![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)
FRIDAY FACULTY FEATURE: the History Behind History Teacher Andrew Mulberry
A glimpse into the personal and educational sides of a social studies teacher.
media by Audrey Rea
Andrew Mulberry addresses his seminar class Aug. 30. Mulberry often plays jeopardy with donut rewards to incentivize staying engaged and coming to Seminar. “My best memories are with my current senior seminar class,” Mulberry said.
September 16, 2022
If you’ve ever heard a passionate yell from the social studies pod, odds are, it was social studies teacher Andrew Mulberry. Tucked away in the back corner of the 5000s, Mulberry has called room 5800 home for nine years.
As a previous AP European History teacher, and now an AP Modern World History and regular US History teacher, Mulberry has shared his love of teaching history with Rock Canyon.
“I couldn’t love the people I work with [more] and the administration has been great, so I’m pretty happy with that,” Mulberry said.
Q: How long have you been teaching and then how long have you been teaching at Rock Canyon?
A: This will be my 29th year teaching and this will be my ninth year at Rock Canyon.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Central Illinois in a little town called Metamora, right outside of Peoria, Illinois and I had one brother and two sisters. I [lived] with both parents, but my dad passed away when I was in seventh grade.
Q: Can you describe your family for me?
A: My son is [adopted] from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He’s nine and his name is Kean. One of the cool things is that he’s in the 98th or 99th percentile for height. And then my wife, we’ve been married for 22 years now I think. She used to be a professor at Regis University, and now she’s taking a job working for a group called Stride at a clinic.
Q: How do you spend your weekends?
A: As my son gets older, lots of basketball tournaments. I am actually coaching his fall baseball team every Sunday. I am also a gigantic Illinois football fan, just Illinois sports in general, so I’ll be watching a lot of Illinois football games on Saturdays over the next couple of weeks.
Q: Where did you go to college and why did you choose there?
A: I went to Illinois Wesleyan University. It’s a small school… I went there to play baseball. I would have loved to have gone to the University of Illinois, but I wasn’t good enough to play baseball there, so I ended up [at Illinois Wesleyan University] instead. But in the end, it was good because it’s a small school, and since I grew up in a very small town, it was kind of a decent transition and wasn’t a shock to the system.
Q: Why did you decide to become a teacher?
A: My dad was not a teacher but a guidance counselor at a high school, and when he passed away, I saw just how important, especially in a small town, big teachers are to the community… I just realized the impact that you could have on people.
Q: If you couldn’t be a teacher, what would you be? Why?
A: Growing up, I always wanted to be a major league baseball player. I do have regrets of not pursuing, going in, and coaching college baseball. When I was younger, I [thought] that maybe if I’m not good enough to play major league baseball, I could coach at a high level.
Q: Why did you choose Rock Canyon?
A: I actually got the job when I was living in Wisconsin. My wife’s family and I had all moved out here from Illinois. When we adopted, we decided to move close to family, and she didn’t want to move to Central Illinois, so as a result, we decided to move out here. So I just put a bunch of resumes out and one of the places that called me back was Rock Canyon.
Q: What is a subject or unit that you are the most passionate about?
A: For whatever reason, and I think part of it is growing up in a very blue-collar place like Peoria, Illinois, I do enjoy dealing with the Gilded Age. The whole Gilded Age kinda deals with labor versus management and the back and forth.
Q: Do you have a teaching philosophy, and if so, what is it?
A: One of the big things we work on is skills. My expectations are that kids come in having read whatever section they’re responsible for reading, and then we just hone their skills. So, a lot of that is just kids having to develop those skills, and so my philosophy is “lecture as little as possible.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A: I’m hoping that once my son graduates from school, which will be roughly around 10 years from now, I would love to be able to move back to the midwest. The Denver area is a really good place for him, and right now at his elementary school he has a lot of people who look out for him, but I would love to go back to either Milwaukee or Chicago.