MoaBlog

This week marks the end of two of Moab's public school buildings. In the top photo, London is seen in front of Red Rock Elementary, once known as Southeast Elementary, on her last day of 3rd grade. On the other side of town, 5th-grader River poses in front of Helen M. Knight Intermediate School on its last day of existence. The old HMK building will be torn down later this week to make room for the parking lot and playground area of the new HMK Elementary School under construction in the area adjacent to the old building. The bottom photo shows portions of both the old and new buildings. Beginning this fall, students in kindergarten through 6th grade will attend school in the new HMK building, which is larger than both of the old schools combined.

Indiana (top photo) attends preschool twice a week along with a group of several other children. The mothers take turns hosting the two-hour sessions at their homes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Activities include drawing pictures, reading stories, playing games, eating snacks, and learning new things. The child in the bottom photo is holding a list of rules that the children need to follow.

Top photo: School principal Brandy congratulates the six finalists after the 5th grade spelling bee last week. From left: Ellie, Jonathan, Clare, River, Jayelen, and Alexa. These will compete against the top spellers from the 4th and 6th grades at the district bee on Feb. 4. River and the others spelled all seven of their words correctly to advance to the finals. River's words were, in order: super, happiest, holiday, extinct, immature, article, and scruple. In the bottom photo, Alexa, River, and Jayelen show off their medals.

The Devilettes high school drill team has been performing during the halftime of several basketball games this month. The team recently had two second-place awards at their regional competition, and will travel to Orem next weekend for the state competition.

A new Red Devil mascot has been seen roaming the sidelines of the high school team's games recently. The new costume, which was purchased for the school by a private donor, has been worn by several different people thus far, including cheerleaders and student government members.

Last night was the opening night of the local high school drama club's production of the musical comedy "Once Upon A Mattress." The play is based on a popular fairy tale called "The Princess and the Pea," where a princess passes a test to marry the prince in the story by spending a sleepless night atop 20 mattresses, not knowing that a small pea placed underneath the bottom mattress was keeping her awake. The show, which has a cast of about 40 high school students, continues its three-night run tonight and tomorrow. Brooklyn played one of the ladies in waiting.

Tailor, a high school senior, was named this year's fall homecoming queen. She posed for pictures last week, including some shots of her practicing her tennis serve while wearing her royalty gown. She placed second in the No. 1 singles category in the divisional tennis championships last Friday, then reigned over the homecoming parade and other festivities later in the day.

A popular class at the high school is wood shop class, where students learn to make furniture and other items made from wood. Jeff and Penny's old kitchen table (top photo) is being refurbished by one of the students as a classroom project.

Today marked the fifth school day of the year for students at the local high school. Students in the yearbook class took these pictures of their classmates around the building, which has a total of about 450 students enrolled (in grades 9-12).

Today was the first day of school for Grand County schools. Pictured from top before school this morning are 3rd grader London, 5th grader River, 10th grader Brooklyn, and high school teacher Jeff.

The 18 students (nine girls and nine boys) who had been named the high school's "Student of the Month" during the past nine-month school year were honored at a pizza luncheon at the local Elks lodge last week. Also attending were members of the National Honor Society. Two 11th-graders also received "Student of the Year" honors -- Jesse and Tailor. Believe it or not, there actually were enough pizzas to feed the group of over 40 hungry teenagers!

The undefeated Red Devil boys soccer team won their opening-round playoff game at home this afternoon, defeating American Leadership Academy 5-1. They'll play their second-round game on Saturday afternoon, also at Moab.

The high school's Quiz Bowl team (comprised of 9th-graders) recently participated in two different tournaments five days apart, and ended up taking second in both. They competed against several other area schools in answering questions in a game-show format. Categories included math, science, social studies, literature, language arts, geography, current events, and other trivia (sports, popular culture, etc.). Pictured here are team members after their tournament in Green River on April 15: Riley, Udit, Hadley, Matz, Andrea, and Warren.

The local high school's debate team won their fourth consecutive state championship on Saturday. The team was honored with a late-night ride atop a fire truck, a common tradition in many small towns.

Last week was the 105th anniversary of the birthday of the beloved children's book author Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, born March 2, 1904, died September 24, 1991). On that day, children at the local elementary school spent a portion of the day reading Dr. Seuss books. London (second photo) read the classic "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins," one of Seuss's earliest books.

The local high school's Junior Prom was held Saturday night. The theme was "Wonders of the Night," with the gym decorated to resemble several wonders of the world, including an Egyptian pyramid, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and Stonehenge. Students and parents spent countless hours decorating and preparing for the dance. Check back tomorrow for pictures of the event itself!

The high school baseball team has been practicing weekdays after school, and will have their first game next week. A new structure (seen in background of bottom photo) is being built behind the field's backstop fence. The new building will house bleachers, restrooms, a concession stand, and a place for the game announcers to sit. The structure, built with $50,000 in county rec funds, is expected to be completed in time for the Red Devils' season to start.

Today was the first day of the third and final trimester of the school year, which means there are just 60 school days left until summer vacation, which starts on June 3. This morning, the students in the 8th grade and their teachers posed for a yearbook picture out in front of the local middle school. Click on any of the photos to enlarge.

