Supercast

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about this team in particular.

Student:
I mean it's like just such a special group. It is like how can I go and be successful for the team.

Student:
We all like sisters, we all support each other.

Student:
We just knew this year, like before the season even started all the seniors just got together. We decided like hey, let's just make this the best year ever.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are identical twins with an identical goal, getting the very best out of high school athletes on the Riverton High School Girls Lacrosse team. On this episode of the Supercast, meet identical twin sisters Hannah and Maddie Kelleher, who recently led the Riverton High Girls Lacrosse team to their very first state championship title. It was a hard-fought victory that came down to the wire in overtime, but the winning didn't stop there. The team had something else to celebrate as Coach Hannah was named the 2026 Utah USA Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are at Riverton High School on the field talking with two of the Riverton Girls Lacrosse coaches. Introduce yourselves.

Coach Hannah:
I'm Coach Hannah, I'm the head coach here at Riverton.

Coach Maddie:
I'm Coach Maddie, and I'm the assistant coach.

Anthony Godfrey:
So if you can't tell by listening to their voices, they are twins, and they are incredible. They just won, here at Riverton, the first Girls Lacrosse state title. Tell us how that feels to be part of that.

Coach:
Oh, I mean it feels great. Like, I mean, we told the girls because we had the privilege of doing it at Herriman when we were played over there in 2019. And it's like, I'm like, it's the best day ever. Coach:
Seriously, like, it's all that hard work. It's like finally coming to fruition and to have been able to make history with this group of girls, like, I mean, it's something we've been working on for three years now. And so to have finally seen it happen, like, it's just so, so awesome.

Coach:
Yeah, I mean, just to add on to that awesome feeling, awesome group of girls, I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. And so it's just an awesome feeling, so exciting. And to see all the girls' hard work come like to this, it's just awesome.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you were players at Herriman, and you won the state title there. And in 2019, which, because it was pre-pandemic feels like prehistoric to me. That was not long after lacrosse had been sanctioned, probably. So tell me about the timeline.

Coach:
Yeah, so 2019, it was actually the year before it got sanctioned.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Corch:
So that was when they still had like the divisions. So you'd have Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 championship instead of having it by class. 6A, 5A, 4A. And so we were Division 1 state champions, which was awesome. Played Park City. So yeah, that was kind of this timeline there. Then 2020 is when it got sanctioned. And word on the street was we were going to go back-to-back, but we'll never know. We'll never know.

Anthony Godfrey:
We'll never know. I'm going to just say that you went back to back. In our hearts. In our hearts you went back to back. So tell me about the evolution of the sport since you played at Herriman the last year that it was not sanctioned. And tell me how it's grown and how it's evolved over time.

Coach:
I mean, I think the biggest thing that you see is there's a lot more players now. Back when it was pre-sanctioned, schools would have to kind of combine sometimes. So especially the schools up north, like it would be like Davis and Northridge. They didn't have enough to fill their two separate teams, so they would combine. And so I think with the sanctioning, it's getting a lot more girls wanting to play. Honestly, we've seen it with our team. We have basketball players wanting to come. We're having soccer players wanting to come. And initially it's like, "Oh, I just want to come do this for fun. Kind of on my off-season.“ And then they end up quitting their main sport to come play because they love it so much. So I think that's the biggest thing I've seen.

Coach:
Yeah, I mean, I also think the girls' game is always changing. It feels like every year we get new rules. And so, I mean, it's hard to think back to when we last played in 2019 in high school. Just again, with all those changes. But I think it's also just like a faster moving sport now with like the different rules that they've applied, which is cool to see. Right? Like it used to be a little bit odd, but now it's very free flowing and everything.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what are some of the rules changes that you've seen happen over the years?

Coach:
So it used to be on every whistle. So the refs would blow the whistle. The player who got fouled would get the ball. The refs would be like, "Okay, everybody four away." And they would individually have to be like, "No, you have to go four away. You have to keep backing up." Like you were the player who fouled. You had to come four behind.

Anthony Godfrey:
Four away, meaning four feet away.

Coach:
Four meters, sorry. Four meters.

Anthony Godfrey:
Four meters, okay.

Coach:
And it was like so slow. It was like every whistle. It was like, "Stop. Move everybody away." And then to start play again, it was like a whistle start. Then it's crazy because everybody on the field would have to stop. Like it would be whistle. Everybody stops. Everybody is like being positioned, whistle again. So it was just so slow. Like it made the game so slow. It was so choppy. So now it's like, you know, there's a whistle. They're giving the advantage. So it's just, yeah, much, much better game.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's a faster-moving game, the way that they're officiating it now.

Coach:
Oh, yeah. For sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about this team in particular.

Coach:
I mean, it's like just such a special group. Like truthfully, like they went out there every single game. And it was never about them. It was never about their stats. It was like, how can I go and be successful for the team? We talked at the very beginning of the season, like everybody has a role. And, you know, sometimes that role is you're going to be a starter. It's going to be like you're going to be a sub. Sometimes you're going to be a bench player. You know, but like everybody has a role, and everybody is key to the success in our role. And, you know, I think a good example is that is our freshman goalie, Ellis Snow. You know, she didn't play at all that championship game. And I think sometimes it's easy to be like, “Oh, like I wasn't part of it. Like I didn't do it.”  Like it's very easy to get stuck in that mindset. But you look back to Mountain Ridge, our semifinal game, and you put her in like a little bit into that second half, and she came up with huge saves. Truthfully, we wouldn't have made it to the championship game without her. You know, and so like in Mountain Ridge, she was, she played the sub role, you know, in the championship game, she played the bench role. But like truthfully, every single girl, we couldn't have done it without any of them. And so it was just good group, good group of girls, pure hearts. Like they're just great, great girls.

Coach:
Yeah. And I mean, I'll add on to that. These girls, they are like, I know it's so corny, but they're like sisters. I mean, they the seniors have done a great job of making such a good like team community, a great culture here. They embrace the underclassmen as one of their own. And they just are great leaders. Like all of our seniors are just great girls, great leaders, and have done a great job getting this team to where they are, as far as culture goes and like the hard work and everything that everybody puts in.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are the two of you love most about coaching?

Coach:
I think one of two things for me, I think one, it's just so awesome to still be involved in the game. Like I am athlete at heart. Like I like to compete, and this is without playing, this is as close as I can get to still getting the wins and losses and having that competitive nature. But I think, also like I look back on my time at lacrosse and the things that I've seen from it, and like I've had some awesome, awesome coaches. And for me, it's like I want these girls to experience that. Like, I want the girls to have that state championship feeling. I want them to like, have that and just get back to the sport. And it's just been fun.

Coach:
Yeah, I mean, very similarly, I've had great coaches, I've had bad coaches. And for me, I want to be a great coach and give the girls that experience to have a good coach. A good coach, because I mean, a coach can definitely change your outlook on, I think, the sport as well as your experience. And so I want to give the girls the best experience possible. And you know, if I can do that by being a good coach, like I'm going to do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back. The Riverton High Girls Lacrosse team tries to teach me how to play lacrosse.

Male Voice:
Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org.

Female Voice:
In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom, along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in. Offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families free of charge. You can take a class called “Blues Busters” for children feeling sad or worried. “Just Breathe” is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends. There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District School psychologists and counselors. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org.

Crowd:
Go, baby! Let's go! Let's go, baby! Let's go! Let's go, baby! Let's go! Let's go!

Anthony Godfrey:
We're now going to talk with three of the girls on the team. Introduce yourselves.

Student:
”I'm Olivia, and I'm a senior.

Student:
I'm Paisley, and I'm a senior.

Student:
And I'm Maggie, and I'm a senior.

Anthony Godfrey:
Paisley, did I see your dad barefoot on the sidelines during the entire time?

Student:
He's always barefoot on the sidelines.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I saw, he has two daughters, your sister is on the team as well. What was it like having your dad on the sidelines there and coaching along through the season?

Student:
It's kind of awesome because whenever something cool happens or something like bad happens, I'll just make eye contact with him and he'll just be looking right back at me.

