Supercast

Transcription coming soon.

Logan Youngblood:
People describe rugby as a hooligans' game played by gentlemen. It's really demanding on the body.

Jeff Wilson:
When I started this program, I heard from those Georgia people, "You can't win national championships and compete at this level at a single school, public school." I take great pleasure in proving people wrong.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are a fiercely talented team and a force to be reckoned with.

On this episode of the Supercast, meet the Herriman High School Boys Rugby Club Team and find out how they have risen to become one of the premier programs in the country. In fact, this year they were competing at the highest level, falling just short of a national championship.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're at Herriman High School today talking with three members of the Herriman Rugby Team who just took second in nationals. Introduce yourself and tell us how many years you've been playing rugby.

Logan Youngblood:
I am Logan Youngblood and I've been playing rugby for about nine years.

Ryker Seidel:
I'm Ryker Seidel and this was my seventh year of playing rugby.

Lucky Fishiipeau:
And I'm Lucky Fishiipeau and I've been playing rugby for 12 years.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the journey to taking second in the nation. When does your season start and how many region and state games did you have to play to qualify?

Ryker Seidel:
So our season starts about the end of February, kind of the beginning of March. We have our first tournament down in St. George. That's more preseason stuff so it's not super effective on our real in-season schedule. But right as we get back from that we start our season and then each Saturday we play a game against other single school teams in Utah. And we pretty much have like I'd say eight weeks of games and then the week following that we go into the playoffs. And then you play two playoff games and then to make it into the finals. But this season we actually lost the first round in playoffs so we just use that as motivation throughout practice before we went to nationals just to really work hard and better ourselves for the national tournament in Oak Heart, Indiana.

Anthony Godfrey:
How many games did you play at the national level? How does that work?

Ryker Seidel:
So we played three games. It's kind of like a single-round elimination. It's pretty much you play your first game and then you advance to the next day. It's a game each day in three days. But yeah, I know it's hard. I've never been so beat up from a tournament before. Games alone actually. But yeah, you just got to keep winning, fight to live another day.

Anthony Godfrey:
You talked about single school teams. Are there some teams that come from multiple schools just so that they can get an adequate number of players to compete?

Logan Youngblood:
Yeah, so actually a lot of the teams in our league this year they were not single schools. They were a bunch of club schools so we have Lane Christian Academy, American Fork and those are like teams full.  All together, I think there's eight teams between those two teams. So there is a Nationals for the club division and that is multi-school.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now rugby is a club sport here but there are other pockets in the nation where you're going to see a lot more rugby. So I would assume it's a little bit intimidating to go to the national level and a really big deal to place the way that you did.

Lucky Fishiipeau:
Yeah, it's exactly as you said. It is a really big deal just to go to Nationals. It's the top eight teams in the nation based on rankings from a couple of sources and one is Goff Rugby. And it's a hard thing to do, to rank that high in the nation especially as a single school because you only have so many kids to choose from. Whereas multi-school, you have plenty of kids from different schools. I know a couple examples of where there are teams that go out and recruit players from different schools to play for them and they don't actually have to go to that school to play for them.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's kind of stacked and it's difficult to go up against that but you guys have been very successful. Why do you think you've been so successful this year as a team? What is it about this year?

Ryker Seidel:
I would say it's the bonding we’ve had and our coaches. A lot of us have been playing with each other since our sixth grade year so we're all best friends. At the beginning of the year, we didn't really start as best friends but towards the end of the year we really built together and we really built up the connection that we have with each other. So I feel like that's a big part of how we play and why we play so good together.

Logan Youngblood:
Just to add on that, I think part of the motivation on the field is just having such a good bond with your brothers that it's like you know you're going to battle with each other. And when you love your brothers enough it really just, you'll put your body on the line for each other and it makes you play harder for one another.

Lucky Fishiipeau:
And even to add on to that, Ryker mentioned us all being brothers. That's one thing that's special about Herriman Rugby is we all consider each other a brother and all of us would go to war for each other on the rugby pitch.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, what have you learned from your coach this year and through the years that you've worked with him?

