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Adams City High School Theatre Production of Night Chills

An interview with Mr. Phelps

by Redic Martinez
October 25, 2022

It is finally fall, and although it might not feel like it sometimes, we definitely have some things to show for it. One of the big things coming during this spooky season is the new play that will be airing soon! This play will be a one of a kind horror play on Edgar Allen Poe’s work. It is a very ambitious project and we thought we should interview the man behind it all, Mr. Phelps. Here is what he had to say. 

Our interviewer, Redic Martinez, started off the interview asking how Mr. Phelps felt about the whole play. “Some healthy nerves,” he said. He goes on to describe the feeling that is universally felt before doing something you have practiced for. Like the adrenaline rush before a football game or the nervous feeling you get before a test that you actually studied for. He goes on to talk about the reason behind choosing this play and quite simply it is because of Edgar Allen Poe. This is a man that needs no introduction. He is the father of horror and all things with it. “I wanted something different” he said, “I wanted my students’ interests to be reflected” With the coming of Halloween, it all just panned out to be the perfect storm. 

Mr. Phelps talks about how fun it was to actually make this play. A lot of good feelings went into it. He explains that this will have 4 different stories and will experiment more with things like special effects. Now all of this is nice and informative, but why does it matter? Well Mr. Phelps goes into great detail on the stigma behind theater. “People really disregard theater, they knock it before they try it.” he says. This is true in all ages as theater has always been looked down upon. Mr. Phelps sees this as the perfect opportunity to change that with a niche that everyone likes. He hopes this show will draw out more people from the community of all ages. He makes some really good points on how theater reflects life. Theater has been around for an incredible amount of time and has been used in many different ways. This is old news but COVID really starved everyone of human interaction but theater can be a good way to get back to it. 

A lot of students think that you must have a particular taste to enjoy plays. This is wrong in many ways. Just like a movie, everyone can find something good in a play. Unlike a movie, a play is shared with the people who made it. Those who worked on the play day in and day out are there to show you they care equally. For the most part, movies are just another form of consumerism where it is one and done. With a play, you see everything in real time. Movies are the fast food of entertainment while plays have stood the test of time as the 5 star dish. You can’t knock something until you try it. With that being said,  this upcoming play looks very promising. You don’t have to go to a movie theater to find created emotion, you can find it in your own school for much cheaper. The play will be airing on October 28 and 29 as well as November 3 and 4. It will be $5 to get in. If you are a freshman, you are in luck because there is a discount going on with tickets and food which bring down the ticket cost to $3 for you and your family. There isn’t a good reason to not try it and that, in itself , is a good reason to try it. We, the eagle eye, will be there and we hope to see you there so bring your friends down and give it a shot.

September 13, 2022

Commerce City Colorado
In a recent interview with Mr. Garcia, the principal of Adams City Highschool, he explained the situation with our recent loss of accreditation and long battle with the State Board of Education and the State's Accountability System. He shared with us his outlook for the next two years, and gave us information on the highly anticipated academies that will be put into the school curriculum.


Our own Angel Reyes and Redic Martinez sat down with Principal Garcia and asked how ACHS has been affected by the recent loss of accreditation and the turnaround process. He responds with the metaphor of a cloud blocking the sunlight from reaching us. “The biggest thing is that it puts a cloud over us that we don’t need. Makes our students and families and even our teachers anxious about everything and stresses us out. It doesn’t help us be the best that we can be.” Here, Mr. Garcia explains how we are being emotionally attacked by this. It's not just damaging the school as a building and institution, but rather it impacts our state of mind as well. It is like an ongoing cycle of not performing well because we are stressed and we are stressed because we are underperforming. Mr. Garcia then goes on to describe that this is a legal battle that the district needs to confront. Mr. Garcia and Adams 14 maintain that it cannot ever be considered a subordinate agency because Article IX, Section 15 of the Colorado Constitution accords local school boards with local control over instruction in public schools. A Denver District Judge recently disagreed with that stance, but Superintendent Loria and the Adams 14 School District plan to appeal the ruling. 


