and stay in that class all year, I think that’s pretty cool. It’s rare, too. It gives the students more opportunity, especially for doing things like some of the elective-type courses, the non-graduation type essential courses. You can be in a lot more things and get a lot more experience doing a different set of things that you probably would never be able to do anywhere else. Anything, any type of co-curricular type class, or performance class. I mean, look at all the different electives that we have on campus. Think about how many courses that we offer that other schools don’t have, like the amount of AP's that we offer compared to others and it’s pretty amazing; we couldn’t do that without the eight period schedule. I love the eight period schedule. I never ever ever want to change it.”

AF: “What do you think some of the challenges are that Rocklin faces?”

SS: “As we continue to grow, we’re seeing numbers increase again, we’re always going to have space issues. Along with space issues on campus, we have the challenge of trying to keep students connected. The bigger things get, the harder it is to have a real sense of community on campus. So I think we have to work really hard and much harder at trying to keep students connected. That’s why I love what Mr. Thompson and all the ASB kids do with trying to get everybody involved in something from day one of each school year. I think it’s crucial. Maybe some other challenges is just keeping the vision of Rocklin High and the core values of who we are, as we get further away from that first year and we go through another 10, 20, 30 years

at Rocklin High School, just to keep that vision of what the school was founded on, its core principles, I think that’s always going to be a growing challenge, annually and throughout the years.”

AF: “What is that vision?”

SS: “Well, that’s a good question! I see Rocklin High School, if you were to look at our vision statement, I mean you could really get a sense word-for-word, but if we just ask every student, ‘What is the vision of Rocklin High School?” I think you’d get a different answer. I think the vision of our school has to come down from the top of our leadership and just expanded all the way down into each student, each faculty-member, each family connected to this community. I’m skirting the question a little bit because I really feel like we need to examine that and define it again. Maybe that’s something that we all can do, because it’s crucial at this time period.”

AF: “Do you have any ideas for what you would want as part of the vision?”

SS: “I think that strong relational connection for each student to be able to say, ‘Yeah, we really believe that every student on campus can be connected, but also can grow, can learn, at high levels.' I think that’s something that has always been part of the vision. We have this system here that’s a little different than most, not having D’s and F’s, this system of having incompletes and essential skills; I think that really pushes students to expand their knowledge base, to grow as individuals, to grow in their educational career. I know that’s always going to be part of the vision, definitely part of the vision that I want to see continue, and I think it’s also something that’s going to have to be continually looked at and revamped and still being flexible enough to say, ‘Hey, maybe we need to modify things,’ but not getting rid of some of the core principles of our school.”

Shawn Speiss Mr. Shawn Spiess has taught at Rocklin High School for a total of nine years. He and his wife, former RHS teacher Mrs. Maryann Spiess, first became involved in Rocklin High School in 1998. The Spiess family then left in 2004, but they returned in 2013, and now, Spiess directs four choral ensembles and teaches piano lab and technical theater. This spring, Rocklin Unified School District recognized Spiess as Secondary Teacher of the Year.

Scan here for Anne Fey's interview with Shawn Spiess.

the face of ro ck lin Emma Conway: “Tell me about the first day, and all of the students coming in.”

John Thompson: “It was different. They were all excited. We had done some work of the summer and I was also coaching football, so I knew a good amount of the students, because we had about 60 of them on the football team, plus seeing cheerleaders on campus. The campus wasn’t done yet. There was no grass. All the grass you see on campus were dirt areas still under development.

Lots of the buildings weren’t there. What we hadn’t anticipated was there was a culture that developed with that first class, the class of ‘97. Most freshman, when they come onto campus, are humbled a little bit because they are at the bottom of the food chain.

Well when these guys came in, there was nobody to kind of check them. It was a good class but also kind of a rough class. Having nobody to keep them in check, being a younger teacher, we took on that role of helping them take ownership of the school.”

EC: “So obviously, lots of students have come and gone. How do you think students remember you and how do you want them to remember you?”

JT: “Well that’s a double-edged sword with me, because I have students that I interacted with in the classroom, because I taught math for 15 years. I have students that I interacted with in my leadership program. Then I have students that kind of know of me just because I have a little bit of a public persona on the campus. I would hope and want that students know that I cared.”

"I want every kid to come [to] whatever place it is that they feel comfortable and accepted."

EC: “What were some of your greatest hopes going into opening Rocklin High School?”

JT: “To be honest, it was a little terrifying because we were doing something so risky with our grading policy. There were several meetings with community members to explain what we were doing.

“What do you mean there are no D’s and F’s?” and “What are essential skills?” Although we were very confident and it was the best thing to do, it was also very scary trying to do it right so there was a tremendous amount of pressure to do it right. We not only had to do the curricular aspect, we had the activities point of view.

We had to set traditions, and set what was right to do and what was not right.”

John Thompson Scan for Emma Conway's interview with John Thompson.

Mr. John Thompson started working at Rocklin High School the year it opened and has been an energetic and positive presence on campus ever since. Now the fulltime activities director, he spends his time making sure all students at Rocklin High School have opportunities for extra curricular connections.

EC: “If you could snap your fingers and make any change to Rocklin High School, what would it be?"

JT: “Physically, we need a bigger gym. End of story.

I am so frustrated with our undersized gym it is not even funny. Culturally, and this is something I believe worldwide, if I could snap my fingers and wave my magic wand, I would change one thing and I think it would be a gamechanger for the world as a whole and that would to just teach people tolerance. If I could get everyone to just let everybody be themselves, the world would change dramatically. If it is not hurting you, why not let someone be them?”

EC: “What are your hopes for all your students?”

JT: “The thing that breaks my heart is seeing a kid come to campus with no place to be and seeing someone sitting alone in the cafeteria. I want every kid to come [to] whatever place it is that they feel comfortable and accepted. They’re not all gonna be valedictorian. As long as they find a place to find comfort and not feel persecuted, that would be my hope.”

Scan for Casey Miller's interview with Kayleigh.

M AYOR'S DAUGH T E R Casey Miller: “This is Casey Miller here with Kayleigh Broadway.

Kayleigh Broadway is the daughter of the mayor of Rocklin. Hi Kayleigh.”

Kayleigh Broadway: “Hi.” CM: “What’s it like to be the daughter of the mayor of Rocklin. Does it impact your everyday life?”

KB: “So, he always talks about like the new things happening in Rocklin, and he talks about Quarry Park at dinner, and whenever they’re developing something new he likes to take us on drives there. He shows us what they’re gonna do and it’s pretty exciting.”

CM: “When was a time he took you on a drive?”

Kayleigh Broadway Kayleigh Broadway is the daughter of the current mayor of Rocklin, Ken Broadway.

Her and her family are strongly rooted in the community through her own role in community theater and her father's role in local govenrment.

KB: “Um, normally after church or something on Sundays he’ll be like, oh, by the way, we’re gonna pass by this place, let’s just take a turn really quick.”

CM: “That’s cool. How long has he been mayor for?”

KB: “He’s only been mayor for about a month now, he just got appointed.”

CM: “And what was he before he was mayor?”

KB: “He was vice mayor.”

CM: “Well, congratulations for your dad on being mayor. Do you have any input on what your dad does as his mayor decisions?”

KB: “Well sometimes I joke with my dad like oh, you should put a Dutch Bros or something, but normally they don’t go through with it. But right now they’re developing by Quarry Park downtown Rocklin, and I did have and idea for an ice cream place to be put in and he is looking into that. So that is

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one thing I had input in.”