Ryker Seidel:
Honestly, just to trust one another. He puts his trust in us through these years. He puts the trust in us to start the games and go to battle because we don't have a coach on the field telling us what plays to do, how to do things. We have a practice Monday or Tuesday through Friday and then Saturday it's on us to perform what they've taught us.

Logan Youngblood:
Yeah, I'd say the biggest thing I've learned from these coaches throughout the years is just how to keep going through and persevering when times really get hard because I mean rugby is hard alone but life is also probably harder.

Anthony Godfrey:
If you don’t know, you'll find out probably. I don't know how hard rugby is.

Lucky Fishiipeau:
Building off of what both of them said, we're given the tools but we have to use them ourselves and then they've really taught us how to be men in life and just champions.

Anthony Godfrey:
That doesn't happen automatically. Just because you're in the same place at the same time doesn't mean that you suddenly become brothers and you rely on each other and you look out for each other. That's coaching and that's the heart that you bring to the game, so that's really exciting to see that that's happened. You talked about sacrificing your body for each other. Rugby just seems, to someone who's never played it, I've watched it a couple of times, it seems absolutely chaotic and very primal. There's no protective equipment, you just get in there and do whatever you have to do. Am I correct about that? Tell me a little bit about what it's like to play.

Logan Youngblood:
People describe rugby as a hooligans' game played by gentlemen. It's really demanding on the body. It's a really rough sport but just the respect that comes out of it, after one of our games at Nationals, we actually had a meal with the opposing team that we just beat up on, which just goes to show that it's bigger than just a sport. It's like a way to bring people together and just have fun and just be boys.

Anthony Godfrey:
What made each of you, what drew each of you to rugby initially with all the sports that are available out there, why rugby in particular? You like the shape of the ball, you thought. This is different from the shape of others, I'm going to go with this one.

Ryker Seidel:
It's actually funny because before I started rugby I was so set on playing football but I actually have an older brother who played rugby and I just remember watching him play and it just looked so fun to me. Being at that age you're not fully developed but I felt like I really had developed a love for this sport. Just throughout the years my love grew and grew for this sport and I've never been able to drop it.

Logan Youngblood:
It's actually funny because I used to live in these apartments and there were these two dudes, named is Gabe and Mafi. They're just tossing a really funny ball in the air and I was like, "What is this?" Little me went up to them and was like, "What is this?" They're like, "Rugby, you should come play. We played for Herriman." Ever since then my older brother and I, we've been playing since we were little kids.

Lucky Fishiipeau:
I really have to thank all my success throughout rugby to my older brother. He started playing I think when he was in eighth grade. I'd always been a kid who played soccer so I was far from rugby but he really kept pushing me but first couple of years I always denied it and then finally I just gave it a try and then fell in love with the sport.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're all seniors, what's next? Rugby wise or otherwise?

Logan Youngblood:
Honestly, either going to school or trade, not sure if rugby is in the future but maybe if I go to BYU that's where I'll play.

Ryker Seidel:
Yeah, pretty much same as Logan, I think rugby as of now is kind of unrealistic but I would love to see it in my future.

Lucky Fishiipeau:
Just like them, I'd love to see rugby in my future but right after high school I'll be serving a mission and then hopefully college.

Anthony Godfrey:
To a rugby friendly country, I hope?

Lucky Fishiipeau:
Hopefully in New Zealand.

Anthony Godfrey:
Up next we'll talk with the coach of the Herriman High School Boys Rugby Club Team.

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 @JordanDistrict. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's talk with your coach. Tell us a little bit about your time here, introduce yourself and your role at Herriman High.

Jeff Wilson:
My name is Jeff Wilson. I am an OG at Herriman High School. I was hired actually before the building was built. So I've been here from day one and was an assistant football coach, which I'm now back to being an assistant football coach again. And in my interview I asked Mr. Birch, actually Mr. Park, at the time I asked Mr. Park about starting a rugby team here and wanting to spearhead that. I had coached for 10 years previously with the old Highland program and had kind of decided it was, that next challenge was to start a program of my own and see what I could do with it. So I got that going year one and it's just grown ever since. So this will be, they all run together now. I think it's year 25 or 26 coaching.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're thrilled to have you. Herriman Rugby's had a great reputation from day one.