Anthony Godfrey:
Gives you those dad vibes there, right there. Tell us about your experience winning a state championship yesterday. First of all, congratulations. But how does it feel?

Student:
It's crazy. It's kind of unreal, I guess.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're still soaking it in. Still taking it in.

Student:
I don't really know how to describe it. I was talking to a bunch of people yesterday after the game, and everyone was super proud of us, super giving us all sorts of congrats and stuff. They were just asking me, "Oh, I don't know. How does that feel?" And I was like, "I have no idea. This is not like anything I've ever felt."

Student:
Yeah, it does really feel real just because it's something that we've all wanted for so long. And we finally did it. So I don't know. It's just crazy to think about.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've wanted it for a long time. Tell me what the revenge tour means. I've seen it on your shirts. I heard it kind of chanted from the crowd. Which, by the way, you talked about bench players. They got the crowd going. It was really exciting to see the enthusiasm and the support from parents and from students. But tell me about the revenge tour. What does that mean?

Student:
Well, it's like we've always... I don't know. I can just remember from my freshman year, it was like we weren't very good, and then my sophomore year we were good and then we lost our chance, and then my junior year we had a lot of problems. It just feels like everything was building up, and we just got beat too many times. And we were like, "It's time for us to get our revenge and show everyone that Riverton is the best team in 6A and beat all of our rivals, and that's what revenge tour is."

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I even talked with a senior who had been on the team last year, who was talking about revenge and was so excited to cheer you guys on. So it doesn't sound like it's revenge against anyone in particular. It's just like moving you forward and kind of reclaiming what you know you could be. Tell me about the team in general. What has this team been like?

Student:
It's been great. I transferred here this year, and everybody's just been so nice to me. From the first day, I felt welcomed and a part of the team. Everybody's just so great.

Student:
I think our team culture this year has been pretty great. Like my coach said, we are basically all like sisters. We all support each other through whatever we had to deal with this season.

Student:
Yeah, and we've definitely had problems with it in past years. And so we just knew this year, before the season even started, all the seniors just got together. We decided, "Hey, let's just make this the best year ever where we're all best friends and we all just feel like a family." And that was really important to us this year, and I feel like it really made a difference in the way we played as a team.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, clearly it worked and you've done this together. I love watching lacrosse. I don't understand it. So you are going to teach me a little bit today. I really want to try, what is it called when you start off and you try to see who gets it? It's basically the jump ball of girls' lacrosse. What is it?

Student:
Oh, it's a draw.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a draw. So let's grab some sticks. Let's grab the ball and let you guys are going to teach me the draw. You're going to teach me? You ready?

Student:
Yeah, let's do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, let's do it. While she's getting that. So what got you started in lacrosse?

Coach:
My sisters, like, I don't know. I just remember them always like talking to me, like trying to convince me to like try it. And just, I finally did one year.

Anthony Godfrey:
And by sisters, you mean your two coaches.

Student:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
We didn't point that out to those who are listening. If you're here, it's obvious. But so your sisters are the ones who started it. And did you …. what have you learned from them about lacrosse?

Student:
Just a lot, like I think honestly, everything like just I grew up watching them like going to like tournaments and stuff. And yeah, I don't know. I think like they're very close and like seeing them on the field working together. I think it like shows like it's like they're good teammates like to each other and to all their other teammates.

Anthony Godfrey:
So no wonder you want to be part of it. How about the two of you? What got you started in lacrosse?

Student:
I was playing soccer, and then in second grade, my friend Brittany came up to me, and she was like, come play lacrosse for me and my dad. And I was like, “OK.” And then I just have played ever since. So Brittany got me on that. Thank you, Brittany.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good job, Brittany.

Student:
What got me started was my neighbor across the street. She came over with like a little …. looked like a tennis racket before like they like evolved to the like kind of sticks we have today. But she gave me that. She was like, “come to practice.” And I went to school the next day. I got a flyer from Brittany.

Student:
Yeah. Yeah. Same.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. It all comes back to Brittany.

Student:
She was like, you should come try this out. And I was like, OK. And so I just quit everything else because I liked it so much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Where's Brittany today? Is she playing lacrosse still?

Student:
Oh, yeah. She was with us yesterday.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK. So she's still she's still part of things. That's awesome. And you gave up your other sports. What other sports? You said soccer,

Student:
Soccer and volleyball.

Anthony Godfrey:
And volleyball. OK. Well, we're glad we're here. Now, like I said, I loved watching you yesterday, but I do not understand it. You're so you're going to teach me you were flipping this just casually like flipping it around. And I've already dropped the ball and I don't know if I can even pick it up. OK. I'm going to pick it up like this. All right. Now, flip it again for me like that. You're just flipping it casually.

Student:
Just for fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
How does it stay in there?

Student:
Centrifugal force.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK. All right. I need to spin it a little faster. All right. So show me how this starts off. You two do it and then I'll try to do it. So when you start off, it's called what now?

Student:
It's called the draw.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's called the draw.

Student:
So basically it's like you're going to put the two heads of the stick together.

Student:
Upper one-third of the stick.

Student:
And the ball goes in there. And you just push against each other.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK.

Student:
And then when the refs tweet, you just kind of like flip your stick.

Anthony Godfrey:
Somebody's going to say tweet, right?

Voice:
Tweet.

Student:
Whoo! Look at you. That's a draw win right there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Was that a draw win?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK. Great. That feels fantastic.

Student:
That was awesome.

Anthony Godfrey:
You know, I like I like a sport with a stick in your hand the whole time. I'm going to toss it to you. You said you're not going to hit me, but I can't make that same promise. Here we go. Hey! That was a good catch. You kind of right …. Wow. OK. Well, I admire your skills even more after trying it out. So what's next for you? You're all seniors. What are you doing after you graduate?

Student:
I want to go to esthetician school, but it's a little bit TBD.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK. That's all right.

Student:
I'm going to Grand Valley State University in Michigan to keep playing lacrosse.

Anthony Godfrey:
Awesome.

Student:
I'm going to Westminster, up in Sugar House, Utah to also keep playing lacrosse.

Anthony Godfrey:
Congratulations on a tremendous run and a great victory yesterday.

Student:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
It was so fun to be part of that and to be there. So let's see what next year brings.

Student:
Yeah, for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there.

Seth Christensen:
If someone writes me a letter, it means the world to me. I've saved every single letter I've gotten since I was in eighth grade. I wanted to find some way that I could make every single student here at Riverton feel loved.

Anthony Godfrey:
How many students do we have here at Riverton? Just let everybody know.

Seth Christensen:
Well, at the beginning of the year, we had 2,335.

Anthony Godfrey:
And so you've written over 2,000 cards.

Seth Christensen:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. He was on a mission to make sure no one felt alone, left out, or without a friend at Riverton High School. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how Riverton High student body president Seth Christensen managed to write and deliver a personal message to every one of the over 2,000 students at Riverton High, hoping to make them feel seen, loved, and never without a friend to turn to. It was a labor of love that took Seth a year to complete, spreading smiles and happiness throughout the halls of Riverton High.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are at Riverton High School today talking with the student body president. Please introduce yourself.

Seth Christensen:
Hi, yes. My name is Seth Christensen. I'm the SBO president here at Riverton and a senior this year. It's awesome.

Anthony Godfrey:
Seth, you are on the cusp of graduation. How does it feel to be this close to the end of your public education?

Seth Christensen
It is crazy. I've had many, many great memories here at Riverton. I owe Riverton so much. I owe Jordan School District so much. It's crazy to think I'm graduating, but a lot of good memories were made here and a lot of good memories are going to stay in those journals.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you've been an incredible leader. It's been really fun to watch, especially this year, the things that you've accomplished and the way that you've lifted your whole school. And that's why we're here today to talk about a particular project that a lot of people have taken interest in. It's the project where you wrote a card for every student in the school. Talk to us about that.

Seth Christensen:
Yeah, it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made, is taking on this project. I wanted to find some way that I could make every single student here at Riverton feel loved. I knew if I just relied on meeting and saying hi to every single person I saw, yes, it would be good and it'd be great. I do do that, but people are going to fall through the cracks, because obviously I'm not going to have a physical interaction with everyone. So these letters are the next best idea, trying to find some way to get my words of affirmation to these people.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really incredible. How many students do we have here at Riverton? Just let everybody know.

