![On Oct. 30, 24 Eco Club members took a tour of the school’s solar panels on the roof. They were guided and taught by an employee from E Light Electric, the company that maintains the school’s solar panels, and learned about how the panels are maintained and cared for. “I was definitely very excited about being on the roof in general,” Eco Club member Olivia Fang ‘26 said. “[It was exciting to] learn more about solar panels and how they work and how they supply energy to our school.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/RCH_2632-1200x800.jpg)
![Ice and snow make it difficult for drivers on the road. During snowstorms, drivers have poor visibility, and frozen roads make it difficult to stay in control. “Driving home from Denver [on Friday], the neighborhoods weren’t plowed. By the time we got back they were only plowing highways. We spun out, nearly got stuck and fishtailed a few different times,” Connor Pugh ‘26 said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Untitled_Artwork-e1732045465987.jpg)
![Varsity girls soccer midfielder Leah Sheahan ‘24 hugs a friend during the Senior Night celebrations before the home game against Mountain Vista High School (MVHS) at Echo Park Stadium April 29. During Senior Night, seniors were given flowers and the opportunity to walk out and take pictures with their family as their future plans and favorite memories were announced over the speakers. The Jags tied 0-0, losing the Continental League Championship. “We were obviously the stronger team but just couldn’t find a way to score, but otherwise our connection and our intensity was really high so I’m proud of that. We just have to find the net,” defense midfielder Clara Geuzaine ‘24 said. “[Losing League] wasn’t the best. It’s better than last year and like, I know our team and we are doing really good. I don’t want to jinx it but like hopefully [we’ll do] good [in playoffs].”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Copy-of-DSC_4277-1-1200x868.jpg)
![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 lights dim and the music starts. The crowd goes quiet, waiting for the next performance to take place on stage.
The National Dance Team Championship was held Feb. 2 to Feb. 4 at the ESPN World Wide Sports Complex. The poms team flew out Wednesday, Jan. 29, where they practiced for five hours on Thursday and competed for the next three days.
While the team was competing, they still practiced between one to two hours each day to prepare each routine and get ready for when they would compete.
Following each routine at practice, the team would rewatch their footage and determine what needed to be fixed in preparation for Finals performances.
(media by photo courtesy of Universal Event Photography)
“We get a score each round from the judges and comments. As a team, we watch videos and look for areas we can improve in the next performance and then practice and run drills to make those corrections,” varsity head coach Christina Leone said.
Determining what routines the team competed in at Nationals, they looked at two different things: the style of dance and the number of dancers competing on the team. There were six style categories for teams to choose from, according to Inside Info: NDCT 2024, and three division sizes.
The team performed in three categories: Small Pom, where they placed sixth; Medium Game-Day, where they placed eighth; and Small Jazz, which the team did not finish in and did not receive any ranking.
“This year, our divisions were very big. We had about 70 teams in our pom and jazz divisions! So, placing sixth in pom was a huge accomplishment,” Leone said. “It has been since 2019 that we didn’t advance to the jazz finals, so that was a disappointing part of the competition this year, but also a great opportunity to learn!”
Teams compete in Preliminaries, then Semifinals, to where they eventually compete in Finals, if they make it.
“The National Championship is relentless and is a single elimination process, so 50% of the teams [are] eliminated after the first round, then another 25% cut in the second round,” Leone said.
Nationals was the last competition for the varsity poms team to compete in for the season. The team banquet took place March 5 at 7 p.m. at the Viewhouse. The team will begin tryouts for the ‘24-’25 season, starting March and going until April.
