![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)
Thirty-nine French students recently participated in the National French Contest sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French, showcasing their skills in various aspects of the French language from Feb.14 to April 8.
The annual competition evaluates participants on their oral proficiency, written expression and listening comprehension abilities. Students competed against a pool of over 46,000 students from across the country. Students were evaluated on their skills and excelled in the three categories they participated in.
Keren Bantshi ‘27 earned the Médialle d’Or (Gold medal),“I like to practice French outside of school and get practice quizzes, then I do the extra practice that my teacher assigns. I feel really good and proud of myself for getting first place and it’s like one of my bigger accomplishments for the school,” Bantshi said.
“I thought the exam was easy because I already had French skills at home, since my family speaks French. My parents are from Congo and they speak French there. ”
The students achieved a total of seven medals and garnered a variety of accolades for their performance in the French language. Their accomplishments span multiple levels of study, beginning with French II and extending all the way to the more advanced French V/AP.
Charl Blom ‘26 earned the Médialle de Bronze (Bronze medal), “It was very exciting. I’ve been participating in the Le Grand Concours for three years now, in my French career. This is the second time I’ve won a medal. Last year I also won bronze, but it was pretty exciting this year as well, because, of course, there’s a higher level of competition,” Blom said. “Well, just getting more familiar with the French culture through reading books in French, or just reading, generally articles in French, to get more familiar with that aspect. And also listening to the French language, hearing how things are pronounced, and how you can just get information from hearing people talk.”
This achievement highlights not only the students’ commitment to mastering a second language but also the supportive environment fostered by their teachers and peers at Rock Canyon.
The following students received Medals:
Jane Cranney, 9th grade, earned the Médaille d’Argent (Silver) in French 2.
Bella Cox, 10th grade, earned the Médaille de Bronze in French 2.
Keren Bantshi, 10th grade, earned the Médaille d’Or (Gold) in French 3.
Zoe Swant, 10th grade, earned the Médaille de Bronze in French 3.
Nicolas Stuart, 11th grade, earned the Médaille d’Argent in French 4.
Charl Blom, 11th grade, earned the Médaille de Bronze in French S/AP.
Kathleen Keesey, 11th grade, earned the Médaille de Bronze in French 5/AP.
The following students earned Honorable Mentions:
French II: Jordyn Caccamise, Raine Fell, Neathra Prabakaran, Clare Nickerson, Madeline Friese, Nikitha Sandeep, Catie Youngman, Vlad Meller, Paige Stout, Aarav Sinha, Ari Powell and Sienna Vernetti
French III: Hope Mandeville, Lily Peart, Jeremy Odell, Emberlyse Vidal, Saanvi Amara, Sophie Poler, Maya Poczwardowska, Graham Brauchler, Ivanna Cortes, Thaswika Brijesh, Saketh Anoop, Madeline Gacnik, Lorenzo
Strazimiri and Nikita Pillai
French IV: Sophie Harris
French V/AP: Amelia Solano, Claire Erikson, Hansika Lakkireddy and Ashley Chang.