Jeff Wilson:
For whatever reason, our league decided this year that we as a single school team should play in a league with the club teams. Which it makes about as much sense as saying, well your high school soccer or volleyball team is going to play in a league with the club teams because we're tired of beating up on all the school teams. Which you know, so it's, you're playing against really what would have become all-star teams with the multi-school club teams. And we'll compete well with them and we'll win a lot of those games and so forth.  But it's certainly different with your kids winning from one school, right? But I think one advantage that that gives us is that I think it means a little bit more to them to represent their school and to feel like, and they play other sports together and they grow up together and that definitely helps strengthen that bond. And then when we get to Nationals, really every school there's a private school. Which means they have artsy status at their school. They're extremely well funded. All three of our opponents that we've played, Gonzaga, we beat the first round who's the seven time champion. And Xavier who's won some national championships and then St. Ignatius in the finals. All three of them have a very similar structure. They all have 20 plus paid coaches. Myself and all my coaches are volunteers. They all have these massive budgets, not only for operating their team, but for travel. They all three went and toured Europe during the season with just, again, their private school money. Which I mean, good for, I'm not, you know, criticizing, it's great for them.

Anthony Godfrey:
You didn't tour Europe?

Jeff Wilson:
We went to Montana.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, well, you know, Montana's prettier in some ways.

Jeff Wilson:
It is, it is. They're both beautiful. We don't use any of those things as excuses but we do use those as motivation and maybe have a little chip on our shoulder to want to prove ourselves a little bit and say, "Hey, we don't have all of these advantages and we're still competing with you and in a lot of cases beating you." So, because our starting point is a little bit different, it makes it that much more special to see what these kids have accomplished for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Having a chip on your shoulder as standard equipment isn't a bad thing that motivates you, that moves you forward.

Jeff Wilson:
Absolutely, absolutely. I, you know, I have a coaching chip on my shoulder because I grew up with a coach and my father is a very good coach who I learned a lot from but I do have a little bit of chip on my shoulder to try and prove myself as well to be me and not just somebody's son, right? So, that certainly drives me.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm curious, what is it about this team that's so special?

Jeff Wilson:
Well, these, I think it starts with these three guys as captains and the leadership they provide and really that closeness, that brotherhood is something that we do preach and is a big part of our culture but that culture is only as good as the custodians of that which are our young men. So, really that brotherhood is intentional from them. Just a kind of a quick example of the impact they have. So, I have two sons in the program, one's a ninth grader, one's a tenth grader and they've grown up around these guys and they've hung out with them at practice and now they play on a team with them which is, it makes me feel old. But they will talk about all three of these young men in terms of, only how much they look up to them but in terms of they're the first guys to make them feel welcome and to make them feel like they are part of something and that they belong and it doesn't matter whether you're a superstar player, whether you're the last guy on the bench, anything in between, these three and their teammates as well go out of their way to make sure that this feels like a family. At some point, really for us to be successful, they have to take over, they have to be responsible for what the team culture is and there's a lot of that stuff that happens outside of practice as well, things like team dinners and team hikes, community service projects, all that kind of stuff and so really having guys like this lead the way is huge.

Anthony Godfrey:
It must be very rewarding to see these great captains, who they've become, and how that gets to impact your own family.

Jeff Wilson:
Absolutely, it is, you know, these three, I've literally watched them grow up in front of my eyes. Lucky, I've probably known since he was probably like six or seven. So over half his life, as he said, he had an older brother that played and his dad is also on our staff and he's an excellent coach as well. Riker's dad is also on our staff as an excellent coach as well as doing all our medical. He's a doctor. So these guys, as they mentioned, they all have older brothers that played and so I've known all these guys for a long time. I watched them play in Little League and I got to know them as they were growing up and to see the young men they've become, it's like being a proud papa, it's like watching your own kids grow up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Speaking of coaching for 25 years or so, you coached one of the teachers here at Herriman. Tell me about that.