Seth Christensen:
Well, at the beginning of the year, we had 2,335, and then we've had people join throughout the year.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you've written over 2,000 cards.

Seth Christensen:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the process of writing those cards. How much time did that take? You have to pace yourself. And these are handwritten cards, every one of them.

Seth Christensen:
Yeah, handwritten cards. All of them are personalized. They say something different. It's been awesome, because to write a personalized letter to someone, you can't not know them. So I got a book with all the names in the entire school, all the students. Started going through it, wrote letters to those that I knew. Then once I got through the book once, I now had a list of people at the school that I didn't know. A lot of them were sophomores, so I talked to my sophomore class officers. I'm like, “hey, do you know this person? How would I get to know them? What did they like doing?” and trying to track down each individual student to try to get a personal relationship with them. And it was incredible, because as I started doing that, I just started to get people at Riverton and know them on a much deeper level than I would have before.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is it hard to get through the hallway now, because you know so many more people than you did at the start of the year? Do you need a special pass to be a little bit late to class, because there are too many people to talk to?

Seth Christensen:
I wish. That saved me a lot of makeup school. But it's awesome being able to walk in the halls and say hi to each person that's coming by. Be able to call them by name, because I think just that, being able to know someone's name, means a lot to them. It meant a lot to me. This entire project was inspired because the SBO president, when I was a freshman, knew my name. And I didn't even go to the school. I wanted to help people feel that love that he helped me feel. So that's what these letters are inspired from.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's just an example of how when you do something kind for someone, it does tend to be paid forward, and it does spread. But you have really worked hard to make sure that no one is left out, and that's particularly difficult to do. Like you said, great effort saying hi to people and getting to know people, but you have to be very intentional in order to reach the people that you don't get to know just because of your grade level or classes or activities you're involved in. Being deliberate like that and intentional is just really valuable and really impressive.

Seth Christensen:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, you said that you wanted to make sure that everyone at Riverton felt loved. Why did you feel that need?

Seth Christensen:
The students at Riverton High School are the best people I have ever met in my entire life. Truly, they are some of the most inspiring people you will ever see. You know, I've seen people go through such hardships this year, and not only do they go to school with a smile, but they're carrying a weight. My goal is to help people know that not only do I love them, but I'm here to support them. And words can only go so far, but once you have a project like this that's like, "Hey, I'm willing to put in time to write you this letter. If you have an issue, come talk to me. Let's do it." And throughout this year, I've gone to a lot of counselor appointments with different people, helping people, and it's truly been incredible because I have had experiences and opportunities that I wouldn't have had any other way if I didn't get to reach out to them first. For example, I had someone come up to me and say, "Your letter came up the perfect time." Found out that their parents were getting a divorce. And I had someone else who came up and just started crying to my arms, and their sister had died of cancer the week earlier. It's just deep. I think if I didn't do these letters, actually, I don't want to think about it. I want to keep it where it is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, what I love about this is that you created this opportunity. It's not even that someone said, "Hey, you should write a card to everyone in the school." And then you decided whether that was worth your time. You care about the students, every student at Riverton, and you tried to think of a way to reach out and make sure they knew that you loved them. That's pretty incredible.

Seth Christensen:
Thank you, Dr. Godfrey. And if anyone knows it's you, it's like once you get to know these people, they're pretty easy to care about. They're pretty easy to be able to look them in the eye and ask them how they're doing. It's pretty easy once you understand how truly incredible they are, how blessed we are to even know them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you're exactly right. And you've heard me say it before. I get a backstage pass in Jordan District. Is that the way I like to say it? And I get to meet lots of incredible people. And they're all incredible in their own way. The more you get to know them, the better you can understand that. This is a lesson that you're going to really benefit from for the rest of your life. But every person who received a card is going to benefit from this in a big way as well. One other thing that I love about it is that you don't have anything to gain from this. It's not like you're the student body president and now you're going to run for Supreme Chancellor and this is really going to help with the votes for you to be Emperor Palpatine or anything. It's like you're finishing your time here and you wanted to make the most of your position. You wanted to make the most of your opportunities. That's probably what I admire the most is that you've been creative about making the most of your time because too many times we look back and think, oh, there's more I could have done. You're going to have lasting friendships and even acquaintances. Aren't acquaintances a wonderful thing?

Seth Christensen:
They’re awesome.

Anthony Godfrey:
Someone that you know. But maybe you don't know them deeply, but you know them and you have a connect and you've expanded that in a big way. So congratulations.

Seth Christensen:
Yeah, thank you so much. And I'll say it again. It's, it's just so easy to love them. It's so easy to care for these people because they make it easy. And it's just …. it just really is wonderful.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more with Riverton High student body president Seth Christensen.

Male Voice:
Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org.

Female Voice:
In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in, offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families free of charge. You can take a class called “Blues Busters” for children feeling sad or worried. “Just Breathe” is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends. There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District School psychologists and counselors. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now you say you have a few cards here that you haven't been able to connect with students. Let's hear some of the things that you wrote.

Seth Christensen:
Yeah, sorry if I tear up a little bit, but I can't say their names, but I'll just tell you what I wrote. I'm like, “you are so cool. I can't wait to see where you go in life and what incredible things you do. I hope you always remember that you are so loved and never forget that you are so amazing.” “I'm so glad that you have come to Riverton. You have truly entered a school of love and happiness. Never forget that you are so loved.” “You are so sick. Seriously, one of the coolest dudes. I hope that one day I can have half of the guitar skills that you have. Love you so much, man.” “I'm so grateful to go to the same school as you. You are just such a light.” “I think it's crazy we've known each other for eight years. Miss Brown knew what she was doing when she sat us next to each other on the seating chart. And it was awesome going to your 10th birthday party and being the only boy. Basically, you are incredible. Let's make some more memories.” “You are one of the funniest people I've ever met. You're going to be a stand-up comedian one day.” “You are such an exemplar to this school. You shine a light that no one can replicate. Thank you for coming to Riverton and you have truly changed so many lives.”

Seth Christensen:
Yeah, that's just a couple of them right there.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's wonderful. Tell me why you landed on cards as the way to express that caring for individuals, because handwritten cards are kind of a lost art. I write them much less than I intend to and every time it's a huge reward for me to write them. I love receiving them. But like I said, it's not as popular as it used to be by a long shot. So why did you land on this in particular?

Seth Christensen:
Yeah, of course. You know, I'm like you. If someone writes me a letter, it means the world to me. I've saved every single letter I've gotten since I was in eighth grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. I have a drawer of them in my office when I get a thank you and I keep them. I have a box of thank you’s from throughout my life. So I've kept them as well.

Seth Christensen:
Yeah, exactly. It's like a letter is something that's substantial. It's something that you can take with you throughout your life. I know whenever I'm having a hard time and I can pull out a letter that I got from my friend two years ago where it's just talking about me and it's making me feel loved. That helps.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, yeah.

Seth Christensen:
That helps so much. So not only can this letter stand out because not a lot of people write physical letters anymore, but it's something that you can take with you throughout your life.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you told me that you started with the people that you knew and then you had a list of students that you didn't know that you weren't familiar with and worked from there. How long was this process from card one to finishing the last card?

Seth Christensen:
So we talked about this project as soon as school started and just kind of started working out details. Then I went to the library and asked for 2,500 copies of this card and they're like, “let's start you off with just a thousand.” And that was at the beginning of September. So that welcomed me in and we started in September and worked through it, tried to get as many as I could done before Silver Rush, our annual charity, and didn't do a lot during Silver Rush. Then once January hit, it was letters, letters, letters. It was waking up at 3 a.m. on B days and just doing letters until school. It was standing up until 3 a.m. doing letters on A days.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Seth Christensen:
And it was hard. It was probably one of the hardest things I've done, but it was by far one of the most rewarding things I've done. You know, again, the opportunities that I had to bond with people that I wouldn't have never met any other way, it was just beyond worth it.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's remarkable. You kept up with students as they moved in and out.