Even some of the kids in high school like to jump rope during lunchtime. Jordan (top photo) and Cody (bottom photo) enjoy the exercise.

The local high school's debate team recently returned from participating in an prestigious invitational tournament hosted by Stanford University in California. Hailey took first place in dramatic interpretation. She performed a 10-minute monologue that was an excerpt from Margaret Edson's play called "Wit." The day after the team's return, school and community leaders gathered to congratulate Hailey and her teammates on their success. A total of 35 students and four adult chaperones went on the five-day trip, using a chartered bus to get to California and back.

River (top photo) was one of 18 finalists in the school district's spelling bee this afternoon. The contest went 23 rounds, with winner Delaney spelling "espionage" correctly to win the event. Second place went to McKinleigh and third place went to Jonathon. The trio is pictured in the bottom photo with their trophies. River lasted until the 8th round, when she misspelled "mozzarella," and finished in a tie for eighth place. She plans to enter the event again next year.

The local middle school conducts a day-long event called "Reality Town" every year. More than 200 students in 7th and 8th grades are assigned occupations, family situations, and lifestyles, and then must budget according to their imaginary incomes. Volunteers from actual community businesses help staff the booths, where the students must use their checkbooks to pay for a variety of expenditures, including dentist, child care, and even taxes. Moab's real mayor Dave (bottom photo) was on hand to view the activities. "Organized chaos," he said with a chuckle. "Just like in real life."

A total of 19 students from the high school in Moab traveled to Price, Utah today to participate in the Future Business Leaders of America regional competition. The students were tested on their knowledge of a variety of business skills. The group from Moab won 15 certificates, including three 1st-place awards.

Grade-level spelling bees were held at the local intermediate school this week. The 18 finalists pictured here (six students from each of the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades) will compete against each other at the district spelling bee on Feb. 18. The top photo shows the kids making the shape of their favorite letters (including River's letter "R"). The bottom photo shows the 18 finalists posing in front of the school.

The local high school's "Senior Snow Ball" took place late tonight. Around 100 students attended the semi-formal dance. Six 12th-graders (three boys and three girls) were honored as the dance's royalty (queen and king and their attendants, top photo). Refreshments were, appropriately enough, snow cones made with crushed ice and flavored syrup.

The Devilettes drill team performed their military dance at the halftime of the boys basketball game last night. The team consists of 17 girls who dance with precision in choreographed routines.

The local high school's annual holiday assembly was this afternoon. Highlights included students re-enacting the "12 Days of Christmas" (top and middle photos). A total of 78 students were on stage when the song ended. The bottom photo shows Santa presenting the school's principal with a bag of coal (a present typically reserved for "naughty" children).

The local high school recently received a new scorer's table to use during basketball, volleyball, and wrestling contests. The front of the table includes a billboard with the school's name and logo, along with the name of the sponsor that donated the table (the local hospital). Click on photo to enlarge.

Today is the end of the trimester at the local high school. So far, 60 days have elapsed on the school year's 180-day calendar. There is no school for the students today, but the teachers are spending the day catching up on their grades and getting ready for a new schedule of classes next week. To mark the occasion, teachers had a breakfast at the school this morning. Tom and Melissa are seen here cooking up a large batch of hash browns to help feed the faculty.

Several students like to play soccer during the high school's lunchtime recess.

The local high school girls soccer team played a home playoff game this afternoon. The Lady Devils fought hard, but ultimately lost the game to Gunnison, 4-3.

The second-grade classes at London's elementary school had a bike safety rodeo last Friday afternoon. The kids learned the basics of bicycle safety, and practiced riding their bikes on a course.

Here are a few pictures of Moab's local high school and some of its students. There are about 450 students in total enrolled at the school, in grades 9 through 12. The building was constructed a little over 10 years ago.

This week at the local high school, students in the Teen Living class have to carry around authentic looking plastic dolls designed to resemble real babies. The dolls are equipped with sensors and memory chips that tell the teacher whether they were taken care of properly. The dolls also cry and make noises, and require soothing care to make them quiet again. The students are required to take care of the babies for an entire week or more, including time spent at home. The exercise is designed to give teenagers a better idea about the responsibilities associated with having a baby.

This week was fall homecoming week at the local high school. The Red Devils lost tonight's football game to South Sevier 10-0. The middle photo shows homecoming queen Tanisha and her escorts at halftime. The bottom photo shows a flaming letter "G" (for Grand County High School) that was burned on Thursday night as part of a pep rally.

The Red Devil football team was also successful last week, defeating Altamont by the score of 20-13. The Red Devils have won 3 and lost 1 as they head into regular season play at next week's homecoming game vs. South Sevier.

The local high school girls soccer team won both of their games via shutout last week, defeating Gunnison 9-0 on Tuesday and Manti 1-0 two days later. Pictured here are shots of the Lady Devils in action against Manti.

The local high school girls tennis team won their matches today on the road vs. Millard. Brooklyn and Andrea (both freshman) got their first varsity victory in their doubles match. Pictured above are their teammates Tailor and Lillian at a recent practice.

Today was the first day of school for three of Jeff and Penny's daughters. River (4th grade) and London (2nd grade) are pictured before school waiting for the bus. Brooklyn (9th grade) is shown at tennis practice this afternoon, following her first day of high school.

