![Minutes before the Activities Fair in the gym, president Abhi Gowda ‘26 prepares the stall for his club Helping Hands, Sept. 4. A relatively new club, Helping Hands was co-started by Gowda and focuses on assisting the homeless, and just last year they succeeded in raising a couple hundred donations to send to shelters. This year, they have goals to expand, with hopes to increase volunteer opportunities and take in-person trips to shelters, as well as extend their help beyond just homeless people. “The Activities Fair gives a lot of underclassmen the opportunity to really get to know the Canyon culture, and it gives them many opportunities for service and volunteering,” Gowda said. “[Through the Activities Fair,] I hope to find a bunch of new and passionate members about our club and just get our name out there and spread awareness to the cause that we’re fighting for.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1-2-1200x885.jpg)
![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)
FRIDAY FACULTY FEATURE: Kate Kubina’s Favorite Memories – and Books
This week’s look at English teacher Kate Kubina’s life inside and outside the classroom.
![Kate Kubina grades papers at her desk after school Dec. 9. Kubina's favorite part of teaching is the students. "It's all of these notes and encouragement and having those moments in class where you just like crack up laughing, those amazing conversations that just come out of nowhere, and just getting to know students [keeps me teaching]," Kubina said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/IMG_0919-e1670624283696-900x721.jpg)
media by Claire Bauer
Kate Kubina grades papers at her desk after school Dec. 9. Kubina’s favorite part of teaching is the students. “It’s all of these notes and encouragement and having those moments in class where you just like crack up laughing, those amazing conversations that just come out of nowhere, and just getting to know students [keeps me teaching],” Kubina said.
December 9, 2022
To some, she was a freshman English or Honors English 1 teacher. To others, she became their Senior Studies mentor or Sci-Fi Fantasy instructor. Over 13 years, Kate Kubina has taught a variety of classes. Kubina talks about her teaching career and some of her favorite forms of storytelling and literature.
Q: What do you teach at Rock Canyon?
A: I teach freshman English Honors, Sci-Fi Fantasy, and Senior Studies.
Q: How long have you been teaching?
A: This will be year number 13.
Q: What got you into teaching?
A: I feel like high school is a really difficult time. It’s very challenging. And I think you go through a lot of stuff. When I went through high school, it was really challenging. I felt like I didn’t have teachers that I could connect with at all and I felt like teachers were another figure telling me what to do. If I had had a teacher that had really understood me and took the time to help me navigate things, I feel like it would have been a game-changer. So for me, it is 100% about the connection, about being there for students, helping you guys navigate a really difficult time in your lives. I also happen to love what I teach. I love literature. I love diving deep into books, but it’s more of a way to help you use that literature as a way to make sense of the craziness of your lives. So it’s just a way to help you navigate.
Q: What keeps you teaching?
A: It’s you guys. The students. It’s like all of these notes and encouragement and having those moments in class where you just like crack up laughing, those amazing conversations that just come out of nowhere, and just getting to know students.
Q: Is that just teaching at Rock Canyon or have you taught at other places?
A: I think this is my year 11 here.
Q: Where did you go to school?
A: I got my undergrad degree at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, and then my graduate degree, my master’s I got through Regis University.
Q: What is your all-time favorite genre?
A: What is my favorite genre of all time? I mean, I’m into thrillers, fantasy, dystopia, that kind of stuff.
Q: What is your favorite form of media, like a book, movie, or show?
A: I mean, I have to say book because I’m an English teacher. There are great books out there.
Q: Follow-up question, what is your favorite book?
A: I get into different series. I mean, my old stuff. I still love “To Kill a Mockingbird.” I feel like I still get goosebumps when I read that. I love “Into Thin Air.” I love so many books that I teach. I would say those two fundamentally. One of my all-time favorites is Ernest Hemingway, “The Sun Also Rises” is a fantastic book. I could go on and on. But yeah, I love every book.