CM: “So you said he was vice mayor and now he’s mayor what’s the process?”

KB: “So, first you have to run for city council and there are five people who get elected by the city of Rocklin.

People vote and get elected. It’s a four year term and each person who gets appointed can get to serve vice mayor, at least once. So you get appointed by the city council if they want you to be mayor. So my dad got appointed for vice mayor last year, and then this year he got appointed for mayor. And then he appointed Joe Patterson for vice mayor.”

CM: “Do you know how long his term can be for mayor?”

KB: “Um, that’s a good question. I think it’s only one year.”

CM: “And then he can run again?”

KB: “Ya, he can run for city council and every time he runs for city council he can be mayor again.”

CM: “Cool. Do you and your dad often get recognized in the streets as the mayor of Rocklin or is it more of and on the down low no face job?”

KB: “Um, sometimes people recognize me like if they hear the last name Broadway they’ll, like, at the beginning of the year I had a teacher who was like 'oh, is your dad the vice mayor?' So, I’ve been recognized only like once. But my dad, a lot of people come up to him or something. When we’re in Starbucks a lot too people come up and they say oh, are you on the city council, or are you the mayor?

And then we sit in Starbucks for hours as he talks to these people.”

seeing poten ti a l

Lacey Richardson: "What did you do before you came to RHS?"

Scott Sheir: "I taught in Auburn at Placer High School, and before that I taught in Southern California in East L.A." LR: "Did you go to any colleges to prepare for this?"

SS: "I went to University of Laverne and I did all my undergrad stuff, and I played sports there, and when I graduated I went to Cal State L.A., which is now University of Los Angeles. I also did a little bit of work at Cal Poly."

LR: "Did you always think that this was going to be your pathway?"

SS: "I originally was going to be a doctor or surgeon, and I started working with orthopedics. But halfway through college I started working with a wheelchair basketball team, and it was an incredible bunch of people so I decided I wanted to be on the other end working with people before they get to the surgery and working with people that have needs then, and that's why I became an orthopedic specialist."

LR: "Since you’ve been here, how has the special education program changed?"

SS: "When I first began, there were only two special ed teachers, an RSP and an STC and that was it. Now we have 10. And we have five different programs."

LR: "Could you give us a breakdown of the different programs?"

SS: "Yes, we have the resource, which works with students that need just a little bit of help, getting over small learning disabilities, and working on orginaziation skills. From that we have the STC program, which works with students who need more than 50 percent of their time being helped with things like reading, writing, etc. From there we have the ILS, which is Independent Living Skills. These are students who probably won’t graduate with anything more than a certificate of completion, so they learn how to take care of themselves, they learn how to cook, they learn how to shop,

and things like that. From there we have the FSP, which is the Functional Behavioral, in which they learn how to brush their teeth, wash themselves, take care of themselves, and how to interact with people properly. We have the Autistic program, which now we work with severly autistic kids in which we teach them how to control their behaviors, and how to become better in society. The last one is the severly medically disabled. We have a program where we have a full time nurse in there, and they have feeding tubes, and some of them have oxygen that they sometimes need to be on, and just helping them learn to the best of their ability."

LR: "What do you enjoy most about this job, and what do you find the most rewarding about this job?"

SS: "What I enjoy most about this job is just helping students realize that they are capable, I mean a lot of these people, they go through life being told that they have a disability and they can’t, and just helping them learn how to overachieve their disability. Helping them realize there is so much more potential than just paper and pencil activities. My most rewarding moment is when students come back and try to hire me for their businesses. I have had that happen several times. I have got three different students that have million dollar businesses, and they want to hire me to work for them."

LR: "Do you have any pasttimes or jobs you do on the side, or is this your main focus?"

SS: "This is my main focus while I’m at work.

Pasttime activities, I like building cars, I work on old vehicles."

LR: "What is the biggest struggle that you have to face throughout your job?"

SS: "The biggest struggle is people that tell you from upper levels that you don’t need certain things for students to help them achieve, and that their more worried about how much money it’s going to cost and not the achievement of the student. So, we keep getting things cut, cut, cut from what we are doing with the students.

And their impact is how much money can they save and their not looking at the whole student."

Scan for Abbey Connell and Lacey Richardson's interview with Scott Sheir.

Scott Sheir Scott Sheir is the department chair of the special education program at Rocklin High School. He has been here since the beginning, watching the program grow from one to ten teachers over the years. He takes pride in helping students realize their full potential.

It's clear to see the love he has for his work. It shines throuhg in his commitment and understanding within the program.

Scan for Abbey Connell and Lacey Richardson's interview with Sarah Blankenship.

D evoted Dancer

Abbey Connell: "Can you tell us a little bit about your journey before teaching at Rocklin High School? In reference to your own high school, college, etc."

Sarah Blankenship: “So I grew up in Yuba City, California, I was a Yuba City Honker, I was very proud, I was actually in the graduating class with Mr. Pappas. So, dance was always in the picture, when I look back at my childhood and my life, I always think of dance. I started dancing when I was three, started solo dances when I was five, but if we are talking mainly about high school, I was on the cheerleading team, and after school every night I would have dance. It was just my whole life, and moving forward, I knew I wanted to be a dance major, in college. I was also teaching dance at the local dance studio while I was in highschool. So in college, I became a dance major at Sac State, I had read in a Spirit magazine that Sac State was in the top 25 for colleges with dance programs, so I knew I wanted to go there, and I actually met Mrs. Huber there, because she was a dance major too! I went there, I made the dance team, and I taught dance at Hawkins School of Performing Arts, which was a dance studio in Folsom, and then I moved on to teaching dance for the United Spirit Association, so all of their summer camps, and their special events.

Also, I choreographed for the Bella Vista High School dance team, and taught their zero period technique class, so overall, just a lot of dance.”

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I knew I wanted to be just like them.”

AC: "What do you love about your job, specifically for working here at Rocklin High School?"

SB: “Oh my gosh, I would say I love about 98 percent of my job.

I’m so lucky, because for teaching dance, I get to teach students that have specifically chosen to do dance, so it’s not like they are forced to be taking it, I don’t think they are dreading it, they come in early, and even right now at plus, the dance room is filled with students, choosing to practice, they really enjoy it. So I get to be around students that are eager to learn, they want to grow through the program, so my favorite thing that I love, is getting to be able to be around students that truly want to learn how to dance, and it brings me so much joy.”

AC: "On the flipside of that, what is the biggest struggle throughout your job, if there is any?”

SB: “So for dance specifically, my hardest thing comes when we have auditions, and honestly that is the only reason I could never be a coach, I just hate making cuts, it makes me uncomfortable, it gives me anxiety, and just nervous. I wish that it was set up so that when you made Dance 1, you could just move through the program, but unfortunately our program is impacted, which is awesome for us to see all of the interest, but that is where we have to make cuts.”

AC: "What is the very first memory that sparked your passion for dance?"

AC: "When did you teaching here, and how has it changed since you first started teaching here?"

SB: “Well, I did my first solo when I was five, it was to the song “Lollipop” by Goodship, and I got to hold this huge pink sparkly lollipop, and that lollipop is actually in my daughter's nursery now...