Jeff Wilson:
I actually coached two of them. I coached Randy Cameraman in football at Murray High School and he was my TA for like five periods too, so we were pretty close.

Anthony Godfrey:
Murray's pretty easy going about that TA thing.

Jeff Wilson:
Oh yeah, sometimes those senior schedules, right? And then helped Randy get to college, get an opportunity to play football which actually started my love for helping with that process as well. One of the things I teach here is college athletic recruiting so I love helping kids find those opportunities. But Randy was really the first one that I was really, just because I cared about the young man, really tried to help him find a place and was able to do that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well done on that front. He's a great teacher and a great asset here.

Jeff Wilson:
He is fantastic. And then Nic Redd, who actually coached before Randy. Nic, I coached my first year out of high school. I took a year between high school and college to try and get bigger to go play college football. So I ended up coaching Nic Redd, who was a sophomore at the time, coached him in football.

Anthony Godfrey:
These guys were really complimentary of just as a great teacher.

Jeff Wilson:
He is wonderful. And like Randy, he started off in the business world and came to teaching late but he was a captain in football and a captain in rugby. He was a rugby player as well. And a good pound for pound, Nic Redd is one of the toughest players I've ever coached in my life. He'd go at you. He is the nicest guy in the world but you get him on the field and watch out. But it's been wonderful to have those two guys around and just be able to see them more. Once a guy plays for you, they're always your player. You always have that relationship, that bond, so forth. In fact, I still have to watch myself or I still call “Nic's a great kid. Randy's a great kid.” Obviously they're not kids anymore but they'll always be your players.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that. Well, obviously the lessons and the relationships continue for a long time. Congratulations on a great team, great captains, a great career and a fantastic season.

Jeff Wilson:
Appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Anthony Godfrey:
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.

Creed Jensen:
I feel like it really has united this school and I feel like it's just been a fun time seeing our peers work together and just competing in a friendly way.

Aly Law:
Our main goal was “how do we take this unique little spot and still have a positive school culture?”

Zachary Workman:
I love that we have gradually turned the reins over more and more to the students. It's really flourished under their leadership.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are putting school pride firmly in the hands of students and building strong connections at the same time at Fort Herriman Middle School. On this episode of the Supercast, hear why Battle of the Grades has become a huge hit throughout the entire year at Fort Herriman. It is a battle resulting in a big win for everyone and students taking care of one another and taking greater pride in their school.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are at Fort Herriman Middle School talking to three members of the faculty on a very big day here at Fort Herriman. Introduce yourself and tell us why we're here.

Aly Law:
My name is Aly Law. I'm a counselor and today we have our big Battle of the Grades assembly.

Madi Feist
I'm Madi Feist, the SBO Advisor.

Zachary Workman:
I'm Zachary Workman, a humble Spanish teacher but somehow involved in this shenanigans.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell us, for those who are uninformed, I just walked in on it last time and I had to be part of it this time around. I texted the principal to find out exactly when it was happening again because it looked so fun. Tell me about what's involved today.

Aly Law:
This started a few years ago with a student engagement committee that was formed in our leadership meeting that was designed to help kids feel a sense of belonging to the school to find their place. And we figured some friendly competition within the grades would be a great way to do it. So today's assembly is all about some fun games, competition between grades to build some culture in our school.

Anthony Godfrey:
And as I noticed before, it seems like there's a lot of preparation that goes into this. Can you tell us, Madi, a little bit about some of the games that are included today?

Madi Feist
Yes, I'd love to. Today we are doing a lot of games. Our theme for the day is ‘Cars.’ Disney Cars. Our school theme this year is “you're in the driver's seat” helping students realize that they drive their own life. So our student body officers decided that ‘Cars’ was so fitting for that. So we will start our day with a mattress slide called the Lightning Speedway, “which I believe you will be participating in.

