![Minutes before the Activities Fair in the gym, president Abhi Gowda ‘26 prepares the stall for his club Helping Hands, Sept. 4. A relatively new club, Helping Hands was co-started by Gowda and focuses on assisting the homeless, and just last year they succeeded in raising a couple hundred donations to send to shelters. This year, they have goals to expand, with hopes to increase volunteer opportunities and take in-person trips to shelters, as well as extend their help beyond just homeless people. “The Activities Fair gives a lot of underclassmen the opportunity to really get to know the Canyon culture, and it gives them many opportunities for service and volunteering,” Gowda said. “[Through the Activities Fair,] I hope to find a bunch of new and passionate members about our club and just get our name out there and spread awareness to the cause that we’re fighting for.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1-2-1200x885.jpg)
![The winter guard team makes fifth place at the state championship finals in the Denver Coliseum, March 30. The team performed to Barnes Country's “Glitter and Gold,” lead by coaches Margo Sanford, Blair Bickerton and Anna Orgren. In their class there were a total of nine groups participating, and the top five who made it to finals received a plaque. “[Walking onto the stage] is very nerve-wracking, but also very exciting as well. When you first start color guard there's a lot of anxiety and uncertainty when you first perform in front of an audience, but once you've done it for a while, it starts to become the best part of the season,” Ella West ‘25 said. “It's very fulfilling to see an audience react to something you've put your heart and soul into.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Both-socal-media-nd-website-main-1-1200x846.jpg)
![April marks the 25th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, created by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). This month is to spread awareness of the harassment, assault and abuse that happens around the world. The symbol that represented the month was a teal ribbon; however, some survivors of assault create different symbols and movements like the TikTok trend in 2022, where survivors would tattoo Medusa on their body, in honor of her backstory in Greek Mythology. “I don't think [this month is known] at all. I rarely see anybody talk about it. I rarely see much of an emphasis on posting it online, or much discussion about it, and I feel like there needs to be way more discussion,” an anonymous source said. “I think just validating every experience that a person has gone through, regardless of the degree of it, the severity, is an essential step into making sure that people are aware that this is a very real problem in a society and that we need to do better in addressing it.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_0011-1200x900.jpg)
![Lesbian Visibility Day is April 26, and it’s a holiday to celebrate the lesbian community of the world. Lesbian Visibility day was established in 2008 by many queer activists and organizations who sought to raise more awareness for lesbian history and culture. “So this is why during Lesbian Visibility [Day] we celebrate and center all lesbians, both cis and trans, while also showing solidarity with all LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people,” Linda Reily, in an article written by her, said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Lesbian-Visibility-day.jpeg)
Brown lockers filled with instruments, sheet music and cases lead down the performing arts hallway.
Before school, students sit along the walls and socialize. Then, the first bell rings.
Kids shuffle into room 300, the home of the band family, as the symphonic band starts. They play their scales and are led by their Band Director Trevor McLaine, a first-year teacher, to play their music.
“I really liked the experience I had when I was in high school band and it became a no-brainer for me to become a band director,” McLaine said. “I graduated from grad school at Florida State University and I didn’t want to do anything on the East Coast.”
McLaine applied for jobs out west, but ultimately decided on Colorado once he met the students.
“I applied to a bunch of different states, but when I interviewed here and met the students, I realized it was a space I could call home, and I could make something really special,” McLaine said.
His music journey started when he was young, and it continues every day.
“[The first instrument I played was] saxophone, specifically alto, but I learned to play all of them,” McLaine said.
McLaine started playing in sixth grade, and now he brings his knowledge to the students he works with.
“I’m a woodwind guy, although a good brass choir is one of the best things you can hear,” McLaine said.
McLaine is passionate about music and decided to work in a place where he could share that passion with students, making sure he pushes them to be the best they can be.
“[I had Mr. McLaine for] colorguard,” Ella West ‘26 said. “He pushes us in practice.”
McLaine believes that young people have lots of potential. He says that they need someone to bring that out, which is why he pushes his students.