In the last few years, Pueblo High School has boasted some very impressive renovations, including a modern library, artificial turf in the patio, a much-needed cafeteria renovation, newly updated bathrooms, but PHS Principal Frank Rosthenhausler has many additional plans of improvement.
Rosthenhausler plans to continue the trend of campus renovations including adding art on the front office doors. He also would like to see new windows and doors for Lever Gym.
Speaking of Lever Gym… New bleachers should be added to the facility before the end of February.
To afford these projects, Rosthenhausler stays busy writing grants to find the money for these renovations and finding workers to complete his visions.
“Improving a school is what a good principal does,” he stated.
Library Practice students help with the packing & storage of books.
After 20 years from its last major makeover, Pueblo’s Cajero Library is at last undergoing new significant renovations coming to the Warrior community in early 2022.
Ms. Marsh-Jean Burrola, Pueblo’s librarian, shares her enthusiasm.
“I can’t wait to feel how clean the [renovated] library is going to feel!” she said.
Stained, dirty carpet throughout the library will be removed, replaced with tile in most areas. All of the old furniture—several dozen tables and countless bookshelves—has already been removed, donated mostly to teachers. A lot of new equipment is going to be added to this renovation project.
“There were times when it breathing felt icky in the library,” Burrola said. “Sometimes it was very uncomfortable to be in there.”
“I’ve been here for four years, and I’ve seen the same old carpet every day,” she added.
According to Burrola, these new renovations will be costly but a worthy investment for our current and future students.
“The library is the core of most schools,” Burrola said, “and that’s especially true of Pueblo’s library. I anticipate that more teachers and students will be utilizing its resources once the project is completed hopefully during the third quarter.”
Burrola said that her students have helped her nearly since the beginning of the school year to temporarily move books to other locations.
“Moving tons of books was grueling, and I’m grateful for the help that I received,” she said.”
One of Burrola’s students, junior Samuel Gonzalez, said, “Helping Ms. B [Burrola] was a pleasure. She always told me and the other students how lucky she was to have us to assist her.”
Gonzalez added, “At times, it seemed that we’d never finish packing all those books, but slowly but surely, we had it all cleared out, ready for the major renovations. Finding boxes was challenging, but through a lot of teachers’ donations, we got thousands of books out of there.”
Burrola would like to thank Principal Frank Rosthenhausler for supporting her vision of a much needed and modern library.
She would like to especially thank Assistant Principal David Montano for being instrumental in finding “homes” for the old furniture for teachers’ classrooms.
In Pueblo’s Cajero Library, Ms. Marsha Jean Burrola, our school’s librarian, has once again constructed a banned book display—like other libraries across the United States from Sept. 24-30—to bring attention to the issue of banning books from many classrooms and schools.
Many books that are considered to be classics among literary scholars have been banned in many different schools across the country—which are on display in our library as part of Burrola’s showcase—including Bridge to Therabithia, Beloved, and Bless Me Ultima—among others—because of religious beliefs, witchcraft, predestination, sexually-charged themes, atheism, racist statements and themes, and anti-family.
Burrola said, “Students and teachers know that at anytime something we take for granted could get taken away. Once a book is challenged, it could very well be removed from the reading list. The whole banned books movement definitely challenges our freedom to read what we choose.”
Some books that become banned may surprise many. Popular books such as Boy Meets Boy, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games are banned from being read in some classrooms. Even a literary classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, currently is the number one banned book in the country. Even some Hispanic textbooks, such as Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures, and Message to Aztlan, have been banned; these books, at one time, belonged to a Mexican-American Studies curriculum.
Many students have strong feelings about any books removed from school libraries and classrooms—especially in a nation that is supposed to endorse and protect the First Amendment.
“I think some books are banned because parents are excessively protective of their children,” said junior Laura Conde. “They [parents] don’t let their children explore different types of literature.”
Burrola said that Pueblo High School isn’t the only high school to bring attention to banned books. She said that Sabino High School and Catalina High School also have banned-book displays for all to see.
Even though Sept. 30 has passed, Burrola said that she wants to draw attention to this issue. She plans to repeat her “Banned Books Display” next fall.
“I want to continue to bring to our community’s attention to recognize and celebrate our freedom to read what we would like to read, without censorship—to continue to honor the First Amendment,” Burrola said.