But when I was nice, I really always looked up to the big kids, the high school dancers that were on Star Search, just so awesome, like local celebrities, and so I always wanted to be like them. And when I was nine, my dance teacher told my mom that she wanted to put me in the advanced dance class with the high school girls, and it was the most exciting invitation, like your dance teacher wants to move you up, and I was very short and small for a nine year old, so I was uncomfortable and it definitely put me out of my comfort zone, because they probably didn’t want a little nine year old in their class. It was very intimidating for me, but I think I grew from that experience, and that’s when my passion was sparked, because

SB: “So I started working here fall of 2000, so this is my 18th year working here. I think that the program has grown in popularity each year, so we are seeing more and more students interested each year, and I think that is also because the freshman classes are also getting bigger each year. One big change that we made in recent years was that Mrs. Huber and I both have our own dance shows, so I have my three classes in my show, and then she has hers. It’s cool because that gives our students the opportunity to watch each other and learn from each other more. An overall change is that we just have so many students wanting to be introduced to the program, and that is why next year we will be offering more Dance 1 classes next year.”

life long le a rning Audrey Mayer: "So, you went to the district after my freshman year. What did you do for the district and why did you ultimately decide to leave [RHS]?"

RO: "No, so the opportunity came up here at Rocklin High, which was really interesting, because even though I left Rocklin High I’m still so connected with it. My daughter is the same year as you, she’s a senior, and she’s grown up here since she was one. She’s been Ryan O’Donnell: "I have been working with teachers on my own going to football games and been part of this entire world. And so and trying to connect with teachers, like Mr. Havalin at Sunset when you spend 14 years at a place, your coworkers become your Ranch. I started to interact with him and I was like “Wow, this friends, and I live in the community. I moved to Rocklin knowing 5th grade teacher here is doing amazing things.” Then I would nobody and so ultimately this became my life, the life that I live here. meet with a teacher at Granite Oaks and it was like meeting My life began here, so I’ve been connected to Rocklin High. Then with different, little committees and I go to thinking that we need the broadcasting teacher here left, and there was an opening. Mr. something more . . . a job, a position. I had been advocating and Stewart and I had been talking and he said 'Hey, you love doing saying we need somebody to be able to help out teachers with video stuff and you would do it in your social studies classes and tech and also what we call professional development, which means you would do different things.' I love the Faculty Follies, it’s one of teachers need to also learn. In education primarily the only days my favorite parts of Rocklin High School. And I would love to make that teachers are given new things these little SNL shorts and videos. is when we come back to school in Scan for Audrey Mayer's interview with He said 'Would you be interested August. They’re given a day before the Ryan O'Donnell. in coming back and taking over the kids come back and we teach them video class and change it up a little something, and there’s a lot of us in the bit, make it exciting and fun and community outside of Rocklin saying something the kids want to be apart that it needs to be more ongoing, we of?' But the other part of me said 'I need to help teachers be learners on really love this work with teachers their own. I wanted to do more of that, and the impact there.' So I had a lot and so I kind of helped push and said of brainstorming with my wife and 'Can we create a job for this thing?' then ultimately wanted to pitch the So the situation worked out and they idea of 'Can I do both?' I went to our thought that could maybe happen. So, superintendent, Mr. Stock, and he’s a they created what’s called a TOSA. really welcoming guy. He was the first There were a couple of other TOSA’s person I went to and I said 'Hey, Mr. the year before me as well, and Stock, can I have a conversation with TOSA stands for Teacher on Special you? Do you think I could do both?'

Assignment, which is technically a He was super supportive. I thought I temporary job that was supposed to really want to be there for [my kids] be around three to five years. The first and I’m lucky enough to have kids TOSA’s that they hired were used to help out with the changes in the who want me around. I often see students in my day to day life who math curriculum and then in the language arts curriculum. Then they get frustrated with their parents, and my kids like having me around. hired me because of the big shift that we were doing was moving to It felt a little bit like “'Wow, we don’t want to have this experience Schoology and then also breaking up with our email system, the old without you because we had seen it for the past 15 years of your email address. Not necessarily the address but breaking up with the experience at Rocklin that we wanted to be apart of.' I felt a little program the teachers used called Outlook and moving to Gmail. guilty for leaving for personal reasons and so all of those forces And so my job was being able to help out the entire district in terms said come back to Rocklin. Like the superintendent said 'put family of preparing them and helping them along the way, so that’s what first and we can see if you can do both,' and so this year has been I’ve doing doing for those two years." another experiment. There’s highs and lows, successes and failures, I actually had a meeting with Mr. Stewart recently about how I can AM: "And then you came back, I don’t remember-" even change that again next year. Because I [still want to do both].

It’s tough, it’s hard but I think we’re going to try the same thing next RO: "This year." year with a few tweaks.

AM: "This year you came back and you’re just teaching?"

"We need to help teachers with professional development . . . teachers need to also learn"

Scan for Nikki Bhatia's interview with Dave Chavez.

Pure L ove

Nikki Bhatia: “My name is Nikki Bhatia, I am 16 years old, and today is December 8th, 2017, and I am speaking with Mr. Dave Chavez, who is Rocklin High School’s lead custodian. We are recording this interview in Rocklin, California. What is your first memory of Rocklin High School, or your first impression even?”

Dave Chavez: “Oh, I was excited. When I first got the information that this was going to be my site, I was very excited.

NB: “How did you find out?”

DC: “My supervisor that hired me told me.”

NB: “What brought you to Rocklin High School?”

DC: “I answered an ad in the newspaper, in the classifieds, and I was reading it, and I said, ‘Well, I can do that!’ so I applied for Lead Custodian at Rocklin High School.”

NB: “Were you already living in the area?”

DC: “I was living in Roseville, I live in Roseville.”

NB: “How long have you lived in Roseville?”

DC: “25 years plus, so, I’ve been around. I saw when this school was being built, it opened in ‘93.”

NB: “So, in your opinion, what are the best things about Rocklin High?”

DC: “The best things about Rocklin High school to me are the students, because they want to learn. They want to learn, and the teachers are second, and administration is third. They all work together to get the one common goal, which is teach our children, and keep ‘em safe and clean.”

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that’s my best day. All of them, because for me, that I have rule of the campus, I run into something every day, good, nothing bad ever.”

NB: “Really, well I was going to ask if you had any negative experiences, or any negative times, or any negative things that you’ve encountered during your time at Rocklin?”

DC: "The only negative, and I don’t know if you can call it negative, is when our students pass away. That is about the biggest drama that I find. I ask why and how, because they’re here to learn, you know, and they haven’t had a chance. That’s about it.”

NB: “How has this job impacted you in your eleven years of working here?”

DC: “It has helped me grow in a relationship with people, how to treat people, and how to treat students. I went through a bout of cancer, and now, when I look at students, I see, if they only knew how fragile they really are, you know, they’re very special.”

NB: “Did you go through that period while working here?”

DC: “Oh yes, I was out for five to six months with cancer . . . radiation and chemo.”

NB: “Oh wow, that’s really amazing that you came back, and you’re still here, you’re still working! That’s really great. Do you have anything else you want to say about working here, about working here in the future.”

DC: “Oh, I love the environment.”

DC: “Well, as far as working here in the future, my retirement day is coming up in about three years, then I’ll make a decision. I’ll be sixty-five, then I’ll make a decision if I want to go further than that, which by the way it looks, I mean, everything is promising to me here at Rocklin High School. The district, the maintenance of operations, the district office, the whole thing that makes Rocklin High School, and every other school on the unified school district, there’s a place for me somewhere.”