Last Tuesday was Yearbook Day at the local high school. The full-color, 128-page, custom-made books were designed and created by students in the desktop publishing classes over the course of the school year. Approximately 85 percent of the students at the school purchased a copy of this year's book (cost: around $50). After the books were distributed, students spent the entire rest of the afternoon signing each other's yearbooks, as is the custom.

Tonight was high school graduation. A total of 117 seniors received diplomas. Mr. Radcliffe, a popular math teacher who is retiring after a 32-year career as an educator, was the commencement speaker. Following the hour-long program, the graduates celebrated with family members and friends.

River (at center of top photo) and her fellow third-graders recently put on a class musical program to celebrate the end of the school year. The hour-long program included a humorous story with a few songs about "Stone Soup".

London and her fellow first-graders held a year-end "Celebration of Learning" at the local elementary school last week. The kids sang and danced, then showed their parents a wide variety of artwork and projects that they had done throughout the school year. Summer vacation starts next week!

Students in the local high school's physics classes recently made their own hot-air balloons out of paper and sent them aloft on the back lawn of the school. Several of the balloons went more than 50 feet in the air before returning to the ground.

The students at the high school auto shop classes recently cut apart a working vehicle, removing its engine and front end, then having the rest of the vehicle towed away to a junkyard. The auto shop teacher plans to use the engine (which still runs) to provide a practical in-class example of how the engine works.

After a shutout win and a tie last week, the local high school boys soccer team, the Red Devils, were on top of the region standings with a record of 8 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. These photos were taken during the team's 8-0 win over North Sevier last Tuesday.

The local high school boys tennis team started its season this spring. Mike (top photo) and Ravon (bottom photo) are two of the students on the team, which recently placed third in an eight-team tournament in St. George, Utah that featured several larger schools.

The local high school had their first-ever girls golf match this afternoon at Moab. Girls from three other high schools also participated. The players were nervous before teeing off on the first hole, but tried to relax for their team photo (top).

On Saturday, Grand County High School debate team won the Utah state 2A championship for the third straight year. When the team made it back from the competition late Saturday night, they rode a fire truck through town as part of a traditional victory celebration.

The local high school's graduating class of 2008 gathered in front of the school this week for the annual senior class photograph. About 75 students are pictured here; another 20 or so were photographed in a separate pose the next day. Click on photo to enlarge. The students are scheduled to graduate on June 3.

Spring sports have started at the local high school, including boys soccer. The boys won both of their first two games last week, winning 8-1 and 4-1. These photos are of Friday's 4-1 win over Carbon (the Red Devils are in white uniforms).

The high school debate team won the region forensics tournament held in Richfield yesterday. Here, debaters David and Sheena look over their scores from the events that they competed in. The team will head to the state tournament in St. George, Utah in a couple of weeks to defend their title (they've won the last two straight state championships).

The middle school choir gave a half-hour singing performance tonight in the high school auditorium. Eighth-grader Brooklyn (in white blouse at far right) and her classmates sang a total of four numbers that they had been practicing in school this trimester.

Today was "Bob Marley Day" at the local high school. Most of the teachers and staff members wore Jamaican-style hats (complete with dangling dreadlocks). Jamaican food was also served in the faculty lounge during lunchtime. The reggae music legend, who died in 1981 of cancer at age 36, would have been 63 years old today.

Yesterday, 17 students from the local high school FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) club traveled to Price and attended a regional competition against a dozen other high schools. Jessica and Jessie (middle photo) placed first and second in Public Speaking. The students also took multiple-choice tests on a variety of subject areas.

Last Wednesday, during last hour and a half of the school day, high school students enjoyed doing a variety of activities, including playing ball in the gymnasium (pictured here), watching a movie, making pottery and other art projects, and playing games on the computer. Those who needed tutoring help or to make up their grades went to the classrooms for additional study.

The local high school cafeteria serves about 200 lunchtime meals each day. The cost is $2 for students, $2.50 for adults. Students are given approximately 30 minutes to eat. Typical meals include burritos, pizza, ham sandwiches, chili, hot dogs, hamburgers, fajitas, and soup.

Brooklyn did an "egg drop" experiment for her middle school science fair project this week. She dropped eggs from different heights, using different materials to cushion the egg to keep it from breaking. The best substance was peanut butter, which successfully protected the egg dropped from a height of 10 feet! Afterward, Brooklyn fried up the cracked eggs (bottom photo).

A heavy metal rock band comprised of local high school students has been writing and practicing their own songs. They posed for these photos during lunchtime at school earlier this week. They call themselves "Pristine Genocide," but have not yet made any official recordings.

The local high school drill team, the Devilettes, performed at the halftime of Saturday night's basketball game. The drill team consists of about 15 girls who performed choreographed dances set to music.

The local high school boys basketball team won their season opener tonight, defeating Green River 74-68. Four of the Red Devil players scored 10 or more points each, led by Shane with 15. Green River's top scorer was Brennan, who made 35 points, including seven three-pointers.

More images from last week's production of "Guys and Dolls". As a joke on the play's final night, one of the male cast members (Leo) put on a dress and added himself to the lineup of girls for one of their musical numbers (middle photo). The audience responded with appreciative laughter and applause. All in all, it was another successful year for the high school drama department.

