![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)
![At Prairie View High School, the winterguard team poses with their plaque after winning first place at their competition Feb. 24. This was the second time they won first place this year, this time with a score of 74.190 points. “I [love being] a witch, but my favorite [part of the show] is the trios, it’s so cool,” Heather Strickland ‘27 said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRARIE-VIEW-BY-MARGO-SANFORD-e1709531739910-1200x910.jpg)
FRIDAY FACULTY FEATURE: Peter DeFilippo’s Passion for Movies
This week’s glimpse into the life of English teacher Peter DeFilippo.
media by Elly Brooks
English teacher Peter DeFilippo reads a book and works on his computer Aug. 30. DeFilippo prepared a slideshow for his next class, literature of film. “My two favorite movies are ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Speed Racer,'” DeFilippo said.
September 30, 2022
Have you ever heard about someone that got their head stuck in a door and couldn’t get out? Someone that has such an intense love for movies that he has 30 movie posters all over his classroom? A teacher that secretly has a love for video games? Through the embarrassing stories, the inner nerd, and the intense passion for movies is English teacher Peter DeFilippo.
Q: What is your first and last name and how long have you been teaching at Rock Canyon?
A: My name is Peter DeFilippo. This is my fourth year teaching at Rock Canyon and my tenth year teaching in total.
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: So I teach English Honors, English, and Literature in Film.
Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of school and what is your favorite video game?
A: I enjoy going to the movies, I like going on hikes, and I really like playing video games. I like to read “It” and hang out with my friends. My favorite video game right now is “Elden Ring.” “Elden Ring” is a fantasy game that is notoriously difficult, and that’s one of the aspects that I really like about it, it’s really challenging.
Q: What is one of your craziest teaching stories?
A: That one I need to think about. Craziest teacher story that’s appropriate to tell students? One time, I accidentally closed my head in a door because I bent down to pick up the doorstop and I didn’t move my head out of the way. The door slammed shut on my head and I fell on the ground and rolled around screaming out, “my head,” and I was bleeding. And that was really embarrassing. That was at the first high school I taught at.
Q: What is your favorite movie and what different franchise would you rather be in?
A: I have two favorite movies, because I love movies. So it’s hard for me to nail down one. But my two favorite movies are “The Lord of the Rings” and “Speed Racer”.
Q: Okay, would you rather be in a Marvel or DC movie?
A: I’d rather be in a Marvel movie, but I’d rather be in a DC comic.
Q: Would you rather be in Star Wars? Or Harry Potter? Is Star Wars easy?
A: Hands down.
Q: What’s your favorite Star Wars movie?
A: My favorite Star Wars movie is the best Star Wars movie, “The Empire Strikes Back,” but a close second is “Rogue One”.
Q: Do you have any pets and why did you pick those interesting names?
A: I have two cats.
Q: And what are their names?
A: One of the cats’ names is Leonardo, and the other is Dario. My wife actually had him before I met her. He is named after a character from a Shakespeare play, called “Much Ado About Nothing”. We got Dario together and we named him after a character from “Game of Thrones”.
![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_4906-1-600x529.jpg)
![Outside the 4000s pod, a black paper banner painted with the words “Route RC 23 Homecoming” represents the overall theme for this years Homecoming Sept. 22. The other pods were decorated with specific locations from the road trip theme. “My favorite design this year is the banner. It is so innovative and [Student Council] really applied their artistic abilities in showcasing the road trips theme,” Veronica Baxter ‘25 said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_2946-e1695783011146-600x371.jpeg)
![Isabelle Piche 24 and Collin Naibauer 24 smile at the top of Red Rocks Amphitheatre after completing the Red Rocks 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Sept. 11. The two students and their Fire Science peers joined hundreds of citizens in doing nine laps around the amphitheatre to complete a distance similar to the 110 floors first responders climbed up the World Trade Center on the day of the attacks. Others should definitely consider doing the climb because it’s a very eye-opening experience with the amount of adults, children, firefighters, paramedics, police and other people [who] come together to honor something so tragic, Piche said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_9374-e1694495989417-600x425.jpg)