Seth Christensen:
Well, it's been hard, you know, because once someone moves out, it's so much harder to get to them. And frankly, we don't find, we can't find a way to really get it to them. So we have this big pile of letters of people who have either graduated early or transferred because they had to move. But moving in, it's just trying to keep track of everyone who has moved in. And, you know, I still have a stack of letters. So those people who moved in, I can write them a letter.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. So you're keeping up on new students as well.

Seth Christensen:
Trying my best, but yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Wow. You're creating the type of school spirit that's going to require a reunion every year. People are going to want to see each other every 12 months because you've created this culture. And Riverton has had a great culture for a long time, but you have doubled down on that. It's really incredible. Did you test out different types of pens to get just the right type of pen that would write smoothly and quickly?

Seth Christensen:
Absolutely. The pens that I found were the Cypress Credit Union pens. So I'm not going to say how many I took from their bank, but I will say that I went through seven pens throughout the school year.

Anthony Godfrey:
Cypress Credit Union is one of our best sponsors. So I'm actually going to call and tell her that. She's going to like hearing that.

Seth Christensen:
Don't tell them it was me who took the pens. They were just right there. It was so open.

Anthony Godfrey:
Look, you can take a lollipop or you can take a pen and I take both. So it's good. You went through seven entire pens. Like you kept the pen, depleted it of ink and then moved on to the next one.

Seth Christensen:
Well, yeah, those are the ones where it's like I know I went through the entire pens. I don't know how many I went through that were like half full or half of them are in pencil.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's incredible. And I'm so happy to hear about this. I'm so impressed, but not surprised because this is who you are. Who you have always been.

Seth Christensen:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've been …. when we were at the Silver Rush assembly, you talked about writing the speech when you were in ninth grade, planning ahead in case you had that opportunity. And then you did a whole different speech. To me, what that shows is that you plan ahead, but you also are ready to meet the moment and nobody does that better. So congratulations. Well done.

Seth Christensen:
Thank you so much. And honestly, I've said it before, I'll say it again. Riverton High School is one of the best in the nation. You know, I've been truly blessed even to just go here, much less be able to represent them. I will always remember the memories I made here at Riverton High School.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you've made a lot of memories yourself for others. So, thank you very much for everything you've done. And we look forward to seeing you at graduation.

Seth Christensen:
Yes. See you there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today.” We'll see you out there.

(upbeat music)

Mark Sanderson:
You know, the Candy Bomber was all about from small things, great things come and this event today was a manifestation of that.

Daughter:
We're just so thrilled that his legacy could continue because of the principles he taught.

Lorraine Moore:
He had no idea the power of what he started, but he spent the rest of his life sharing that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They have been learning together, while thousands of miles apart, about the rich history of Air Force pilot, Gail Halvorsen, nicknamed the Candy Bomber or Uncle Wiggly Wings, from his time flying candy drops in Germany during the Berlin airlift. On this episode of the Supercast, find out what happens when students from Berlin arrive in Utah to join West Hills Middle School students as part of their Colonel Halvorsen history lessons. You'll hear about the bonding of young minds, making chocolate bars, an impactful assembly, and the inspiring words from Halvorsen's daughters, words that would make Uncle Wiggly Wings proud. We're talking now with Mark Sanderson, the teacher who put all of this together. What a wonderful event. Introduce yourself and talk about what inspired you to bring everyone together to commemorate Gail Halvorsen today.

Mark Sanderson:
I'm Mark Sanderson. I teach 8th grade at West Hills Middle School, 8th grade English. The project started really two years ago. I had been doing chocolate projects before that in connection with “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” But since I wasn't teaching “Charlie,” I thought, "Hey, like, I need something else." But also I had been collaborating with the Aggie Chocolate Factory up at Utah State. And I said, "Hey, like, we've done this a few times. Like, let's do something more ambitious, like something bigger. Like, what about the Candy Bomber?" And they said, "Yeah, he's connected to Utah State. He came here." So they really latched onto the idea and I said, "I'm gonna reach out the Candy Bomber Foundation and make sure they're okay with that. I want to make sure we're doing it legitimately." I emailed the Candy Bomber Foundation and they were like, "Yeah, totally. Let's do it." And the project has really, to me, the key of the project has been the collaboration. Everybody who's been involved with it has caught the vision of it and has made the project bigger and better. Through the foundation, we were connected with the Gail Halvorsen School in Berlin who also did the project and had their students fly out here today. So to me, it's just been the collaboration that's the big takeaway.

Anthony Godfrey:
What impact do you see this having on students and on the community?

Mark Sanderson
Hopefully it'll make projects like this more possible, like easier to do, more common to do. And we can take pride in some of our local heroes and celebrate them at our schools.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I really appreciate the creativity and the drive and the energy that you brought to this. These are the types of experiences that students will never forget. What is the personal impact on you of Gail Halvorsen's story?

Mark Sanderson
Well, I don't... well, ultimately I'd rather have my students remember the event than necessarily remember me or my name. If they can remember the event, to me, that's the main thing. But for me, you know, the Candy Bomber was all about from small things, great things come. And this event today was a manifestation of that. It started with a small idea and a bunch of other people joined in to make it happen, make it possible. I couldn't have done all this by myself. So I think it's a manifestation of his vision, his belief, his legacy. And hopefully our students will collaborate with others to make big things happen that are positive in our community.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, today's activity, in my mind, honors what he did and exponentially extends the influence of his actions. I just really appreciate your providing such a unique and meaningful experience for these students.

Anthony Godfrey:
Talking with Lorraine Moore about the Gail Halvorsen Foundation, we're here waiting for the Candy Bomber event to happen. Tell us a little bit about what you do.

Lorraine Moore:
Wonderful. I appreciate the opportunity at the Candy Bomber Foundation. We're looking to carry on Gayle's legacy of kindness, service, education, and really bringing hope to people that need it because we all do.

Anthony Godfrey:
I remember that he was very active in the community, loved visiting schools, and I got to meet him when he visited, I think it was, Oquirrh Hills Middle School years ago.

Lorraine Moore:
Fun. And if you got the opportunity to speak to him for 30 seconds, you had a lifelong friend.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, that's right.

Lorraine Moore:
He's always like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, very friendly. Tell me about the work that your organization does.

Lorraine Moore:
Absolutely. Well, Gayle always felt that education is the power to create a life, and service is the power to create a life of joy for yourself and for those that you're serving. So we like to combine those two elements, and our programs are values-based STEM programs, not only teaching kids what they can do with science and education, but what good they can do, and helping them to see how important even a little bit of good, even just two sticks of gum or a parachute with a chocolate bar, how much that can do for people.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, Gail Halvorsen is an incredible example of making the most of your circumstances and finding opportunities to do good, not just do what you're assigned to do, but to go well beyond that.

Lorraine Moore:
Way beyond that. He was very likely thought he was gonna get court-martialed for doing it, but he saw a whole generation of children that had never known anything but war, and there was just a light had gone out of their eyes, and he realized, "I can't do a lot, but if I can do a little, I can bring a little bit more light back in those eyes," and he had no idea the power of what he started, but he spent the rest of his life sharing that.

Anthony Godfrey:
When he did that, I'll bet he had no idea it was going to last a lifetime, and well beyond. For those who may not know, tell the story of Gail Halvorsen and what he did.

Lorraine Moore:
He grew up here in Utah, so he is a local hero. He was serving in the Berlin airlift as one of the cargo pilots, bringing in food and fuel and all of the supplies that Berlin needed to survive after the war, and when they would unload the planes, the pilots would want to get out, stretch their legs, and him just being a people person, the first thing he loved to do is go talk to the people at the fence of the airport, and usually it was young kids. A group of them there loved meeting the American pilots. He loved that he could help these kids realize that planes flying into their airport didn't mean bombs. It meant someone was here to help, and that meant a lot to him, and so one day he was at the fence and he just really felt inspired. These kids needed a little something more. He reached in his pocket and all he had was two sticks of gum. He thought two sticks of gum and 30 kids, I'm gonna start a riot. He was so worried, yeah, but he just knew he had to do it, so he gave the gum to the kids, and instead of fighting over it, they broke it into the smallest pieces they could break it into, and the kids who didn't get gum smelled the wrapper. Double mint gum. It's become the smell of freedom all over the world, and for them they knew that was the smell of freedom, and they asked him, "Don't give up on us. We can do without food for a while, but if you guys give up on us, we'll lose our freedom, and we'll never get it back," and it just really put a fire in his heart to do more to help these kids, so he told them he'd come back and he'd bring them more candy. He went that night and got everyone's candy bar rations and everyone's handkerchiefs and tied parachutes and made these parachutes with the candy. The kids asked him, "How will we know it's you because there's a hundred planes coming in every hour and we don't know who you are," so he told them he'd wiggle his wings, and that's how he got the name Uncle Wiggly Wings, and so a legend was born.