Although this talk is definitely scary, Mr. Garcia assures us that these changes are still far in the future and we shouldn’t fear the immediate future. “It’s not going away. They can't do any of those things overnight. There are conditions that the community, the board, and the surrounding districts all have to be ok with. It isn’t going to happen in my opinion and it definitely isn’t going to happen quick” he says. Mr.Garcia shows faith in the inability to successfully make the transition from our school district into another. There are so many steps that the probability of it happening is low.

 

One of the biggest changes in the near future will be the establishment of Academies at ACHS. Mr. Garcia puts a lot of trust in the Academies as a positive improvement on ACHS moving forward. He believes that an education based on interest will help students want to be there and focus more. But what are the academies exactly? Mr. Garcia explains them as so, “Project-based learning and more work-based learning like working in the community. Giving you some release time to do internships. Bringing people from the community and even alumni to come in and be that expert in the field that talks to you in school, I'd much rather have that person, than me talk to you about the value of that career.” There is a lot to unpack here. The academies will be a pathway-based learning system where students can work on a curriculum specifically designed for their future interests. This can be an engineer-based curriculum or one in the hospitality-based industry. This is big news for those who think school doesn’t really teach you anything valuable for your future. He believes these changes can happen as early as next year for our coming upperclassmen. 
 

 In two years, he believes that we can be out of this hole with our accreditation. He just needs all of us to take these coming state tests seriously to be able to make a better high school for the community. Mr. Garcia expresses his desire for an involved community-based school. This comes in the form of flexible schedules, this can be seen as a student working in the morning and still being able to attend afternoon classes. In some cases we can see other members of the community stepping in to learn together. There can be instances where community businesses can come and get help from students where both parties benefit. It’s all in the vision of what people hoped this school would be when it was first being built. Graduation rates have increased by 12% recently and we are hoping for an even bigger increase. All of those things can only happen if we all work together to keep our school. We have to show them that we won’t go down without a fight and that this school means more than the state is aware of. 

Academies, The Accreditation Dilemma, and the Path Forward for ACHS. 

ACHS Students Paint Snowplows and Create Works of Art
Mr. Mike Rogers
September 21, 2022

For well over ten years, the Adams City High School Visual Arts Program takes 10-11 students on a field trip where the students paint the Commerce City snow plows; and create works of art. 

In order to be chosen for the field trip, the students are asked to fill out an entry form where they are asked to write about why they should be chosen to go on the field trip and they are asked to create a design for one of the plows. The ACHS art teachers then look through all of the entries and decide who would be the best candidates for the trip.  

 

For the field trip, the 10-11 students are then driven down to the Commerce City Public Works to paint the blades of the snow plows. The Commerce City Police Department provides the transportation for the students and the city pays for all of the art supplies along with buying us pizza and drinks for lunch, making this a completely free field trip. Once the students arrive at the public works, the students get into groups and then decide whose design should be put on the plow or if they should incorporate elements of each person's design.  From there, they start drawing their design on the plow using chalk and then start painting it. This is a one day field trip and the students arrive back at the school by the end of the school day. 

 

The snowplows are then driven down the homecoming parade for spectators to see the students work. The snow plows serve as the visual arts floats for ACHS and are an amazing way to show off the students talents. This field trip would not be possible without the huge support from everyone who works over in the public works, the police department and the city. Also, a huge thanks to the snow plow drivers for volunteering their time to drive these plows down the parade. This field trip creates lifelong memories for our students and is something that they will remember as being a positive and unique activity that they did during their high school experience.  

 

 

 

These are the students who went on the field trip: 

- Amanda Hall 

- Mari Benitez-Rios 

- Karina Esquivel-Pichardo

- Mariana Hernandez- Soledad

- Ruby Aguilar

- Angeline Sanchez

- Kathy Gurrola-Arias

- Elizabeth Martinez-Atayde 

- Melanie Normany

- Victoria Pastrana-Ramos

- Anna Benitez-Rios 

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Volunteers 
Needed!

If you are available Tuesdays and Thursdays after school from 4:00 pm-5:00 pm and want to do some community service, then come to Kearney Middle School to tutor kids with Math and possibly other things. 

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