The office is full of new faces and new policies as we welcome the new administrators at Canyon High School.

Principal Jennifer Boren had to fill two assistant principal positions and one associate principal position after Blake Hurst, Eric Gomez and Brandi Sanderson took different positions at other campuses.

“I’m super excited about my new administrative team,” Boren said. “They will be amazing at their jobs, but they just don’t know what their job looks like here at Canyon High School. Helping them know how we do things is probably the biggest hurdle of all.”

The two new assistant principals, Brad Hoeksema and Todd Reynolds said they are excited to be on campus. 

“While we were moving from Arkansas, I was looking for a job and was put in contact with Canyon High School,” Hoeksema said. “I got an interview with Mrs. Boren, and it went well. I decided to take the job.” 

The administrative team said they are working on changes that will help the school run smoother.

“I think all of us can always be learning and growing and getting better,” Boren said. “As we move into having a whole new administration team, we have all talked as a group about some things here at Canyon High School that we could improve.”

The eagle essentials are guidelines that students are expected to follow at school. This year, the administrators rewrote the essentials and hung posters around the school as reminders. 

“The old eagle essential posters all said different things but had good information,” Hoeksema said. “We wanted to streamline it to make it easy for everybody to remember the outline of those expectations of the Canyon Eagles.”

Hoeksema said he hopes to get closer with students and other faculty members during his time on campus.

“I want to build relationships with students and teachers, and to help build the culture here at Canyon High School,” Hoeksema said. “We’re trying to see what works, what doesn’t, and how we can make it more efficient. I think we’ve helped with the teacher side of things, as far as discipline and entering referrals. We’re trying to keep kids in class, because that’s where they need to be.”

Geometry teacher Kelli Mooring has been teaching on campus for 23 years. Mooring said she is noticing and appreciating what Hoeksema and Reynolds have to offer.

“The assistant principals have come in and have seen a couple things they think can be better,” Mooring said. “They’ve taken initiative to try to change some things we have done the same way for years. New eyes can see better.” 

Teachers now have the ability to submit tardies from their classrooms so students do not have to spend time in the office.

“The way we, as teachers, turn in tardies is much better,” Mooring said. “The students just come to class instead of going to the office to get a pass, and then we record it in Skyward. Students don’t miss as much class time this way.”

Several staff members said they are happy to welcome new administrators and see how they can help everyone reach their full potential and be successful as they move forward on campus and in life.

“Our unofficial theme this year is ‘new beginnings, rich traditions,'” Boren said. “The theme of new beginnings and rich traditions is comforting to all of us to know it’s always good to try new things and get better and grow. However, you don’t ever want to give up the rich things that make you who you are in the crowd.”