Anthony Godfrey:
I didn't know that part. I didn't know that part. That's cool.

Lorraine Moore:
Yep, he loved that. That was one of his favorite nicknames.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how many candy runs did he make?

Lorraine Moore:
I don't know how many runs, but by the time they were done, they had dropped almost 10 million pounds of candy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Well, thank you so much for being here, and let's join the ceremony.

Lorraine Moore:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back. We continue to celebrate Gail Halvorsen at West Hills Middle School.

Male Voice:
Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org.

Female Voice:
Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? Jordan School District is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District, we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at employment.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with Gail Halvorsen's two daughters who were here for the ceremony today. Thank you so much for being here.

Daughter:
Thank you. It's a privilege.

Daughter:
Happy to be here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about some of these events and what it's meant to carry on this legacy over the years both while your father was alive and now as you as you continue to talk about his life and his story.

Daughter:
Well it's a wonderful thing. We've been to many events like this with him both in Germany and here in the States. Candy drops, school visits, auditoriums full of kids and he always had them captivated and we're just so thrilled that his legacy could continue because of the principles he taught.

Anthony Godfrey:
I was lucky enough to meet him when he visited one of the schools here in Jordan School District and it was very inspiring. Everyone was really changed by that. Tell me what are some of the types of events that you've attended over the years and that he's attended over the years that have commemorated and extended the influence of his Candy Bomber days.

Daughter:
Well he dropped candy at all of our children's elementary schools and spoke at the in the auditorium; spoke about freedom and the importance of freedom and the children at the fence how they were so impressed. He was so impressed with him because they wanted freedom more than food. Because of that and he saw their gratitude he wanted you to do something nice for them and dropped from candy so he's been in schools he's been in many flyover candy drops in Sarah Park. People remember that just all over the country.

Daughter:
In Germany and Berlin they have an airlift memorial there and every May 12^th they have a service and ceremony and I remember one particular year there they had a flyover in the original airplane C54 that he flew and they dropped candy. That might have been for the 50th or they always have a really big thing on the 50th, 55th, 60th and so on.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow that's amazing. So when you were growing up did the candy flow freely in your home or was it restricted?

Daughter:
Gum did. We had a gum jar. The gum was there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Just like the two sticks of gum that started it all.

Daughter:
Honestly I didn't know my dad was the Candy Bomber until I was in high school.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh how did you discover that your dad was the Candy Bomber?

Daughter:
I had to write a report and he told me a story what happened to him during the airlift and that's kind of when I found out about an experience flying into Berlin.

Anthony Godfrey:
What did your teacher say when you turned that in?

Daughter:
They probably knew before I showed up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you at least get an A on the project?

Daughter:
I don't remember.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm sure you did. I'm sure you did. And when did you discover that your dad was the Candy Bomber?

Daughter:
I was also in high school. So I remember one summer we were living in California and he was invited to Berlin for the 40th anniversary of the end of the airlift and then when he came back he told us about all the things that happened. They had a candy drop at the Temple Hall airbase. They had thousands of people that would come to that and he signed autographs and sat in his airplane and showed us pictures of all this so that's when I started thinking “oh”. Then when we moved to Berlin in 1970 and he was commander there we met many of the people that had been alive during that time. They're so full of passion and gratitude. They're just speaking to him with tears coming down their faces. Their whole lives they've strived to serve and give back. We still are communicating with one another.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's an honor to meet you both. Thank you for sharing those stories and for being here. I'm sure these students will never forget it.

Daughters:
Thank you. Thanks for the opportunity.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with one of the German students who came to visit West Hills as part of the Candy Bomber event today. Tell us your name and tell us a little bit about why you're here.

Student:
I am Bayam and we are here because we won an art competition. We had to design a chocolate wrapper and yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you designed the chocolate wrapper for the chocolate that was created for this event to be given to the students as part of this commemorative event for Gail Halvorson but you go to the Gail Halvorson school. Tell me a little bit about that.

Student:
Well the school has many well we have our signature speech. It's I don't really know it anymore like right now because we have it in German and we do have a picture of him, a drawn portrait, in black and white in our auditorium so we do honor him a lot and he really didn't want to be famous but he just made a small act and is now very very known for that small act.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the design that won you a trip to come visit us.

Student:
My design was I had a text it was a small rhyme I don't really know anymore but I also had the Berlin TV tower and a bit of the Berlin Wall on it. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Nice. Well, your English is excellent we're so glad to have you here and it meant a lot to have you and your friends and your teachers here visiting us. It really made it an important event for us so thank you for being here.

Student:
I'm honored to be here. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with the chocolate designer and the chocolatier. Is that the right term?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Not a Mouseketeer a chocolatier. It has the same exciting feeling. So tell me about your design and what the contest was.

Student:
Yeah so the contest was about who can make a chocolate bar inspired by Gail Halvorson and kind of you know market it and make a good design that represents it.

Anthony Godfrey:
As part of the ceremony we heard your description of why you chose the elements of the chocolate bar that you did. Talk to us about that.

Student:
So when I made the chocolate bar, it was kind of a cartoon idea at first not supposed to be real so I want everything to have a meaning and represent something more important, so I had caramel for its comfort and like classic and then milk chocolate because it's sweet just like Gail Halvorson's act, and then I had the honey to represent kindness.

Anthony Godfrey:
Have you tried the chocolate bar?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
How did it turn out?

Student:
It's actually really good.

Anthony Godfrey:
I bet it is. Now let's talk with our chocolatier who helped support this. Introduce yourself and tell us about this project.

Grant Fryes:
Yeah, my name is Grant Fryes. I'm the co-owner at Taste Artist and Chocolate Down in Provo and yeah Mark connected with me first and introduced the idea of having this competition and us kind of taking the role of bringing these ideas to life and I just immediately got excited you know letting the students just take the creative reins and then just turning that into something delicious and yeah, they did a great job.

Anthony Godfrey:
We really appreciate your support. Our German visitors went and visited this morning came down there and took a little tour.

Grant Fryes:
Yeah they actually made their own chocolate bar.

Anthony Godfrey:
They made their own chocolate bars. Fantastic. I wanted to come for that part. I just had meetings I couldn't get out of. Tell us about the results. How did the chocolate bar turn out? You're the chocolate expert.

Grant Fryes:
Yeah, no they really I was excited when the ideas the finalists were chosen, and they sent the ideas over because I immediately knew both of these are gonna be incredible. Ryan's idea was I saw it come in and we normally don't do fillings in our bars. We usually try to keep just solid bars. His came in and I was like no, that has to be a filling in the middle of the bar. So that was a fun fun adventure for us to make our first filled chocolate bar.

Anthony Godfrey:
Breaking all the rules. Making this delicious bar with Ryan. And so thank you for doing that and for supporting us in that effort. Tell us a little bit more about your business.

Grant Fryes:
Yeah, so we're what we what you call bean-to-bar chocolate. So we import the raw cocoa beans ourselves from all over the world and do the whole process from scratch. And then attached to the factory, we have a little cafe where we do afternoon tea service and little light lunch menu. Lots of desserts obviously with the chocolate.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure.

Grant Fryes:
And kind of showcase chocolate from not just our factory but around the world as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you so much for being here.

Grant Fryes:
Absolutely.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'll be stopping by. Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you will do today.” We'll see you out there.

Teacher:
Becoming Miss Amazing Teen has given her the opportunity to have more confidence with advocating.