NB: “How has Rocklin High changed since you’ve been working here?”

NB: “What were your work experiences before, or where did you work before coming to Rocklin?”

DC: “The only thing that has changed would be different employees, that’s about it. As far as what Rocklin’s about, Rocklin has a high standard, and it will always have that, I hope.”

DC: “I have always been in food and beverage. I have been managing management in restaurants and bars and hotels, so that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing, so I’ve been around people pretty much my whole life.”

NB: “So you’ve found it’s a good environment at this school?”

NB: “So you’ve been working for eleven years, so I don’t know if you can pinpoint a specific day that was your best day at work, but maybe best year, or best time period of working here?”

DC: “Wow that’s hard, because every day is a new day, there’s always something at Rocklin High School. I mean I can’t say . . .

I could say that my best day was if you add up 365 times ten,

NB: “Which one would you say is your favorite of all the jobs you’ve worked, or where you had the most fun?”

DC: “The position I hold at Rocklin High School, Lead Custodian of Facilities.”

A Proud Mother Naeirika Neev: "I am Naeirika Neev and this is Maria Hudson and we are interviewing Mrs. Marna Pruett. So first question, what were some of your past jobs and how did you end up here?"

Marna Pruett: "I was a student teacher in the district for twenty years and then...I always wanted to work at RHS so uh, when the attendance clerk position opened up I applied for it. And I got it!"

NN: "Why did you always want to work here?"

MP: "Just the culture of the school. My children went to school here, but just the staff in general is awesome, so yeah, that’s why I wanted to work here.

NN: "What was your first memory of Rocklin High School?"

MP: "Just how friendly and warm and caring the staff was!"

NN: "So what was your first impression of Rocklin High?"

MP: "Oh, great! Caring, supportive, um, put kids first."

Maria Hudson: "So it’s been consistently like that then for the whole time that you’ve been here?"

MP: "Pretty much. Pretty much the same!"

NN: "What would you say is the best thing about Rocklin High School?"

MP: "The idea that all kids can learn and they will support kids at all times, you know."

NN: "What are some of the changes you’ve seen over time?"

MP: "Oh. it’s just because it’s bigger so there is less opportunity for staff to be together during the school day so they are often in their rooms and kids have more and more opportunities for clubs, sports."

MP: "Our oldest son was in the first graduating class. So we spanned a period of about, oh, a bazillion (16) years."

MH: "So how many kids do you have?"

MP: "Four sons."

NN: "And did they all go here?"

MP: "Yes, and three were ASB president, and one was the senior class president. And one of my daughters-in-law was ASB president, too."

NN: "What was it like having all of your kids here?"

MP: "Oh, it was good! It was a supportive community and a supportive school, we had good teachers and a demanding program...it prepared them well for college."

MH: "So they had a good high school experience."

MP: "Excellent. Yeah totally, and when they got to Cal Poly they said it was easy compared to Rocklin High because of the rigor of the classes so they were well-prepared. So that was good."

NN: "Were you working here at the time that they were going here?"

MP: "No, no when they first started I didn’t so it ended up being a few years after they had been attending. I worked for an executive recruiter and you know, transitioned from that into this."

MH: "Which is cool I guess because then you got to see your kids go through like, the school and see what the school was like so that you would know for sure that you wanted them to come here."

MP: "Yeah, I wasn’t even working outside the home when they started high school so, I mean the oldest."

NN: "What are some of the best events or best memories you have witnessed in the school?"

NN: "So how has you near lifelong commitment to the school changed your family’s experience?"

MP: "Well everything is inclusive, so like the dance program that includes kids of all ages and all abilities and the graduations are awesome because they feel so personal so graduations are really outstanding."

MP: "Well we’re just totally involved in the school and my husband still does football games and keeps the clock at the basketball games and we’re still participating. We’ve become friends with a lot of the staff and you know, we’ve seen so many students graduate and stayed in touch with them and it’s kept us busy and totally involved still in school activities."

NN: "What are some of the changes you hope to see?"

MP: "Oh just more teachers, more support for staff and therefore more support for students."

NN: "Proud moments from Rocklin High?"

MH: "Is there anything else you’d like to say? Just about the school, orMP: "I bleed silver and blue."

MP: "Oh. when my children went here and when they graduated."

NN: "So were they one of the first graduating classes?"

Scan for Naeirika Neev and Maria Hudson's interview with Marna Pruett.

Scan for Miranda DaVoulas's interview with Mariah Wayne.

WHO D O W E A PPR ECI AT E? 15 Miranda DaVoulas: "How are you involved in the Rocklin community?"

Mariah Wayne: "Since I was a kid I’ve been cheering for Rocklin, I did rjt and I’ve just grown up going to all of the games and events in the community. Now I cheer for the high school football and basketball teams and do stunt."

MD: "How did doing RJT give you a different perspective on Rocklin?"

MW: "It just really gave me more opportunities to get involved.

We do a lot of rjt activities at the high school too and had all our games at RHS so I constantly saw the campus and what was going on which made me wanna participate in lots of the things going on in Rocklin. It also made me look up to the high school students a lot."

MD: "What have you seen change about Rocklin over the years?"

MW: "I’ve definitely noticed that more people are showing up to the sporting events but in the past I think there was more excitement around the teams. I remember the football teams going to state and I just remember it being so exciting for the entire community.

Rocklin’s definitely still very spiritive when it comes to games and events and stuff though."

MD: "What was your favorite part of doing Rjt?" MW: "I really would like just attending the games and being out there on the sidelines. It’s so much fun especially when there were bigger crowds and the games were later at night. Just cheering in the stadium was always fun for me."

MD: "How is Rocklin special to you?"

MW: "I’ve been involved with sports at Rocklin since I can remember. I’ve never known anything else and to me it’s just such a special place because the whole community is involved and it’s been a big part of my life for so many years."

MD: "Would you recommend kids do rjt like you did?"

MW: "Absolutely. I met so many people and it’s such a great program. It really has had a lasting impact on who I am and the girls who cheered for Rjt when I was young are now graduated from college and I still am able to keep in touch. There’s so many really cool things about being involved with rjt and I think it’s great for anyone to be a part of."

the road back home

Alex Verhaag: “Why did you leave Rocklin High?”

Rebecca Redding: “I originally left because my boyfriend, later husband, was having a hard time getting a job in the area. The California fishing game had a hiring freeze, and he worked in fisheries. So he found a job in Oregon, so that's where we went.”

AV: “Did you stay in Oregon the whole time?”

RR: “We stayed in Oregon for a year and taught at Lebanon High School. Then, he got a really great job in Idaho at a fish hatchery, so we moved there and we lived at a fish hatchery. We stayed there for four years, and I worked at a charter school for kids that wanted to go into healthcare. Out of the eight teachers that worked there, I was, initially, the only science teacher there, so I basically created that whole department, buying equipment. It was really stressful but amazing experience, and it kicked my rear for sure.