Last week, the local high school put on its annual theatrical production. This year's play was "Guys and Dolls," a musical comedy set in 1940s-era New York. More than two dozen students appeared in the production, which ran for three consecutive nights. Check back tomorrow for more "Guys and Dolls" photos.

The Grand County High Red Devils lost their semifinal playoff game in Draper Saturday afternoon, falling to the North Summit Braves 24-10. The Red Devils finished their season with six wins and five losses. North Summit will play Millard for the championship next Saturday in Cedar City. Both teams in the finals are undefeated with identical 11-0 records.

Hal, a local high school history teacher and debate coach, was recently named "Teacher of the Year" for the entire state of Utah. He was honored at a banquet held in Salt Lake City. He received a $10,000 check and new technology and computer equipment for his classroom.

The local high school cross-country team left this afternoon to compete in tomorrow's state meet in Salt Lake City. Seven girls and one boy qualified for the state meet, and they and their coaches were cheered on by their fellow students and teachers as the bus got ready to leave. The runners and coaches were wearing new shirts that read "Why do we run?" on the front. On the back of each shirt is the reply: "The answer is at the finish line."

The local high school in Moab hasn't beaten the San Juan Broncos on their home field in Blanding since the fall of 1986, well before any of the players on either team were born. This past Friday night, the Red Devils (in white uniforms) led 13-6 early in the game, but ended up losing the game 25-13.

Yesterday was the first day of school at the local public schools (kindergarten through 12th grade). At the high skateboarding is a popular way to get to and from school, although the boards themselves are not allowed to be used inside the building.

The local high school football team, the Red Devils, lost their season opener at home Friday night. They were beaten by the Logan Grizzlies 43-14. It was the first time that the two schools had ever played each other in football. Logan, a much larger school, is in northern Utah, a six-hour drive from Moab (335 miles or 539 km). The game took over four and a half hours to play, including a two-hour delay caused by a lightning storm.

May 31 (high school graduation day) was also the day that students signed each other's yearbooks. Most U.S. high schools publish a yearbook, an annual journal that includes photos of students, teachers, and school activities that took place throughout the year. When students sign yearbooks, they often write things like, "Have a great summer. See you around."

John and other school district employees recently bundled software packages in preparation for the district's sale of surplus computers to the public. The district is getting new computers in all of its schools this summer, thanks to a new lease agreement with Dell.

Some 90 high school seniors graduated from Grand County High School last night. Fireworks lit up the sky at the conclusion of the hourlong program, which was attended by several hundred audience members.

London (age 6) and her kindergarten classmates celebrated their end of the year "graduation" ceremony today. The children sang songs during a half-hour program, then went to their teacher's room to receive a bag full of materials to help them learn over the summer. London is shown here getting a hug from her teacher Mrs. Curtis.

Today (the last day of regular classes at the local high school) featured the "Devils' Challenge" for two and a half hours in the afternoon. The high school students competed against their peers (and some of the teachers) in a variety of events, including (from top) pie eating contest, a water relay, and a skateboarding competition.

The local high school hosted a regional high school boys tennis tournament last week. Several members of the team (including Jordan, pictured in top photo) qualified for the state tournament, which will be held in Salt Lake City this coming weekend.

The local middle school (grades 7 and 8) went on a field trip today to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. At least 200 students made the trip, including Jeff's daughter Brooklyn, who took these photos at the world-famous Delicate Arch.

The high school's annual junior prom was Saturday night. The event had a "James Bond: 007" theme, and several of the boys entered the room by sliding down a rope in secret agent style (top photo). Some 50 couples (all 11th-graders) participated in the promenade dance, which was to the theme of "Casino Royale." Kourtnee and Garrett (bottom photo) were named the queen and king of the prom.

Approximately 70 of the 105 graduating seniors of the Class of 2007 gathered in front of the school a couple of days ago to pose for the annual class photo. Jeff went up in a hydraulic bucket lift mounted on a public works utility truck to take the photo from about 25 feet in the air. High school graduation will be May 31.

Competitors at the home track meet this afternoon included (from top): Mallory in the long jump, Kemrey in the girls 100-meter dash, Gordon in the boys 100-meter dash, and Clay in the hurdles. Several Red Devils qualified for state in their respective events.

The local high school girls softball team is off to a good start, winning their first two regular season games in last Friday's doubleheader against Richfield. Brittnie pitched both games, which the Lady Devils won 6-0 and 11-0.

On March 17, the local high school debate won the state championship for the second year in a row, and for the third time in the past four years. The team members were honored at a school-wide assembly on Friday, and presented the trophy to the principal.

The local high school and middle school teams attended the regional Quiz Bowl academic competition at Green River High School on Wednesday. The teams answered questions in various categories, including history, science, math, geography, trivia, and popular culture. The middle school team tied for firth place (out of eight schools), while the high school team from Moab placed third overall and took home a nice trophy (bottom photo).

Jeff went up on the roof of the local middle school this morning to take a picture of the 8th-grade class (around 100 students) for the school's yearbook.

The local high school boys soccer team played their season opener against Union High School this afternoon. The Red Devils lost, 3-2.