Anthony Godfrey:
First, I thought I was going to get to kind of warm up a little bit. I will be wearing the suit. I was going to wear more athletic shoes for it, but I thought, you know, I need an excuse for if things go badly. Well, it was.

Madi Feist
Blame it on the shoes. Blame it on the shoes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right. Exactly.

Madi Feist
You are fourth in the relay. So you will have some . . .

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so I get to watch the technique. Does fourth in the relay mean that I'm on the tail end?

Madi Feist
That does mean that you, yeah, that's a big spot.

Anthony Godfrey:
I didn't want to say anchor, but yes, I'm the anchor. Okay. Well, I'm excited. The adrenaline is pumping.

Madi Feist
Oh great. As it should be.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now tell us about some of the other events.

Madi Feist
Another game that we're going to do today is a spinoff of Keepy Uppy or keeping the balloon up in the air, but instead.

Anthony Godfrey:
Keepy Uppy

Madi Feist
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know what kind of name. Now I know.

Madi Feist
Well, that was coined by.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that, was that a Bluey reference?

Madi Feist
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, my kids are beyond Bluey age, I'm afraid.

Madi Feist
Such a bummer.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Madi Feist
So Keepy Uppy, but instead they'll be holding up boxes with road signs in them and you're trying to knock down other people's road signs while keeping up your own road signs. So our final four standing, we'll all get points. So that'll be great. And then we have a Wiggle Grand Prix. Have you ever seen those Wiggle cars?

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yes.

Madi Feist
So we have four of those. And so that'll be a relay as well across the gym.

Anthony Godfrey:
You know, I'm feeling really good about being part of the mattress relay. Wiggle car, I think would be disastrous.

Madi Feist
Okay. And then the pit crew pin challenge, we'll have some inflatable bowling pins set up. They're giant. And then a student or in the teacher's case, a teacher will be on a, what would you call that? It was like little four-wheeled carts.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh.

Madi Feist
They're using gym class.

Anthony Godfrey:
The well-known gym class.

Madi Feist
So tiny. And they will be on that and the teammate will push them into the pin.

Anthony Godfrey:
I sure remember running over my finger in middle school holding onto that cart. Is anyone run over your hand on that cart? Right there. Right there. Painful, right? You'll never forget. Now, tell me your involvement. You're trying to pretend like you're an innocent bystander, but I think you're more involved than you're letting on.

Zachary Workman:
Just to Ali's point from the get-go, our main concern as a school is “how do we get more buy-in from more students?” There are a lot of social demographics that we don't typically reach. I think schooling can often cater to a certain group of straight-laced, well-behaved, academically inclined kids. And we wanted everyone to feel seen and valued. So as a member of that committee, we just did a lot of brainstorming a few years ago. What kind of things can we do to get this kind of competitive participation that would get everyone excited? I love that we have gradually turned the reins over more and more to the students. I think that was really the goal that we began with. We had to start it as faculty, but as you can see from this room full of students, they've really bought in and it's really flourished under their leadership.

Anthony Godfrey:
They have dressed in the right colors. They have handprints of paint all over their bodies. Mustaches that I think are fake, but maybe he grew that over the three-day weekend. I don't know. But they're geared up. Oh, there's another mustache. Who knows? It's everywhere.

Aly Law:
Middle school is such a unique place for students. There is a lot of culture development that goes into the high school that a lot of students cling to their high school. A lot. And even our students cling to their future high school because those are the sports teams they play on. That's what they're excited about in the future. Elementary school has a lot going on because it's their first experience with school, but middle school is this unique little spot. Our main goal was how do we take this unique little spot and still have a positive school culture and still have school pride?

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I love that. Being very intentional about it, saying this is a need. This is something we know is missing. How do we make everyone feel connected to the school? You've touched on it a little bit, but what is the outcome that you hope? What is the result you hope for for students after doing this throughout the year?

