Aspiring Student Chefs Tour Denver
Eight Culinary Arts students accompanied culinary teacher Betty Ewing and her husband to Denver, Colorado, on a field trip from February 8-10.

According to senior Kenny Peterman, one of the students who went to Denver, the trip was for students who are considering entering a culinary arts-related college or profession.

Students from schools around the nation traveled to Denver to tour the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University. There, chefs taught the students how to make a wide variety of foods, from sushi to banana truffles.

“[Ewing] basically wanted us to get us interested in the university,” junior Enrique Gonzalez said.

According to Ewing, although this is the first time the class traveled to Denver, she has held similar trips to Las Vegas for the past four years.

Attendees only paid a $250 field trip fee that included plane tickets, boarding and food. Money from club funds went toward the approximate $500 difference per person.

Yearbook Sales Up from Previous Years
Yearbook sales have boosted from the beginning of the year when they were at a low. At the end of last December, they were 75 books below normal. The number of yearbooks sold in the past has been about 1,050 books. In order to gain the extra sales, yearbooks has to go above and beyond to get them.

Through numerous announcements presented by “Jon Tran the Yearbook Man,” who made up rhymes to entice people to buy the yearbook, soliciting through the PTSA email list and Josten’s company website, the yearbook staff was able to achieve its goal and even exceed it. The staff sold 1,150 yearbooks to students this year.

Messner and Wife Expecting Baby
History teacher Mike Messner is expecting a baby boy this spring. This is his first child with his wife Nancy.

The baby, due on March 2, will be named Stephen Gerald Messner. His middle name will be passed down from Messner’s father, who passed away four years ago and would have celebrated his birthday the same day the baby is expected to be born.

Messner plans to take a week off to help with the newborn, while his wife, a teacher at Sunnyvale Middle School, will take the rest of the year off and return next fall. Messner cannot wait to show off his new son to his colleagues and students.

“We’ll be bringing the baby around to show to the students and our colleagues sometime before the school year is out,” Messner said.