The local high school boys baseball team began its season yesterday afternoon with a 6-5 loss to Carbon High School. The team led 2-0 after five innings but gave up five runs in the sixth.

Jeff recently came across this old photograph of his dad playing in a high school basketball game 47 years ago, in 1960. Jeff's dad, a senior, is pictured shooting the ball. "I remember that this photo was taken just a few seconds after the game started, and that the shot went in," Jeff's dad recalled, adding that the picture was published in the local newspaper the following week.

The local middle school held its third annual "Reality Town" event today. Students in 7th and 8th grades were assigned certain professions and then spent the day visiting different booths staffed by adult volunteers from around the community. The students had to budget their imaginary money, writing "checks" to pay for various expenses, including rent, car payments, student loans, child care, groceries, and health insurance.

The vending machines at the local high school no longer sell soda pop, candy bars, potato chips, and other "junk" food. Instead, the only drinks available are bottled water and sport drinks. Snacks are limited to granola bars and other healthful choices. The switch is part of a nationwide effort to curb teenage obesity and unhealthy eating habits.

One of the members of the local high school drill team was recently injured in an accident, but that didn't stop her and her fellow team members from performing a lively halftime show during last week's basketball game. The dancers used wheelchairs during their unique performance.

Recently, about 70 youngsters participated in the local high school's "Junior Cheer" event. The kids (from preschool to middle school age) did two dances and two cheers at the halftime of a boys basketball game, which the Red Devils ended up winning by one point in overtime. Jeff's daughters River and London both participated.

The final two acts of the talent show were a song by solo vocalist Hailey (top), followed by a skit reenacting a scene from the popular movie "Anchorman" (middle photo) with Steven, Daniel, and Skylar, plus co-star Dayton (not pictured). After the talent show, audience members were treated to a loud punk rock concert in the school's commons area (bottom photo). The talent show was mainly just for fun, but the winners in each category did earn free movie passes.

Also performing at Tuesday's talent show were Clinton (top), who sang "You Are My Sunshine," Athena and Ivy (middle) who sang a song with Clinton and later performed a humorous original skit called "The Audition," and Donald (bottom), who played a medley of tunes on his fiddle. Three more photos tomorrow!

The local high school held a talent show tonight. Among the dozen or so acts in the hourlong program were a dance act featuring a mid-air back flip by Kelsey (top), a song by Abi and Sommer (middle) and their friend Britten, and a humorous monologue by Daniel (bottom). Check back tomorrow for more photos from the event!

The Lady Devil girls basketball team also lost their homecoming game last week, 54-28 against undefeated Richfield in the regular season opener for both teams on Tuesday, January 2.

The local boys basketball team lost their homecoming game to Emery High School 81-61 last Thursday. The Red Devils managed to make six 3-point baskets, but were no match for the hot-shooting Spartans, who made 11 3-pointers during the game.

The local high school had a home wrestling match the other night. The Red Devils started strong but ended up losing to their archrivals, the San Juan Broncos. Each wrestler on the team earns up to six points based on how well he does against his opponent. Individual matches can go up to three rounds, plus a tiebreaking round if necessary. Wrestlers are classified according to their weight, with the heaviest class being between 215 and 285 lbs. (97-129 kg).

At the local high school's wood shop classes, various students are finishing their woodworking projects. From top, Sheen and his cabinet, Caleb and his gun rack, and Kerby and his octogonal poker table.

River, Molly, and their classmates in 2nd grade each made red and green paper chains and hung them from a wire across the classroom. Each link represents a day between today and Christmas (December 25). The kids wrote things to do on each day, such as "Write a thank-you note to a relative" and "Have a cup of hot chocolate with Mom or Dad." One strip is removed each day, and the children take it home as a reminder to do the activity written on the strip.

The local high school boys basketball team won their first home game Tuesday night, pulling away from the Monticello Buckaroos in the second half to win 62-42. Here are a few photos of the action. Check back tomorrow for pictures from Wednesday night's girls basketball game.

More images from the kindergarten celebration Wednesday morning (from top): mountain men showed how a black powder rifle is loaded and fired; kids were given tractor-pulled "hay rides" around the playground; London and other children made butter by shaking up jars filled with cream; and kids mashed grain into flour using grinding stones. Happy Thanksgiving!

The local high school is presenting its three-night run of Irving Berlin's popular musical "Annie Get Your Gun," loosely based on the life of Wild West sharpshooter Annie Oakley. The play started last night (Thursday) and continues tonight and tomorrow.

London likes to play hopscotch on the school playground. The game involves jumping on the numbers in succession and picking up a marker from the ground on one of the numbers.

Dozens of dads and other relatives visited the classrooms of the local elementary school last Friday morning, spending over a half hour reading to the children and enjoying a snack of milk and cookies.

A new greenhouse was recently constructed on the school property of an elementary school for 4th through 6th graders. The kids will use the greenhouse to grow plants and to do science experiments, just as the four 5th-graders in the bottom photo are testing wind and water erosion.

The Red Devils lost their quarterfinal playoff football game at San Juan last Saturday night, 30-15. The Broncos were the team that the Red Devils beat 25-22 in last year's championship game. This time around, the Red Devils came up short. They still had a good season, though, finishing with eight wins and just three losses.

