AT THE beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, most students were drifting between nervousness and excitement about starting another school year. One reason Granger Lancers go through this emotional ride is the uncertainty of how the school year will end and how it will change them. 

Whether as a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, there’s this internal pressure to make the best of these high school years. The title “most important years of your life” doesn’t ease the pressure at all. It seems that there’s often that certain goal that a student wants to reach by the end of the year, and the fear of the unknown sometimes cripples the enjoyment of the moment. 

Nevertheless, these highlights will surely have Lancers smiling and reminiscing these events through the school year.

As the basketball fans said earlier in the year, this once-in-a-lifetime experience will always be remembered. For the first time at Granger High School, Dr. Dunn surprised students with a tight-lipped secret scrimmage played by Utah’s one and only Jazz team and their mascot at an after-school assembly. 

This event was later revealed to most in Utah as it was covered on CBS and local news stations with Lancers being interviewed, and it can still be found archived on their websites.

This year’s talent show exceeded anyone’s expectations, most performers showing their vocal skills, dance moves, and some out-of-the-ordinary skills. 

Some performances included an African dance by a wonderful group of girls, a beautiful duet performed by Angele Nguyen (12) and Wajih Hashmi (12), an amazing  tap dance performed by Natalia Maddocks (12), a smashing hit by Alicia Keyes performed by Giovanna Aguilar (12) and a glow-in-the-dark hula hoops performance by Kolby Smith (12). 

In first place was Kolby Smith, second was Matty Mulitalo, and third place was Giovanna Aguilar.

Another unexpected event was Granger’s rebellion over the law passed by Michelle Obama of Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, which tried to have students eat healthier at schools by changing the contents in vending machines and school stores. As most know, this protest included the delicious CostCo muffins and Maruchan noodles that had students lining up all through lunch. 

This place called the “G-shack” was open for two weeks selling the beloved noodles and muffins students have wanted all year with extra bonuses like hot pockets and chips. This unexpected gift has students hoping it occurs next year.

The end-of-the-year Spirit Bowl was no ordinary assembly. Instead of the traditional navy blue, gray, crimson red, and white colors associated with each grade level, Disney’s iconic villains changed the colors on display for each of the grades—with seniors in black for Maleficent, juniors in navy blue for Hades, sophomores in orange for Scar, freshman in purple for Yzma, and faculty in crimson red for Captain Hook. 

Competition was fierce and emotions were running high during the assembly, but in the end, purple-clad seniors walked off with Maleficent’s wicked sceptre.

In academic news, administrators held pancake morning parties were the they personally flipped pancakes and gave them to students as an incentive to improve SAGE test scores. With this incentive and the hard work of students and staff, Granger High’s administration hopes that it’ll help improve the school’s accreditation score from its current F-grade standing.