It taught me so much and I came out of it very well prepared. In 2006, we had our first daughter, and thought we should move back to California to be closer to family. I was able to get a job at El Camino High School. I worked there for a semester and while I didn't love it, my supervising assistant principal is the main reason why I got the job at Forest Hill High School. I worked at Forest Hill for ten years, and I loved it there, loved the kids there, loved the teachers there, loved living in Forest Hill, but I could see that the opportunities for my own daughters would be limited. Living there has been great in the absence of my husband (after he passed away), because the community was so supportive and has been

Scan for Alex Verhaag's full interview with Rebecca Redding here.

such a safety net for me. But my girls are at the age now where they are quite self sufficient and had been asking to return to Rocklin High School for two years, which was a huge compliment.

It was really hard to say 'no,' but I was really enjoying what I was doing in Forest Hill so I said 'no' for two years in a row. Then, last year I got to the point where I thought my work load was too big, I was coaching two sports and I started to spend less time with my kids, so I decided to see what the science department's needs were and was fortunate enough to be hired and returned this year.”

AV: “Did you prefer your experience in Forest hill with the large work load, or do you prefer to be able to spend more time with your daughters?”

RR: “Making this decision was definitely one of the hardest decisions in my life because we loved so much where we lived.

I like a rural town to raise my children in. I grew up in that kind of town and I think that it is good for you on many levels, but professionally I was getting worn thin. However, the staff that I worked with at Forest Hill was phenomenal, the teachers there are so good. I was able to be an instructional coach for my district where I visited all of the schools in my district for two years and was coaching teachers. After seeing all the schools like Del Oro, Placer and Colfax etc, it became really clear to me after those two years, how good the staff is at Forest Hill. So RHS was my first teaching job 20 years ago and I taught here for five years, and for that 15 year absence I taught in Oregon [and] Idaho and had been back in California, but had just returned this year.”

Scan for Nik McClaughry's interview with Mike Garrison.

C

ompa ssionate ommisioner

Nik McClaughry: “Which was your favorite job out of all the positions that you have held?”

Mike Garrison: “That's a tough one. I don't know, I enjoyed the six years I had as Principal of Rocklin High.

I also enjoyed being the Athletic Director, just as I enjoy my current job. I don't think I could choose just one to be my favorite, since I loved every job. Being principal of the high school might edge out the others.“

MG: “Now? Or when I was at the high school?”

NM: “Both?”

NM: “You have a family? Daughters? Sons?”

MG: “Well now my kids are all gone and grown up.

I spend a lot of time at work, but when I was at the high school, it was nice how my kids were all a part of the community as middle schoolers and elementary schoolers. When I was at a football game on a Friday night, my kids would be there with me, too. So that was a cool part of it. It made it easier.“

MG: “I have a son and a daughter, both who have graduated from Rocklin High.”

NM: “What are some of your favorite memories at Rocklin High School?”

NM: “How awesome is it to see your family and Rocklin High grow at the same time?”

MG: “Its great. You know I haven't been around the high school, it's been about seven years, so it's been a while, but [it's great] to see how the school has grown since it has gotten older.“

MG: “When I was a coach for the basketball team while I was also a P.E. teacher, we made it to our first section championship for the first time, and the basketball team did in front of the school at a rally, a Vanilla Ice rap. But there was also some difficult times as well. The day I told the staff I was leaving was memorable, because that was a difficult thing to do.“

NM: “Do you consider Rocklin High a second family to yourself?”

NM: “What is a positive way that Rocklin High School impacted your family?”

MG: “Absolutely. It's where I grew up as an educator and as a family. It's a family atmosphere at the school, you know. I kind of grew up there with everybody, I got to Rocklin in '94 which is the second year of the high school, so it was only my seventh year of teaching, so I was a relatively young teacher. “

MG: “Well it was our life for a long time, my son was running around the school at five years old, going through all the camps and stuff, so it was something that they looked forwarded to, and when they finally got there it was like we became fabricated to the community.“

NM: “How have you balanced your extracurricular activities?”

It's a family atmosphere at the school.

Mike Garrison

Mr. Mike Garrison is the Section commissioner for the CIF Sac Joaquin Section. Before he became commissioner he played an active role in Rocklins community as the athletic director, teacher and principal of Rocklin High. As Commissioner of the section, he works on student eligibility, transfer rules, community relations, and Sanctions.

li ving leg ac y

Darian Skultety: “How many family members do you have with ties to the Rocklin School District?”

Tanner Gomes: “My mom is a teacher, my grandpa was a teacher, and my grandma also works at the school, so three, and a brother and sister, so five.”

DS: “How did you first get involved with Rocklin High School.”

TG: ”My earliest memories are probably coming out to the sports games, football and basketball games at a really young age.”

Darian

DS: “When was your first involvement in RHS?” TG: “My first involvement with RHS activities was playing

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football at seven years old and coming out to the Little Thunder camps, at a really young age, probably five...six, and also playing other sports linked to the high school.”

DS: “How is it growing up with family spread throughout Rocklin High?”

Scan for Darian TG: “It's pretty good and helpful because I got to know a Skultey's lot of the teachers and people I know throughout the years, interview with Tanner Gomes so I feel comfortable here, it's like my home.” here.

DS: “Is there any more pressure having family at Rocklin High School?”

TG: ”I don’t think there is any added pressure, cause there's already a lot of pressure for everybody, and I think it's pretty easy cause I know a lot of the teachers already.”

the wa shington of ro ck lin

Hayden Essley: To this day, are there any memories that you have from the high school?

Phil Spears: “Well, the first memory I have of the school was when I first got the job. In 1992, I was the principal of a high school up north and me and my family wanted to move south to where there wasn’t any snow, and I had gone to Sierra College in the 60s and figured that Rocklin was a good place to bring my family down, so we moved. After we had moved, I started looking for jobs and in the paper I had seen that there was a new high school that was being built and that needed a principal. So I called up the district office and told a woman named Marsha to write my name down and about a week later I had the job. My first order of business was to go to Springview and start to get to know the first incoming freshmen as well as meet with them and figure out the school’s mascot and whatnot. So when I got to Springview I hid an envelope underneath the stage containing what the mascot and school colors were and I kept dropping hints and clues about where it was and whoever found it got a special prize, I can't remember what it was,

Scan for Hayden Essley's interview with Phil Spears.

but a kid found it and it was this whole big deal so whenever I see the colors and the mascot here I just think of that original class.

During that summer I also got to pick the first set of teachers who some of which are also still here today, and we spent a good six weeks discussing on what we’re gonna teach, how we’re going to grade the kids, and how we will make learning the number one focus here at our school.”

HE: Do you think the school is in good hands for the future?

PS: “I think the school is in overall pretty good hands, and when I left the school in 2000 I felt that the school had its own tradition of sorts that I felt could be carried on whether I’m here or not here, the school will always have that foundation that was created here 25 years ago. Even some of the teachers are still here from 25 years ago and they aren't going anywhere, and with things like that the spirit remains.”

Scan for Caitlin Caffrey and Grace Gaumer's interview with Kristen Flowers.

mother ly in fluence

Caitlin Caffrey: "Explain what it’s like having one or both parents work at your school."

Kristen Flowers: "I think it’s awesome to have my parents involved in the school, especially my mom because she’s a teacher, because she’s always there if I need to get money, or need food, or want to leave school; I can just walk into her classroom and be like “check me out please”. My dad is more involved in the district office, I don’t really know what he does, but yeah it’s great."

KF: "I know a lot of seniors don’t wanna leave but I’m kind of more independent and I’m excited to see how things are like on my own. I’ve gotten a lot of help by my mom with high school so that’s gonna be a big change to go from always having my mom at school to being on my own but I’m excited for that so we’ll see how I end up."

