Left to right:  Andrew Ubben, Celine Wicks, Matt Wilson and Ann Guenther are ready to support RHMS for the 2016-2017 school year.

Submitted by RHMS eighth grade student Jack Hibbett; photo courtesy of Tim Rykman

Rocky Heights Middle School (RHMS) has an impressive past and a promising future, which brings in families year after year.  With an abundance of kids, parents, teachers and high standards, there has to be one thing to keep all of them in line – administrators.  Administrators do all the behind-the-scenes work to keep RHMS running smoothly and kids, parents and teachers happy.  This is why RHMS takes pride in its administrators and makes sure they are as professional and experienced as possible.  Here is the administrator lineup for next year, which details why RHMS continues to have a bright future in the upcoming 2016-2017 school year.

Celine Wicks will be returning as principal, and she loves RHMS thanks to its dedicated students and friendly staff.  Wicks is very optimistic about the school’s future and stated, “I am looking forward to the imaginative and innovative work that students produce on a daily basis.”  Wicks has had several other roles throughout RHMS, including athletic director, volleyball coach, and she was a sixth and seventh grade language arts teacher.  Wicks is not only a great administrator, but she is an outdoorsy person too!  Wicks loves to bike and run; she can be spotted at the Triple Bypass or the Imogene Pass Run every single year.

Next, we have another returning RHMS administrator, assistant principal Matt Wilson.  Wilson is most excited about the rising Genius Hour at RHMS and said, “I can’t wait to see all of the cool ideas that students are interested in and what they come up with to show their learning.”  For those of you that did not know, Genius Hour is a movement where students work an hour every week to create a project that they are passionate about.  This year, the sixth graders piloted the program.  Wilson came to RHMS this school year after being a teacher at Sage Canyon Elementary for four years.  Wilson’s wife also works in the district, and his knowledge of the district is evident.

Arriving this fall as one of the two new assistant principals is Ann Guenther.  Guenther has worked all over, including jobs in the business sector and Arapahoe Community College, and she has now spent 14 years in the prestigious Douglas County School District.  Guenther hopes that she can build a learning community at RHMS where students can grow as critical thinkers, along with being collaborative with one another.  Guenther loves that RHMS is giving students choices and believes this helps students become more interested and excited about what they are learning.  In her free time, Guenther loves to give back to her community and helps out whenever she can.  Guenther recounts, “Over the years, I have spent time volunteering at the Tennyson Center, a foster home for children without parents and cooking for the Ronald McDonald House.”

Last but certainly not least, we have the school’s second new assistant principal, Andrew Ubben.  Ubben has been seen all throughout the district, working at well-known schools, such as Sage Canyon Elementary and Cimarron Middle School.  Ubben is excited to join RHMS and recently remarked, “I hope that I fit into the big picture, and I can contribute to the success that RHMS has had over the past few years.”  You may also recognize the name Andrew Ubben from his award-winning wrestling record, becoming a collegiate all-American wrestler three times during his wrestling career!

All of the RHMS administrators are unique, and each needs to play a vital role to keep RHMS at the top of its game.  Luckily, all of these administrators are extremely experienced and plan to keep kids, parents and teachers in sync for years and years to come.