The local drill team, the Devilettes, performed at the halftime of each of the home football games this season. Recently, they performed two numbers together, the second of which involved the use of colorful flags as props. The girls will perform each of their dance routines several more times before competing against other drill teams at the state competition in February.

The Red Devils lost their final regular-season football game to North Summit last night, 28-16. The Red Devils led 3-0 early on, but the Braves scored twice in the second period and ran back the kickoff to start the second half 90 yards for a touchdown to take a 21-3 lead. The Red Devils will have a home playoff game next week, while North Summit (the region champion) has a bye.

More pictures from Friday night's homecoming game. Top photo: homecoming queen Maggie (at right) with junior attendant Margo and their respective escorts Matt and Stephen. Second photo: a cheerleader dressed as the Red Devil mascot. Third photo: drill team performed a dance routine at halftime. Bottom photo: fireworks lit up the sky after the Devils won the game.

The Red Devils won their homecoming football game Friday night, defeating the Gunnison Bulldogs 28-6. A torrential rainstorm hit in the middle of the third quarter, drenching the already-soaked field even more. The normally arid Moab area has had several days of rain over the past week. The Red Devils will host North Summit next Wednesday in their last regular season game. Both teams are 7-1 and will be playing for a share of the region championship. Check back tomorrow for more images from homecoming!

Wednesday night was the annual "Powder Puff" football game, an annual tradition in which the female students of each grade level face off against each other in flag football. The seniors (pictured here in red uniforms) came from behind and defeated the juniors in the championship game 28-18, while the sophomores beat the freshmen 12-0 in the consolation game.

The high school girls soccer team lost their homecoming game earlier this week, dropping their season record to 3-4-1, They had won their previous two games before the setback to rop-ranked Millard. Pictured here in action are (from top) Latoya, goalie Robyn, and Valerie.

The other day, Bryce wore a shirt to school that read "I See Small People." Bryce, who is in 9th grade (his first year of high school), is 6 feet 6 inches tall (2 meters) and weighs 300 lbs. (136 kg).

This week is fall homecoming week at the local high school. A variety of activities are planned, including the honoring of all senior fall sports athletes either during their respective homecoming games or at the school-wide assembly on Friday afternoon. Later that afternoon, a parade with floats will make its way through town, and the football team will host its game against rival Gunnison that night. Pictured here is the homecoming queen Maggie (center in front) surrounded by her four attendants (L to R): Caitlyn (a freshman), Oceanna (a sophomore), Margo (a junior), and Mirtha (a senior). The royalty will all dress up in evening gowns for Friday's events.

A variety of interesting acts were performed at last week's lip sync competition held at the local high school. The overall winner was the well-choreographed "Spice Girls" act, featuring Sydney and Mikayla (third photo) and a few of their fellow drill team members, plus the football team's quarterback Gordon dancing in the background while wearing a long wig for good measure (bottom photo).

The local cross-country team had another home meet on Wednesday afternoon. Several schools participated. The Moab boys and girls teams finished in second place to the Richfield High School teams, although Moab's Dayna (middle of second photo) did win the individual girls race, with a time of 21:44. In the boys race, Charlie (far left in top photo) was the top finisher for Moab. Several minutes later, teammate John (bottom photo) managed to finish the 3-mile race, even though he was plagued by stomach cramps.

After eating a breakfast of scrambled eggs (top photo), 5-year-old London rode the school bus to the local elementary school and attended her first day of kindergarten yesterday. The bottom photo shows her and a few of her classmates on the playground during recess in the afternoon.

The Red Devil football team and many of their fans traveled an hour south to Monticello High School to face the Buckaroos on Friday night. The game was a one-sided affair as the Red Devils scored four touchdowns in the first quarter and coasted to a 53-0 shutout victory.

Noted pantomime artist Cary Trivanovich performed two one-hour routines at the local middle school and high school yesterday. The rubber-faced comedian combined various humorous skits with a positive message about building self-esteem and giving encouragement to others. Cary performs at schools, colleges, corporate seminars, and churches around the country, in addition to cruise ships overseas.

The Red Devils scored the first four touchdowns of the game Friday night, jumping out to a 26-0 lead and hanging on to defeat the Broncos 26-12. A large crowd completely filled Moab's high school stadium on both sides, which were "standing room only." The Red Devils, the defending state champions, are hoping to have another excellent season.

Although school doesn't start until next week, the Red Devil football team (seen here in a recent practice) plays its first game of the season at home tonight. They're playing their arch rival, the San Juan Broncos, whom they beat last November in the state 2A championship game. Both teams have changed considerably since then, losing a large share of their players to graduation this spring. The Red Devils, for instance, had 18 12th-graders on their team last year, more than half of the entire starting squad. Check back Monday for photos and a short report on tonight's game!

Members of the local high school football team showed up Friday afternoon to help lay about 20 pallets full of grass sod to create a new lawn for the elementary school in just over an hour. A sprinkler system will help keep the lawn watered until the grass can take permanent root in the soil underneath. The sod was grown about 100 miles away in Colorado and shipped to Moab via truck.

About 120 high school seniors graduated from Grand County High School last night. Kimber (second photo) was one of two class valedictorians, and gave a commencement speech. The third photo shows fellow graduate Paul with his parents Sam and Virginia after the ceremony. A short fireworks display capped off the evening.