CC: "Do you ever wish that your mom wasn’t a teacher at your school, specifically one of your own teachers?"

KF: "Honestly not really, I don’t really pay attention in her class because I don’t like her class, but she’s a great teacher."

KF: "Not really, I haven’t had any bad experiences having my mom as a teacher. Except kids do come up to me and are like “dude I hate your mom” and I’m like okay that doesn’t affect me. She’s loud and kind of aggressive so you can have your own opinion. So yeah kids will tell me stuff like that but I don’t care, she’s great. I love my mom."

Grace Gaumer: "Is it weird that she always tell stories of you as a kid to her classes?"

CC: "What is the best thing about having your mom work here?"

KF: "Well for awhile she would tell stories before I was even in high school, and I didn’t care because I wasn’t there and no one knew who I was. Before I went to highschool I was like okay you have to stop telling stories about me now because the freshman that you’re telling the stories to are gonna know me. She still tells the occasional stories but you know, what can you do."

KF: "Honestly, I don’t know. I mean I’m never hungry when I’m here. I TA for her and that’s really nice because she lets me take naps and I don’t really do anything when I TA for her, so it’s nice because she’s my mom so she’s always motherly towards me."

CC: "Have you formed bonds with other teachers through your mom?"

KF: "She’s always on me for not doing my work. Like if I’m at school and I’m taking a nap in my TA period, she’ll be like “Did you finish your homework” and I’m obviously gonna say no, and so she’s always like “go do your homework right now” or if I didn’t pass something she’ll be like “go talk to the teacher right now”. So it’s nice because I always get stuff done. It’s nice to have your mom be there as your mother, but at the same time she’s always nagging you to get stuff done, so you win some you lose some."

CC: "Is it weird having your mom as one of your own teachers?"

KF: "No not really. I mean I guess but I’ve kind of formed my own bonds, not through my mom."

CC: "Since your mom works here, has Rocklin been apart of your life for a long time?"

KF: "Rocklin High School has been apart of my life for as long as I can remember. I remember going to football games and sitting in the end zone when I was a child. My mom was pregnant with me during basketball games and stuff or she would check me out of my elementary school and bring me to the rallies. I’ve been going to Rocklin High School events ever since I was born, Rocklin is very involved in my life."

GG: "So do you think that’s gonna make it harder for you to graduate?"

CC: "What is the worst part about having her here?"

GG: "Would you say that she’s the same at home as she is at school?"

KF: "Yes, one hundred percent. She always yells in class and she’s always yelling at home like “Where’s my glasses?”. But yes she is the same at home as she is at school."

21 Scan for Max Diven's interview with Greg Benzel.

a family fee l

Max Diven: “Is Rocklin High School almost like another family to you?”

Greg Benzel: “It is in many of ways. When I started here, I was fresh out of college, it was my very first teaching job, and in the process of teaching here for 3 years, I met my wife here, started teaching in 1993 and met my wife in 97, we were married in 98.

And now in 2017 I have a daughter that’s a Junior and a daughter that’s a Freshman, so in many ways its family in that regard and the cohesion and the great chemistry and unity of the staff and there is a strong connection in the social studies department and with administration and many of the teachers on campus so in that regard yes it is like a second family.”

MD: “How cool is it to see your actual family and your Rocklin High School family grow at the same time?”

GB: “Sometimes I just have to step back and look at how blessed I am and see how fortunate that I get paid to develop relationships with students and teachers and my wife gets to do the same thing Rocklin High has become a part of our life, it is not just another 9 to 5 job to us, it is embedded in our family.”

course sometimes we can’t get all of the girls there, but i would say that most of the time we all have meals and spend time together.

The other thing is that I don’t have any personal hobbies. My life is all family and football with church on sundays. There really isn’t anything else.”

MD: “What’s your favorite memory from Rocklin High so far?”

GB: “There’s a couple. One is probably a quarter of our wedding the people that attended the wedding wer s bunch of Rocklin n high school people there is a great picture of all the Rocklin staff come on board for our wedding having everyone there and getting to share a big time life decision is awesome. When you look at the 25 year mark and you look back that there is only 10 left on campus and one thought is that yo have been there 25 years, I couldn’t really sum up just one memory I think that is great to be able to spend it with these people.”

"Rocklin High has become a part of our life, it is not just another 9 to 5 job to us, it is embedded in our family."

MD: “I know that you’re the head football coach for our Varsity team and your daughter Paige is on the volleyball team, how do you balance your time between your real family and your Rocklin High family? Do you have a lot of family time like meals together?”

GB: “We do most of the time we are together for a meal. We live very close to the school so there is virtually no commute, and of

MD: “I know Rocklin High has had a lot of loss this year, how has it been persevering through these hardships with your football family, your school family, and your personal family?”

GB: “This is where i am really fortunate. There is not a building on campus that I would not feel comfortable going to to talk about something that is bothering me. I mean I can go to the office or I can go to the science building and the support I get from my family is tremendous.”

Scan for Leah Mayer and Caitlyn Kan's interview with Ryan Spears.

li k e father, li k e son

Leah Mayer: “My name is Leah.”

it was super cool and everyone was into the school being built.

Caitlyn Kan: “My name is Caitlyn. We are 16 years old and today is March 14th, 2018. We are speaking with Mr.Spears who is a teacher and the director of the athletic sports here at Rocklin High School and we are recording this interview at Rocklin, California.”

LM: “How does it feel to have your whole family involved with the school and how is your family involved?”

LM: “So what was your first impression of Rocklin High School?”

Ryan Spears: “My first impression of Rocklin High school actually happened in 1991 for the school wasn't built yet. My father, who was the first principal, was hired by Rocklin High School and I was a senior in high school. I remember one night he brought home, during dinner, the architecture plans of the school and he said, ‘Ryan take a look at this.’ He set all of these big plans down so we were actually looking at the plans of Rocklin High School before it had been built. Then I went off to college as it was being built. I remember the cafeteria was being built and so I came to visit my parents from college and my dad took me on a tour, we had our hard hats on and we were walking through the construction areas and around the school so that was cool seeing everything as it was being built. Once the school was built and I actually came here in 1998, the school was just phenomenal and it was a state of the art school, we had a tech lab that had wind tunnels and robotics and things like that. Now that technology went out of style but it was just really awesome and the entire community was super excited for the new school and it was just fantastic.”

LM: “What was the difference when you got the papers or like the plan of what the school was going to look like, did you have like a picture in your mind? Was it like different or the same?”

RS: “Yeah it was weird because at that point I didn’t know where the school was going to be like down this little hill area. So when I first started driving in, when my dad actually took me before it was being built, we saw this site and there were no house other than BelAir, I was trying to picture how it would look and it’s unbelievable to see where the stadium is with the trees and the baseball fields.

I knew it was going to be a very special place. When I first was teaching here there was no small gym, the L and K buildings weren’t there so we had to walk on a big open dirt pick so if you were at the J building you had to walk all the way around the R buildings and it was kinda crazy. Basically the bones of everything is the same.”

RS: “My dad was the first principle for the first 7 years and my mom worked in the cafeteria. We had a teacher room where all of the teacher's would eat together and so she would run it. It was called ‘The Hard Rocklin Cafe’ and it was super cool. And then I came in and been here since 1998 and my daughter will be coming in in 2 years. But I’ve basically been involved at Rocklin High School since 1991 until now.”

