![In room 4101, Natalie Patterson ‘26, Ariana Magor ‘25 and Celina Salazar ‘25 create a poster in science teacher Kerry Reilly’s Chemistry Honors April 18. The three completed a worksheet and drawing to explain the implosion of a tank for their unit on gas laws. “At the start of class, we watched a video of the tank imploding,” Patterson said. “I think [making a drawing] is something new. I like more artsy activities.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_5019-1200x900.jpeg)
![The girls varsity soccer team walk back to their bench during halftime April 1. The Jags played against the Castle View Sabercats at the Douglas County Stadium and scored 3-0 W. “It felt really good [to beat Castle View]. I feel like that was a big win for us because knowing that we came together to beat a pretty good team has definitely given us some leverage for this season,” attacking midfielder Grace Rossner ‘24 said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_4906-1-1200x1057.jpg)
![English teacher Colleen Lamb grades College Prep English assignments during period two Nov. 10. Lamb, who has been teaching for 27 years, decorates her classroom with posters and handmade college flags from her senior students. Everything I enjoy about English happens primarily in the classroom, Lamb said. So, thankfully, the college [I worked at] had a teaching program, and I was able to do my post-grad work for free while I was working [there].”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_1158-1200x900.jpeg)
The bell rings.
Students walk into room 9450 to see Rebecca Uchyn preparing to teach her math classes. She teaches Algebra, Algebra II Trigonometry and, her favorite of all, AP Statistics.
“Math just explains the world around us and I find it so fascinating that things just work out in math and they do apply to so many real situations,” Uchyn said.
When Uchyn started teaching AP Statistics, she discovered her true passion for the topic.
“Since I’ve started teaching statistics, I’ve been reinvigorated with math because it’s so applied and comes with so many real-world contexts that can be analyzed with data,” Uchyn said.
Uchyn has been teaching for 10 years, all of them being at Rock Canyon. Before teaching, she went to college at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley where she majored in mathematics with an emphasis on secondary education.
“I interviewed at Cherokee Trail High School, where I did my student teaching, and at Rock Canyon. I had always thought that I wanted to teach in Cherry Creek School District because that is where I went to school. But, when I came to Rock Canyon for my interviews it felt like home,” Uchyn said. “I really enjoyed my interactions with Mrs. Zimmerman, and of course with Mr. Abner. I guess it was just a feeling that it was the right place for me. I’ve taught at Rock Canyon for 10 years now and I feel so thankful for my time here.”
Uchyn also sponsors the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) club as well as Scholastech.
The UNICEF club is where students come together to help children learn about different parts of the world.
“UNICEF is an international children advocacy group. We coordinate fundraisers to support UNICEF’s efforts to improve child welfare around the world. We also share content to educate members about issues concerning child welfare and ask them to help create campaigns to share the information as well. We share a lot of the content to the general public on our social media pages,” Uchyn said.
Scholastech is for teaching middle schoolers to code and learn more about the subject.
“Scholastech is a club that brings coding experience to younger people. Every other week they go to Rocky Heights to teach students how to code and do coding activities with middle schoolers,” Uchyn said.
Uchyn’s love for her community and students is what drives her every day.
“Most days, I love being in the classroom and feel so grateful that I get to have such a big impact on my students and they get to have such a big impact on me. I’ve always wanted to contribute to my community and help support our future generations. Being a teacher allows me to do that,” Uchyn said.