Linda:
My advice is that it doesn't matter what challenges you have. We are all different, but everyone deserves to be happy and go after their dreams.

Anthony Godfrey:
On this episode of the Supercast, meet Mountain Ridge High School sophomore Linda Boequi, who was recently crowned Utah Miss Amazing Teen 2026. Hear how finding success in the competition is helping Linda and others explore their passions in and outside of school with pride, purpose, and power.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at Mountain Ridge High School to talk about the Miss Amazing Teen Pageant. Go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us about, tell us a little bit about why we're here.

Teacher:
Hello, I'm Alexis Sway. I'm one of the special education teachers at Mountain Ridge High School, and I get to work with Linda, who won the Miss Amazing Teen Utah Pageant this year, back in March.

Anthony Godfrey:
Linda, thank you for talking with us today. Tell us, what is the Miss Amazing Teen Pageant and how did you get involved?

Linda:
Miss Amazing is a wonderful program that helps girls build confidence. When I first got involved, I was so nervous, but at the same time, I was very excited to be part of it.

Teacher
Do you remember how you heard about the pageant?

Linda:
No, I never hear before. When my mom, she was with me doing a dub during a cheer, inclusive cheer. I hear about it is very, like, my first time to hear, so I'm dancing to do my passion and to link those ideas, to pass through my, my in progress to know my future, what is it?

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us more about what your role was in helping support Linda in applying for this and being part of this competition.

Teacher:
Yeah, so we actually had a former student here at Mountain Ridge. Their family started Adaptive Arena in Bluffdale. It's an awesome facility where they provide sports, dance, and gymnastics opportunities for students and cheer with disabilities. That way they can be included in those opportunities, and it was through Adaptive Arena that Linda found out about the Miss Teen Pageant. And so we really just appreciate that parents reach out and share that information for us as teachers to share with our students and their families so they can know about these resources in the community. This year, when Linda came to school one day, and was telling us that she's going to be in this pageant, and she tells the dates when the competitions were coming up and what she was doing to prepare for it. We just got to cheer her on, and we're so stoked when she came back to school with her sash and tiara, saying that she won Miss Teen. Miss Amazing, right?

Anthony Godfrey:
You have the sash and tiara on now. Do you ever take it off?

Linda:
It depends on the place where I can take to use my crown and sometimes I tell some teacher if I can use my crown or some other place to have like a band or cultural evemt. I pull my crown and my sash to know everyone, to know about me, to follow me, and to know about more some people and to have fun.

Teacher:
Did you wear it at the lacrosse game this week?

Linda:
Yes, I put because from the last week it was my birthday on April 3rd, and the same time was on Lacrosse Day and then I saw a friend, she was doing lacrosse and I was hoping to. So she was like doing great, and her whole team did great, and then this time did like the girls gym, did it so well. I'm so proud of her.

Anthony Godfrey:
What was going through your mind when you were crowned Utah Miss Amazing Teen 2026?

Linda:
I couldn't believe it. I still think about the crown in my head all the time. It's made me so excited to use my title to do great things in my future.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I've heard that you did a dance for the talent portion. Can you tell us about the dance that you performed for the talent competition?

Linda:
Yes, dancing is my passion. So it's a feel great. I perform a fun mix of ballet and hip hop all put together to music from the movie Tangle. Speaking of which, I have a hip hop performance today May 5th at my school auditorium. I would love to invite you and all your listeners to come and see it.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. So you can do ballet and combine it with hip hop?

Linda:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
I can't do either one of those things, much less do them together. So that's awesome. The Miss Amazing program, from what I understand, focuses on confidence, like you said, and self-advocacy. How has participating in the program helped you see yourself now and see yourself in the future.

Linda:
The program gives me a lot of confidence because of it. I believe in my future. I want to keep taking dance classes and focus on my passion for dancing one day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wonderful. If there's one piece of advice you could give other students who are looking for the confidence to pursue their dreams, what would that be?

Linda:
My advice is that it doesn't matter what challenges you have. We are all different, but everyone deserves to be happy and go after their dreams.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about Linda in class.

Teacher:
Linda is very sweet and very motivated to be independent and work hard. She strives to be the best student that she can be. She puts her head down and gets right to work. She asks for help when she needs it. Becoming Miss Amazing Teen has given her the opportunity to have more confidence with advocating, too. That's something we've worked on a lot with Linda, is asking for help, not being afraid to ask teachers to use translation tools or for more clarification if she's not getting something. I've really seen that bloom this year with her advocating for herself. She works really hard, and she's very friendly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us about what you teach here. Tell us about your job.

Teacher:
I'm one of our three self-contained support classroom teachers here at Mountain Ridge.

Anthony Godfrey:
For those who don't know what that is, describe that, please.

Teacher:
It's a special education class. It's students who have moderate to severe disabilities who need more time in a special education class. I have a unique position where I get to work with the students who can handle being fully mainstreamed into their classes, but they still need a home base and to have an aide or a peer tutor with them. I get to manage the peer tutors and the aides that work with the students and support them as their home base, helping them with emotional regulation and executive functioning skills.

Anthony Godfrey:
Describe how that peer tutor program works.

Teacher:
We have students. It's just open for any student. They can select it as an elective during arena scheduling. We do a training at the beginning of the year, and we definitely rely on spreading awareness and having peer tutors try and recruit friends that they think would be good peer tutors too. So they get to be paired up one-on-one with a student with disabilities and help them in their classes by staying on task and getting the academics done.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's an important program for everyone involved. Thank you for running that and teaching that. It's a great support to our students.

Teacher:
Thank you. I enjoy it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back. Linda teaches me some Samba dance moves and I do my best to learn them.

Male Voice:
Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org.

Female Voice:
Does your child need the flexibility to learn from anywhere at any time on a cruise in another country or simply at home cozy on the couch? The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is tailor made for you and your family. It's personalized dynamic virtual learning on your schedule. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is an integrated system of three schools in Jordan School District. Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School and Kings Peak High School. Our programs are designed to meet or exceed District and state core curriculum standards, ensuring your child receives a superior educational experience tailored to their needs. Join us today at jordanvirtual.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you love most about dancing?

Linda:
Dancing is like …. for like you like it something like want to go your future for your graduation. So when I was a kid I was dancing from ballet club and then this is could be one day dance teacher. And then I moved to here in United States like four years ago. And then this is could change my life. And then now with me the Miss Amazing pageant changed all my life. So I can like help the kids teach them how to dance work, how it's easy or hard for them. And then could be fun is like I'm like my dance teacher. I love dance. I love like everything like music and dance, type of dance. I love my passion.

Teacher:
When I got to teach our class some of the Brazilian dances that she used to do back in her home country.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow. Super fun. Yeah. Do you think you can teach me a Brazilian dance?

Linda:
Yeah for sure. Some steps is like easy and like I have…..

Anthony Godfrey:
So you're saying it has to be easy for me to be able to do it. Is that what you mean?

Linda:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. I think that's fair. I think that's fair. Show me what we got.

Linda:
It's kind of like a Samba one. Do you know like Samba?

Anthony Godfrey:
That means nothing to me. I don't Samba.

Linda:
Salsa? Samba.

Anthony Godfrey:
Samba.

Linda:
So like one.

Anthony Godfrey:
One. And I do this so I take one step forward with the right and I do this with my arms.

Anthony Godfrey:
So like one back first.

Anthony Godfrey:
Kind of like I'm punching.

Linda:
Right.

Anthony Godfrey:
One kind of punch alternate.

Linda:
Back first and then to the left.

Anthony Godfrey:
And then left. Same thing. Okay.

Linda:
And then go back third. He's like, one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh turn my heel out on the right. Okay.

Linda:
And then its like one two three. Okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
That one two three was not as easy as one two three.

Teacher:
That was your ankle.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me the one two three again.

Linda:
So one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Step out. Step back. Two.

Linda:
Two. Three.

Anthony Godfrey:
Step forward again. Okay.

Linda:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
So that was easier when it's slow.

Anthony Godfrey and Linda:
One. Two. Three.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right.