LM: “How did you know you wanted to work here and did you know that you wanted to work here? Like form the start of the school when it was being built, how did you get into that?”

RS: "I liked the community here and a lot of the teachers were very young and I got to meet them and I got a good vibe and my dad was here and I wanted to work for him. I didn't know I was going to be a teacher and I wanted to be a sports broadcaster but I eventually started coaching for little kids in Davis and realized coaching was pretty cool and realized I wanted to teach and I liked history too. I was looking for a job and did an interview at Granite Bay and Mr. Stuart got that job over me."

CK: “What’s your favorite thing about this school from like when it opened to now? Like what are your favorite things?”

RS: “My two favorite things about this school are first the students.

Our student body is fantastic, we have great kids, and not just because they are well-behaved but our students are unbelievable they bring things to the classroom, the discussions, they’re smart, they’re into the school , they go to rallies, and games. Also number two is easy, the staff. I've grown up with a lot of them and I work with my best friend and we hang out outside of school we do all those things."

CK: “Do you miss anything that has changed from the opening to now?”

RS: “I do miss the teacher lounge we used to all hangout with each other. Now we just go into our little department areas so I do miss that, having lunch with each other."

CK: “What was the atmosphere when you came here at Rocklin?”

LM: “How does it make you feel to be working around your family and friends that you’ve known for so long?”

RS: “I was here for the inaugural opening of the school and it was interesting because they had all of these famous celebrities come.

They had like radio talk show hosts from Sacramento. They spoke to the community and the community was here in the amphitheater.

I remember the 49rs did a Toyota commercial on our stadium because they were at Sierra College doing their training camp and

RS: “To be working with my family and people I’ve known for so long is fantastic. We go on vacations it’s just an enjoyable and it’s not like you’re going into a job everyday. It’s like you’re hanging out with people that you like. Like friends, you can mess around and have a good time and all those type of those things. It’s fun, it’s a great place to be working at.”

CH E E R U P!

Kendall Milligan: “My name is Kendall. I’m speaking with Mrs. Devinna, so what year did you come to Rocklin High School and what was your first impression of the school?”

Debbie Devinna: “First year I came was 1998 and my first impression was that it was a very new school and clean."

KM: “How has the cheer program developed from when you first came to Rocklin?”

DD: “When I took over the cheer program, it was just your typical high school cheer program, we made a lot of changes our first year with our uniforms and coaching style. Now we have more of a collegiate style and less of a traditional high school style. Our coaching staff has a lot of college experience and we gear towards crowd leading and less sideline stuff.”

KM: “So what does the advisor do for our cheer program?”

DD: “The advisor is kind of a business manager, so I oversee the uniform, fundraising, scheduling, everything the coaches don’t have to do so they can just show up to coach.”

Scan for Kendall Milligan's interview with Debbie Devinna.

Julia Lynn: “Hello, my name is Julia Lynn, and I’m here interviewing Stephanie Arino, who was one of the first teachers here at Rocklin High School in - what was it? 1992?.”

Stephanie Arino: “‘92 or ‘93.”

23 KM: “Have you ever had experience working with a cheer program before and what was that like?”

DD: “I worked with a cheer program in Southern California as an athletic trainer and that’s where I kind of got the interest to see what a cheer program should look like, which when I got here it wasn’t.

When the opportunity came up to bring the program forward I thought that was important so I took that opportunity. I worked for a cheerleading company for ten years, so in the summers I would help run camps and do stuff like that.

KM: “I learned more about you Mrs. Devinna, wow! I’m very impressed, I’ve always been impressed. Why did you decide to manage the cheer program and how has it changed your life since?”

DD: “I thought I could make some changes that would be better for the athletes and for the school, so when there was a vacancy I threw my hat in the ring and got the job. As far as changing my life, it’s definitely a lot of time, effort, work, organizing, and doing things all year round, it’s not one specific sports season, there is always something going on with cheer.”

m adame campus.”

JL: “So how long have you been at Rocklin?”

JL: “What’s one of your favorite memories from the France trip?”

SA: “I have been here for 26 years at Rocklin High School.”

SA: “When they order ice cream, and I’m standing to the back.

They start to go up and there’s this scary French person, and they start to say what they want, which they know how to say, and they freeze. They turn behind them to look at me for help, and I turn around, ignore them, and walk away. They go ‘Oh my gosh, I need to have ice cream,’ and they do it, and it’s amazing. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

JL: “Why did you choose to teach French over everything else?”

SA: “I liked the thing about this being a brand new school, and we were going to start it, own it, and create all the stuff for it. That sounded exciting. We were all family, at the beginning. Just a small group of students and staff. That was exciting, as a new teacher.”

JL: “How do you think Rocklin will continue to change in the future?”

JL: “What’s an example of when a student has impacted your life in the past?”

SA: “I’m worried about Rocklin. Because of the size. As it gets bigger, we lose that small community and that small individual connection we have with the kids, which is what we are known for. And as we get bigger and they start putting 40 kids in our class, we can’t continue the connections that we used to. So, I am worried about that, and I’ve already seen it in some of the areas on

SA: “I tend to migrate towards the students who need help. I needed help in high school, and I had certain teachers who helped me get through school, days, drama, and issues. I migrate towards those kids. I reach out to them, and I try to help them through those times.”

Scan for Megan Campbell's interview with Alicia Sciscio.

close to home

Megan Campbell: "What did you enjoy most about your time as a Rocklin High student?"

Alicia Sciscio: "I went to every single dance. I never missed a dance."

MC: "Why did you go to every school dance?"

AS: "I don’t know if it was a cultural thing, but I felt like every person went to every dance. It was just kind of the only thing to do at that age, and I loved to dance."

MC: "What were some of the other programs you were involved in?"

AS: "Other than attending dances and attending football games and basketball games, something that was really cool was Thunder Palooza. Back then, bands were very popular. Emo music and rock music and all that. So once a year they would do Thunder Palooza here, and that was all the bands of students or Rocklin High School, so that was really cool."

MC: "How big was the [student body] at that point?"

AS: "The split with Whitney happened going into my junior year, my class was the last class to stay all together, and we are--as of right now--the largest graduating class from Rocklin High School. So my freshman and my sophomore years, [the student body] was huge.

We had two lunches and two rallies, so we were pretty big."

MC: "At that point, where did you envision yourself going after high school career-wise?"

AS: "I was the oldest in my family. My parents are from the east coast and we moved here when I was really young, but neither of them completed college. And it wasn’t really on my radar either.

So I kind of just thought, ‘I’m gonna go to Sierra’...So I spent a few years at Sierra, then I transferred to Sac State and actually ended up getting my Bachelor’s. But because I didn’t really have someone to look up to career-path-wise or college-path-wise, I wasn’t 100 percent sure what to do, I didn’t feel really ambitious about one specific subject or specific career. Even to this day, I know I like working with teenagers and I know I like working in this environment, but it was a lot of trial and error. It‘s not like [I thought,] ’I graduated high school and I knew I was gonna study this subject and have this one career and get this one degree,’ so I’m still figuring it out."

MC: "What brought you back specifically to Rocklin High School?"