River and her 1st-grade classmates performed the "Mexican Hat Dance" last Thursday night as part of the school's annual Celebration of Learning activity.

The Grand County High School track team competed at the state track meet at Brigham Young University over the weekend. The girls team took first place in the 2A division, the school's first-ever girls track championship. The girls won two events, placed second in two others, and had five third-place finishes. Meantime, the boys team took fourth overall, winning two events (discus and shot put), along with five second places and one third place. The track team got off their bus and rode fire engines through town late Saturday night after returning home from Provo.

Last week, River's 1st-grade class put on a puppet show for the students' parents. The children performed two short stories while acting out the narrative by manipulating paper puppets behind a small stage. The first story was "The Little Red Hen," a popular fable about a chicken who can't get anyone to help her do anything until after the bread is finally baked, then everyone wants to help eat it. River (middle photo) narrated the second story, "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," which details the adventures of three goats who encounter a troll while trying to cross a bridge.

The local high school's senior graduating class (the Class of 2006) gathered outside the school for a class picture this morning. Jeff took the photo from atop a "cherry picker" truck with a hydraulic lift. Some 92 seniors, or approximately 80 percent of the graduating class, appear in the photo.

Brooklyn's 6th-grade class held a Greek festival this afternoon. Each person in the class had to give a short oral report about a character from ancient Greek history or mythology. The rest of the class then had to guess who each character was. Brooklyn portrayed the famous philosopher Socrates (bottom photo), finishing her talk by pretending to drink a cup of hemlock. The class snacked on gyros and other Greek food while listening to the speeches.

The girls softball team also played San Juan yesterday afternoon. The Lady Devils lost 4-1, despite getting six hits during the game. The above photos show Brittnie pitching and Mindy hitting.

The local boys baseball team lost this afternoon to San Juan High School. The score was tied 2-2 in the first inning, but San Juan ended up winning 4-2.

Yesterday, three schools from Grand County traveled 55 miles to Green River to participate in the regional Quiz Bowl competition. Students in grades 6-9 competed against each other in answering questions in a variety of categories, including math, science, history, literature, popular culture, and trivia. Each game lasted less than 20 minutes, but with 12 teams competing, the double-elimination tournament took six hours to complete.

Saturday night was the annual Junior Prom dance at the local high school. Dozens of students dressed in tuxedos and evening gowns and participated in the event, which featured a "promenade" of the girls and boys in the junior class (11th graders), followed by an elegant choreographed group dance to Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight". The theme was "Masquerade," and participants wore fashionable masks (the boys wore the white half-masks made famous by "The Phantom of the Opera"). The bottom photo shows the prom king and queen dancing together.

The local intermediate school's annual Science Fair was yesterday. Dozens of students in grades 4-6 displayed their projects, reports, and inventions. They included (pictured from top) a study on "the anatomy of a booger," a potato-powered clock, a potato-powered light bulb, and an invention that allows you to read in the bathtub without getting the book wet.

Brooklyn (top photo) did well in the regional spelling bee held at Green River high yesterday, taking home a trophy for finishing third-place overall in the five-event pentathlon (which included both the main spelling bee itself and a preliminary spelling bee). The top 12 spellers from four counties participated (middle photo), each winning various trophies and prizes. In the final event, Kunal (right, bottom photo) beat Kira by spelling "impeccable" correctly to earn a trip to the national spelling bee in Washington, D.C. at the end of May.

Now that track season is underway, high school athletes are hitting the field to practice their skills. The discus throw is part of every track meet. Competitors must hurl a metal disc weighing 1.6 kg as far as possible, without stepping outside the painted circle that the thrower stands inside. Here, 17-year-old Tyler shows off his form by throwing the discus over 130 feet in practice.

The Grand County High Red Devils won the state 2A debate championship Saturday in St. George, beating several other schools throughout Utah. Christy's daughter Kimber took first place in oratory. The team had 11 different debaters place in various categories, including Lincoln-Douglas debate, spar debate, student congress, public forum, and extemporaneous speaking. When they arrived back in town Saturday night, the debate team got to ride through town atop a fire truck with their trophy (a local tradition for honoring winning teams in various sports).

At a recent pep rally for the high school basketball team, some of the players participated in a competition where they had to walk blindfolded across a blanket scattered with raw chicken eggs. Remarkably, only one of the 60 or so eggs on the blanket was broken during the course of the game.

Today was a "read-a-thon" event at the local intermediate school (4th through 6th grades). The school's 350 or so students and their teachers read books quietly for a couple of hours this afternoon in the school's multi-purpose room. The school holds such events regularly to encourage children to read more, and to use reading as a primary source of entertainment.

March is here, and the weather is already starting to feel like spring. The kids at the local high school have started playing basketball outside again during lunchtime. Today is the last day of the second school trimester -- there are 60 days of school remaining in the school year.

Brooklyn was among the nine finalists in her school spelling bee this afternoon. About 30 children in grades 4-6 participated. The finalists had to take turns spelling words correctly in order to avoid elimination and advance to the next round. After about eight or nine rounds, the field of 30 entrants had gone down to just nine, each of whom qualified for the district spelling bee next week. Some of the words that were spelled by the kids included "archeology," "journalism," and "entymology."