Linda:
And then we're going to twist like your left. Anthony Godfrey:
Twist out.

Linda:
And then you do like.

Anthony Godfrey:
Twist back.

Linda:
Like shaking.

Anthony Godfrey:
Shaking. All right. I'm shaking. I'm shaking.

Linda:
Twist your left again.

Anthony Godfrey:
Twist the left out.

Linda:
Together.

Anthony Godfrey:
Together. Oh all right.

Linda:
And then you do back.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. It's a lot of twisting and shaking.

Linda:
Shaking.

Teacher”
I'm just wondering what the harder dances are like.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. If this is the easy one. I'm glad I'm not trying the hard one.

Linda:
So first, let's stay on this one. I like to do like one two three. One two three.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm trying to do it with her for those listening. I'm a half step behind at least. Okay. Why don't you do it full speed the way you would do it. And I'll stand beside you and do a terrible job of trying to keep up. How's that? Okay. I'll give it my best. Here we go. Go ahead. Do what you would do.

Linda:
One. Two. One. Two.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. It's the moving and the twisting at the same time.

Linda:
One, two, three.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So like...  Outstanding.

Linda:
One, two... Wait. I like it so much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. That's okay. That's good. Thank you very much. That's more dancing than I've learned in a long time. Congratulations on being crowned Utah Miss Amazing Teen 2026. I hope you enjoy your reign. And I'm impressed with how much progress you've made in the four years you've been here and the dancing that you've learned your whole life. And just... I'm very impressed and very pleased to get to meet you and to see your skills and actions. So good luck tonight and good luck with everything in the future.

Linda:
Thank you. If you want to follow me on Instagram or Facebook, too, to follow me to see about more, to go in some of the life I'm doing and to do like something I wrong, sometimes my back, what is the back of the crown I'm doing? Or is like right now in school? My mom, she's helped me for doing this Miss Amazing. I'm so happy she helped me for this Miss Amazing to go on July for nationals. And then I can't wait to do, and everyone cheer on for me.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good luck at the next level. Good luck with the dance tonight and with everything you're doing, I'm sure you're going to be successful. And it's a real pleasure to meet you and to see your talents. Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there.

Isaac Broadbent:
Through this program, Teach Kind, we were able to go through each grade and teach a variety of lessons centered on kindness and how that looks like, how that sounds like, and how that feels, and the impact it can have.

Student:
I think kindness is important because it makes people feel noticed and wanted, and it just makes people feel like they're proud.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are spreading kindness and enhancing a positive culture at Daybreak Elementary School. The school even celebrates student kindness with a big parade through the happy halls of Daybreak once a month. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how Isaac Broadbent, school counselor at Daybreak and a former Daybreak student himself, has stepped in revamping schoolwide expectations and, together with the support of teachers, is making kindness rule number one. The work has earned Daybreak a national Kind School designation.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are at Daybreak talking with the school counselor, Isaac Broadbent, about a kindness initiative that's been happening here at the school. But first, talk to us a little bit about yourself.

Isaac Broadbent:
My name is Isaac. I am a school counselor here and I've been a school counselor for about three or four years. I started here, and then I stayed because it's so amazing. And, fun fact, I actually used to attend the school when it was first built.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what grade did you... How old were you when you came?

Isaac Broadbent:
Fifth and sixth grade. So, when it first opened up, they pulled us from Rose Creek to help populate it a little bit because Daybreak wasn't as built out as it was back then.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right. Yeah.

Isaac Broadbent:
And so, I was a student here and there were some familiar faces that were around as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Some of the teachers are still here that were there when you were in fifth grade.

Isaac Broadbent:
Correct. Yep, correct. There's actually, I think, four. Yeah. Four of them. So, it was kind of cool to have a full circle where I was a student. And then, lo and behold, I'm working here with some familiar faces from back then.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how has the school changed? First of all, it seems a lot smaller now, right?

Isaac Broadbent:
It's a lot smaller. I remember this was a gigantic place when I was a student.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's right. That's right.

Isaac Broadbent:
But no, it's really great because obviously I'm biased. I really like this school because I used to go here. And it's great to be able to help it become a better place because the whole reason why we kind of want to focus on kindness is that in our MTSS meetings and leadership meetings, we were realizing that there's just a lot of meanness going on. Every school has their bullying instances, but there's just a lot of overall just meanness, just one-off jabs and things like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Isaac Broadbent:
And so, through a process, we revamped our entire school system with our big three rules and number one is being kind. And we really tried to push that as much as we could. And so, with this year particularly, we doubled down on kindness and through this program, Teach Kind, we were able to go through each grade and teach a multiple, I guess I should say, a variety of lessons centered on kindness and how that looks like, how that sounds like, and how that feels, and the impact it can have. And then we were able to wrap it all up with a huge school-wide initiative that included snowflakes, actually.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the snowflakes.

Isaac Broadbent:
Yeah. So, as part of this program and this designation, we had to, after we focused everything on kindness throughout the school year, we had to wrap it up with a school-wide project. And that project was, each student was able to get cutouts of a snowflake, and they would write down what they did as an act of kindness for someone else. And then I would periodically go by week after week and collect those and then hang them in a main hallway that we have.

Anthony Godfrey:
So, these how large are the snowflakes? About the size of the palm of your hand?

Isaac Broadbent:
Yeah, exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Isaac Broadbent:And we had hundreds of them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Larger than actual size.

Isaac Broadbent:
Large, exactly. Yep. And we wanted to kind of have that visual effect so everyone in the school could see how kindness was falling over.

Anthony Godfrey:
Some things were snowballing.

Isaac Broadbent:
Exactly. And that's a good way to put it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Nice.

Isaac Broadbent:
And so, we had hundreds of those, right, get submitted throughout that time window, and they were all out there on display for a while. And then we were able to submit for the Kindness designation and luckily, we were able to get that award.

Anthony Godfrey:
What organization gave the award?

Isaac Broadbent:
Oh, yes. It's the Teach Kind program. And so, it's a national program and we were able to get nominated as a Teach Kind school, one out of 32 in the nation.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Isaac Broadbent:
And so, it was really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic to have that designation. That's wonderful. So, what are some of the other things that you did with students to help motivate them and not just motivate, but to highlight the great things that they were doing to focus on kindness?

Isaac Broadbent:
Yeah, absolutely. So, what I would do is I would go in and push into every class, every grade level, and have different presentations and lessons based on kindness.

Anthony Godfrey:
So, it's not just, "Hey, everybody, be kind," but it's, "This is what kindness looks like. These are some specific things you can do to be kind and some things you can avoid in order to be kind."

Isaac Broadbent:
Yes, exactly. We did a deep dive. I even, with one of those lessons, shared the science behind kindness and the psychology that goes into that because it's the only thing in this world that doubles when you share it. And there's nothing else that does that in the economy, in the world, nothing like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Isaac Broadbent:
We just really focused in on that. And since it was such a high priority, we had a lot of momentum going. And so, we had a lot of those students being kind and then filling out those snowflakes. And since we had so much momentum, we decided to keep it going even though the submission deadline had passed and we were waiting to see if we got the award or not. We moved forward with this kindness initiative with the challenge of looking for kindness or writing it down and sending that to those individuals who are being exceptional.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, I've heard about a kindness parade. Is that right?

Isaac Broadbent:
Yes. Yeah, so we have, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Explain that to the folks.

Isaac Broadbent:
Absolutely. Yes. So, that's actually one of the things that we revamped at our school with our leadership team is we have something called an MVP parade. And so, a teacher gets to nominate an MVP for the month who has shown exceptional kindness and looking out for others. Since then, we've actually modified it to match up with different elements of A Portrait of a Graduate to be aligned with the District.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I love to hear that.

Isaac Broadbent:
And so, yeah, we've kind of modified it since then but initially, we were just focusing on kindness. And so, for a couple of the parades, it was just only kindness, who has been a leader and outstanding in kindness. And then, on the first Friday of the month, we would call all the families together of the MVP kids and they would re-line the halls of the school as well as the rest of the school and the students. And then, we would get them all together, we'd line them up in the office and then we would make a lap around the entire school while everyone's just cheering them on.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Isaac Broadbent:
For a good like 10, 15 solid minutes just like a huge spotlight on them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Great. So, the MVPs walk through all the halls, one from each class, with the entire school cheering them on.