AS: "I kind of knew I wanted to be in education; I didn’t have my teaching credential but I did have my sub credential. So I contacted

the district office because I still lived in Rocklin. I had a friend who worked at Whitney and she gave me the idea to apply to become a sub not only in the classroom but in clerical positions. So I signed up, and my very first sub job was actually at Victory High School as a discipline tech. I was really enjoying my time there, the teachers there, the students there, so I ended up taking that position and I worked there for about a year and a half. But it wasn’t really what I wanted to do permanently, because discipline techs--I mean--they deal with a lot, and I have a lot of respect for them. I personally am not a fan of confrontation, so it was just out of character for me. So once a position opened up [at Rocklin High], I applied, and it was actually where Ms. Janowsky’s seat is now. I had applied and got the assistant principal’s secretary role. So after about three months, the bookkeeper role opened up, and Thompson asked me if it was something I would be interested in. And he read me super well, because this ended up totally being the right home for me."

MC: "What have you enjoyed most about being a bookkeeper here? What keeps you here?"

AS: "The technical title ‘bookkeeper’ is not necessarily what I enjoy.

I am a gold personality so I do like organization...but I could take it or leave it. The part that keeps me here and the part I love about my job is that I’m heavily involved in activities . . . All the community based/culture based stuff . . . that’s what I find fun and really enjoyable about my job."

MC: "So being a high school student here and now being a part of the staff, what have been some of the changes you’ve seen?"

AS: "A huge change I see is the amount of AP classes and the expectation that students put on themselves to take so many AP classes. I mean, the valedictorian of my class probably took maybe two to three [APs] a year. So it’s changed a lot. We kind of call it the middle class, and the middle class has kind of disappeared. So I was definitely in the middle class...I wasn’t an AP student, but I wasn’t not putting in effort or failing; I was just a B-average student, and I feel like that has kind of gone away. Which is hard, because I know the students put a lot of pressure on themselves. It’s been really interesting to have had some of these teachers as teachers and to now get to know them on a personal level as a co-worker."

MC: "Overall, seeing both sides of the coin, what would be your advice for students at Rocklin High?"

AS: "My advice would be not to stress too much. If your goal is to get your Bachelor’s degree, it doesn’t matter where you get it from; whether it’s from UCLA or Harvard or Sac State. So don’t get down on yourself on where you get your education or what you think that means; it’s all the same thing."

court

t wo t y pe s of "I really enjoy being at Rocklin High school, the kids, the staff and the community, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else."

Scan for Caitlyn Caffrey and Grace Gaumer's interview with Steve Taylor.

Caitlin Caffrey: "How long have you been working here at Rocklin High School?"

Steve Taylor: "Since 1993, which I believe will make it about 25 years now."

CC: "How did you get here? What made you decide to work here?"

ST: "Well I grew up in Rocklin as a kid and went to school here from first grade all the way up to twelfth grade, and actually I went to Parker Whitney Elementary School and Rocklin Elementary. So I was teaching down in Fresno where I had gone to college, and then when these jobs opened up for the new high school, I applied through that process and got hired to coach basketball and teach physical education."

CC: "Throughout the years, what are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen on this campus?"

ST: "One is the number of students. When the school was built, it was built for 15001600 students, and so now we’re over 2000 so that’s been a big change. The second biggest change is the use of technology and the upgrading of technology on our campus.

When we first opened up, we were at the forefront with our technology center, then we fell behind and now we’re moving forward again so that’s been a big change."

CC: "Have you always been a basketball coach or was that something new for you?"

ST: "When I first started teaching in my first four years at Clovis West, I was coaching football, girls softball, and basketball.So I’ve always been a coach as well as a PE teacher.

I always felt like that was an important job. As I got older I started specializing in basketball because that’s the sport I played in college."

CC: "Growing up, did you always see yourself being a teacher or coach?"

25

ST: "When I started college I wanted to be a lawyer, and I saw myself being a wealthy attorney. As I looked at how long I would have to be in school, seven years looked like a long time, so I reset my sights on what I probably would enjoy doing most but I was kind of set on making a lot of money so that was my motivation, and I enjoyed the law and television shows that have to do with the law and that type of thing. So once I got rid of that idea, having played basketball in college and knowing that I wasn’t going to go into the NBA, coaching was the next avenue to stay involved with that."

CC: "Do you ever regret not following through with the lawyer path or are you happy where you are now?"

ST: "I’m really happy where I am, but I do think about what would life be because I ended up staying in college for six years and it could’ve been just one more year but at seventeen, seven years seemed like a long time. So I don’t necessarily regret it but I have thought about what my life would be like if I were an attorney and how it would be way different, which may be good or bad who knows, but I’m happy with what I’m doing.

I really enjoy being at Rocklin High school, the kids, the staff and the community, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else."

CC: "Do you plan on staying here until retirement?"

ST: "Yeah probably. The only time that could change would be if I got an opportunity to move to the college level as an assistant coach in basketball, that may be something I would want to try. But when you have a family, it’s kind of hard to move them so now that my kids are out of college, I have a little more flexibility, movement wise, so if something opened up at the college level, that might be a reason to leave, but if that doesn’t happen then I can see myself staying here."

1994

1995

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Stephanie Arino

Adam Berman

Brandee Ambrosia

Kathy Anagnost

Greg Benzel

Darlene Christensen

Robert Ball

Colleen Campbell

Brent Carlson

Mike Eby

Ann Boyea

Geoffrey Clarion

David Dick

Chris Connelly

Lisa Brattin

Kathleen Concannon

Laura Faber

Michelle DeMaria

June Campbell

Ellen Dyer

Marsha Guerrerio

Linda Dexter

Chris Connelly

Sherry Gray

Nancy Hedblad

Ellen Dyer

Cindy Cutts

Holly Hagel

Midge Hunnerlach

Tim Espley

Kimm Dekker

Amy Hyde

Joanne Matney

Marty Flowers

Susan Espana

James Jackson

Roc Murray

Mike Garrison

Patrick Field

Jeff James

Steve Sampson

Mark Hardy

Corey Firchau

John Kirk

Dennis Sonnenburg

Judy Jarvinen

Lori Ford

Gerri Knapp

Steve Taylor

Susan Kerby

Jacque Hartke

Tracy LeMaster

John Thompson

Mary Anne Knox

Fabia Hefni

Terry Lovell

Cynthia Toepke

Tim Krebs

Midge Hunerlach

Janet Matranga

Steve Unterholzer

Maureen Kuhlman

Dorothy Jacob

Bette Mohr

Alek Ustazewski

Jennifer Law

Steve James

Michele Peita

Mike Wells

Joanne Liston

Craig Kaylor

Angie Pozzi

Rachel Wong

Gretchen Lowell

Bill Kimmel

Dave Stewart

Malcom Mackey

Gretchen Kimmel

Kristin Tebo

Ruth Mason

Chris Knorzer

Larry Weiss

Melissa McCann

Mike Kuhlman

Tara McCullough

Delanne Mathias

Kym Milisci

Greg McCormac

Casey Nichols

Tracy McKee

Julie Olsen

Rick Morris

Julie Poe

Matt Murphy

Scott Shier

Sherri Myers

Lisa Somavia

Col. William Norman

Phil Spears

Janice Quay

Heather Spencer

Priscilla Rasanen

Sharon Turney

Sgt. Darlene Romero

Quincy Vandermolen

Debbie Schmidt

Melanie Wallington

Frank Shields

Julie Wise

Lori Sinclair

Keri Zacher

Martin Soyama Craig Waechtler Norm Zanardelli