Paul (with Natalie in top photo) and 15 other students from the local high school visited the College of Eastern Utah yesterday to participate in the Future Business Leaders of America regional competition. More than 300 students from at least 10 different schools competed in various categories, including public speaking, economics, entrepreneurship, accounting, computer programming, and business law. Paul finished in the top five in two categories: 3rd in Java programming and 5th in network design. Paul's classmates won another dozen or so certificates, and are already starting to get ready for the state competition to be held in April. Jeff, one of the school's FBLA advisers, served as the chaperone for the trip.

Brooklyn and about 20 other kids in grades 4-6 are in an after-school chess club, which started meeting today. They'll meet for an hour each Wednesday and play practice games against each other.

The local high school got new scoreboards for the gymnasium this week. They'll be ready for use at tonight's boys basketball game against South Sevier. Check back Monday for photos of the scoreboard at work, along with pictures of the game and halftime show.

The local high school girls basketball team continues to struggle. They lost two more games last weekend, including a 42-15 defeat Saturday afternoon to put their current record at 3 wins and 12 losses. It's still fun to go watch the games, though! Meantime, the boys team is doing very well this season, winning 12 of their first 13 games.

This year, the local high school drill team is performing a frog-themed dance as its novelty dance routine. Half of the girls are princesses, and half are frogs. By the end of the humorous dance, the princesses have been changed into frogs (a reversal from the traditional fairy tale). They performed the routine three times last week and will continue practicing for the regional competition next month.

This week is winter homecoming at the local high school. The boys basketball team won last night, 60-54, and improved their record to eight wins and no losses. Tyler (top photo) scored 20 to lead the Red Devils. The homecoming royalty were honored at halftime, including Christy's daughter Kimber, who is an attendant along with Marcus (middle photo). The homcoming king and queen are Preston and Caitlin (bottom photo). The two other attendants (not pictured) are Mindy and Andy. Tonight is the girls basketball team's homecoming game. Other teams being honored this week are the wrestlers, the drill team, and the cheerleaders. The eventful week will conclude with a dance Friday night.

Auggie had his famous long hair cut at a local elementary school today as a reward for the school's fundraising efforts. The school raised over $10,000 for playground equipment, and Auggie matched that amount with another $10,000 solicited from local individuals, businesses, and organizations. First, Santa Claus cut off Auggie's long braids, much to the delight of the approximately 400 schoolchildren in the audience. Then, a hairstylist shaved Auggie's remaining hair into a Mohawk style and dyed it bright red, as the children had requested. Auggie once worked for the DHC U.S. Office several years ago.

Last night was the first night of the local high school's three-night production of "South Pacific." The popular musical, written for Broadway by Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1949, is set in the islands of the South Pacific during World War II. Sam's son Paul played the part of Tom O'Brien, one of the navy seamen. The cast included nearly 40 students in grades 9 through 12.

After winning the state 2A football championship last Saturday, the Red Devil football team and its thousand or so fans returned from Cedar City to Moab after the game, a trip of about five hours by car (Cedar City is about 300 miles from Moab). The team's charter bus arrived back in town about midnight, only to be welcomed by hundreds of townspeople who lined the streets holding signs, cheering, honking their horns, and flashing their car headlights. The football team and coaches rode down Main Street to the high school aboard fire engines with their lights and sirens flashing. It was a great celebration in honor of the town's first state championship in 85 years of playing football.

The Grand County Red Devils won the school's first-ever football state championship last Saturday afternoon in Cedar City. The Devils came from behind with less than three minutes remaining to defeat 2A arch-rival San Juan 25-22. Pictured here are a few of the game's key plays. The Red Devils, who had won just five games over the past three seasons, finished with a 9-2 overall record.

The hometown high school football team (the Red Devils) won their first playoff game in over 20 years last Saturday when they defeated North Sevier High School 42-0. The Red Devils will travel to Salt Lake to play the Juab Wasps tomorrow (Saturday, November 5) in the state semifinals.

Last Friday night, there was a pep rally at the high school to support the local high school football team, which played a home playoff game the following day. During the rally, players and fans made up cheers, sang the school song, and watched the burning of a large wooden letter "G" (which stands for Grand County High) on the school grounds. The team won its game on Saturday afternoon 42-0, and will play in the state semifinals this coming weekend in Salt Lake City.

This week is Homecoming Week at the local high school. Last night, the junior class (11th grade students) hosted a "car bash" out in the school's parking lot. Students paid $1 and up to take turns bashing out the windows, headlights, and other parts of three junk automobiles that were donated specifically for the event. People used hammers, baseball bats, and even a giant wrench to inflict damage on the cars.

Hundreds of people filled the stands of Red Devil stadium in Moab last Friday night to watch the high school football team play its first home game of the season. The Red Devils defeated Monticello High School, 35-6. Both Ricky (top photo) and Tanner (bottom) scored rushing touchdowns during the game.

Yesterday was the first day of school for Grand County public schools. These children got on the bus at 7:30 a.m. and rode seven miles to Moab, arriving in time to start school shortly after 8 a.m. American schoolchildren typically attend school for 180 days per year, starting in late August or early September and ending in early June.