Isaac Broadbent:
Yes. Lots of clapping, lots of cheering. Everyone's chanting, "MVP, MVP." So, it's really wonderful to have that spotlight on the students.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I don't remember being cheered by 600 people in elementary school. That's got to be quite a good feeling and I love that this reaches students from five years old to 12 years old. This is a wide range, so you really have to adapt your kindness lesson to the classroom you're visiting.

Isaac Broadbent:
Yep. Exactly. Yeah. And modify that so that way each student can grasp it. And then, more importantly, implement it.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what changes have you seen at the school as a result of these efforts?

Isaac Broadbent:
Well, we've actually got like hardcore data showing that our overall sense of belongingness is increasing with the Panorama data that we administer. We've also had an up...well, actually, I should say that we've had an uptick in all five areas of social-emotional learning. And it's been cool to see that actual data being transferred over from the interventions that we're doing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wonderful. Well, before this interview, I knew how important the counselor role has become in our elementaries. I walk in and people say, "Don't take our counselor ever." We love having that role. We love having that position. And it just...this is further evidence of the huge, positive, school-wide impact that our counselors have and that you in particular are having here at Daybreak. So thank you for all those efforts.

Isaac Broadbent:
Well, thank you because, you know, like I said, I am biased, but I really love this school. And we have some amazing students and phenomenal staff.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, I understand that you are a Jordie Award winner. Tell the listeners about what that means.

Isaac Broadbent:
Absolutely, yeah. The Jordie is a super awesome award. I was actually very surprised to have received it. Really, really cool because what happens is the Counseling department and all the counselors will get together and they'll nominate certain counselors throughout the District that they feel deserve to have the Counselor of the Year Award. And then it's the counselors that will vote on who they want to designate it to. And so that's why I say it was kind of a big surprise and really humbling because the Counseling department, as you know, we have phenomenal counselors.

Anthony Godfrey:
We do.

Isaac Broadbent:
And it's like I've learned so much from them and it's, I don't know, it was just a really cool experience.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, congratulations. This is momentum that's going to continue for a long time. So thank you for everything that you're doing. And this is really exciting. Stay with us. When we come back, we'll talk with students who are members of the Student Council who have been working to make kindness the main goal at Daybreak Elementary School.

Male Voice:
Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org.

Sandy Riesgraf:
Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @Jordan District. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're at Daybreak Elementary School now talking with two students who are part of the Kindness Initiative. Please introduce yourselves, tell us what grade you're in, and then let's talk about your involvement.

Cooper:
I'm Cooper, I'm in sixth grade.

Mara:
And I'm Mara, and I'm also in sixth grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us about the Kindness Initiative and some of the things that you did as students to help move that along.

Student:
Well, first of all, we had to help promote it, basically. Otherwise, people wouldn't know about it or anything.

Anthony Godfrey:
And are you on Student Council or student government? Is that part of why you were involved?

Student:
Yeah, we were involved through Student Council. We were both in it.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what is your role on student government? Are you attorney general or what?

Student:
We don't really have roles, but we manage the huddles, the fundraisers. Through the Tyler Robinson Foundation Coin Wars, we manage that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Nice. Who won the Coin Wars, by the way?

Student:
I think it's still going.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, it's still going. Oh, okay. Yet to be determined.

Student:
Yeah, like two left.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what are the huddles?

Student:
So the huddles, we have a monthly theme for MVPs, and we kind of go over that and then all of the new announcements around our school. And in those huddles, we also talk about our fundraisers, like the Coin Wars, and where all that money is going to.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me your involvement in making sure people knew about the kindness initiative and promoting kindness in the school. What are some of the things you did as members of the Student Council to help promote that?

Student:
We all helped in, like we have a slideshow for the huddles. We would have the main theme of the huddle, and then we'd put away like a slide or two to promote the kindness challenge, like the kindness cards. And another way we were involved is we have meetings every Wednesday before school, and we've been sorting the cards, figuring out like where this card came from, who it goes to, and then we deliver the kindness cards.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me more about the cards.

Student:
I thought it was really cool seeing all like the nice cards to each other, and it's kind of just explaining something that someone did kind to you, and then it gets delivered. And then at the end of the kindness challenge, we sorted them all out, and the reward was a prize for the class who put in the most kindness cards.

Anthony Godfrey:
So if you received kindness from someone or were treated kindly, then you reported that by using the card that was delivered to the person who was kind, and that sounds like it had kind of a snowball effect, and more and more people were kind because you were pointing it out, you were noticing it. Tell me, it sounds like you have a pretty busy schedule on Student Council. How did the school change as you focused on kindness? How did students' attitudes change?

Student:
Well, I used to be like bullied like a bunch, but I feel like ever since that's been a little less, and I don't know if that's just me being less dumb or something. But I can tell like a difference ever since we've done the cards and stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I think people notice things differently sometimes when you're focusing on it. Like if you need to buy a car, all you see is car commercials, and if you're looking for kind acts, I think you reflect on what you're doing, and you notice the good things other people are doing that you might have overlooked before. Tell me more about what impact you have seen in the school after focusing on kindness.

Student:
In the past two assemblies, we've talked about doing 20% more kindness, and I think as a whole student council and as the teacher staff, we've seen a lot of change and just basic more kind around the school during recess and all those fun activities.

Anthony Godfrey:
How many kindness cards have you seen? Just give me an idea of the number given. How many students do we have here at Daybreak?

Isaac Broadbent:
We've got over 600.

Anthony Godfrey:
Over 600. So how many kindness cards have you seen coming through? Do you know that number?

Student:
Over 1,100.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's a whole lot of kindness, and I think that's really exciting. Tell me some of the specific acts of kindness that you've been aware of, either observing it or seeing it on some of the cards.

Student:
So sometimes they will be specific. It's like he helped me pick up my pencil case after it spilled, but sometimes they feel kind of shy knowing we're like sorting out and I think it's going to be like, oh, this is embarrassing. So there's like, blank did a nice thing for me today.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, that's nice though that you allow them. It can be a little generic if they don't want to get too personal about things. That's good. What do you remember?

Student:
I remember, like I said, a lot of like recess comments because we also have a Buddy Bench here at our school, and I feel like that's honestly helped a little bit. Just noticing people feeling left out and just inviting more people to play with each other at recess.

Anthony Godfrey:
For those who don't know what a Buddy Bench is, can you describe it? In the 70s it was called a Nobody Bench, but the Buddy Bench is much better.

Student:
So the Buddy Bench is basically, it's a bench outside and it's by our playground, and if you're ever feeling left out or just like lonely, you can go sit on there. And then I know a lot of the times I look over at the Buddy Bench and see if anybody's sitting over there, and you kind of just like go over there and treat yourself and like try to become friends and just invite them to more things to try to make them feel more included.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you find that people use the Buddy Bench? You'll look over there and see somebody sitting there?

Student:
Yes, I know one of my friends that I've made from the Buddy Bench, we hang out at recess, and we play tag sometimes, and I feel like it just creates more friendships.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really exciting. I love hearing that it's not just a chance to solve something in the moment, but you remain friends. You've made a friend because of the Buddy Bench. Tell me, why do you think kindness is important?

Student:
Kindness is really important because if someone is just feeling really bad, sometimes really bad things can happen, and even that it is just not good to feel sad and bad. So with kindness, it's basically like, I want to say weapon, but it's something that gets rid of it.

Anthony Godfrey:
You get to fight loneliness and sadness.

Student:
I think kindness is important because it makes people feel noticed and wanted, and it just makes people feel like they belong.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I like that, noticed. And if you feel noticed, I think you can accomplish great things. So the two of you are an important part of a school-wide effort, and it really comes from students. Adults try to help make that happen, but students are key to all of that, being successful. So thanks for serving on the Council and for talking with me today. I think that's awesome because you're doing great things. It's fantastic.

Student:
Yeah, thanks for having us.

Student:
Yep, I enjoyed this interview.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there.