Aly Law:
I think the biggest goal is just that they take pride in a few areas. One is their grade and their peers and the group that they belong to. The second would be their school. This started in the height of some TikTok famous vandalism. We had kids that were just being a little too free in the bathrooms with some vandalism. We really wanted them to feel pride in their school, physically, academically, just be involved. So pride in themselves, pride in their grade, pride in their school, pride in their community, and just belonging.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I was impressed at how intense the focus was during that event when I wandered into it. I was here for another event, for another meeting, and walked down and couldn't resist it. I had to stay in and I was late for my next event because I needed to see as much of it as possible. I did get to see the mattress race. What's it called exactly? What is my fate today?

Aly Law:
Today we are calling it Lightning Speedway.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, the Lightning Speedway.

Aly Law:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, very good.

Madi Feist
I'd like to add into that. I think another goal is for them to see their teachers in a different light. We out food the teachers in every competition. We get to have fun with them and engage in them in a different way. And I think they get to A, know teachers so that they wouldn't have classes in and see their teachers in different ways.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how do teachers and students get selected for this opportunity?

Madi Feist
Just one specifically, this battle of the grade, we sent out a Google form and students could elect and then they were chosen. Same with teachers. In the past it's just been raise your hand if you're interested or we've tried a bunch of different methods. So they're still selected.

Anthony Godfrey:
As the momentum continues though, you have to modify those methods. So who's going to win today? Which grade?

Madi Feist
Sweet.

Students:
Ninth grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, it's clear. I don't know who's going to win. Let's say, I think it's going to be the faculty. Stay with us when we come back. More from the students and staff at Fort Herriman 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:
Does your student want to become a veterinarian, commercial pilot, programmer? Maybe they want to make a difference as a dental assistant. These are just some of the programs offered as part of Career and Technical Education. CTE in Jordan School District. CTE provides the technical skills needed to prepare students for future employment or for a successful transition to post-secondary education. Career and Technical Education provides work-based learning opportunities. We partner with industry experts to offer apprenticeships and internships with students working in the real world at real jobs while going to school. The CTE experience starts in our elementary schools with the Kids' Marketplace and grows through middle and high school. To explore all CTE has to offer in Jordan School District, visit cte.jordandistrict.org today and let's get your child started on the pathway to a profession.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's talk with some of the Student Body Officers here at Fort Herriman. Tell us your name, grade, and your position, and what you're most excited about today.

Creed Jensen:
I'm Creed Jensen. I'm an 8th grade SBO and for the position of this assembly, I was told to choose the games for this one and the past assembly. I think I'm most excited for the mattress slide. Kids get really passionate about it. To get super competitive in just a fun environment to be in.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, great. No pressure. How about for you?

Addy Simmons:
My name is Addy Simmons. I'm a 9th grade SBO and I'm really excited just about being able to end this year with a bang for this assembly. Having all the students cheering each other on, having school pride, and just having a good time.

Harrison Whittle:
I'm Harrison Whittle. I'm a 7th grade SBO and I'm really excited for this assembly. I think my favorite game that we're going to do is the Wiggle Grand Prix, which is the wiggle cart one. My position in this assembly was making some height videos and instructional videos along with a lot of other people.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is there a lightning race instructional video? There really is? Okay, I'm going to watch it.

Harrison Whittle:
There is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, this is my time to shine. What has the impact been of seeing these competitions throughout the year and throughout your time at Fort Herriman? What has it done for you and for other students?

Creed Jensen:
I feel like it's really just showed me that even though middle school can sometimes be like a hard time, I feel like it's showed me that you can just bring all the kids together over like small games that don't mean very much and it just like, I feel like it really is united the school and I feel like it's just been a fun time seeing our peers work together and just competing in a friendly way.

Anthony Godfrey:
Be united is one part of my theme, my motto for the District ever since I became superintendent. So I love hearing that, that it makes people feel connected with each other.

Addy Simmons:
I just feel like even though a lot of times the students leading up to the assemblies don't seem super excited because you know they have to act cool for their friends, but when it starts you can see that all of them start getting into it and they want their grade to win and they're peeking around each other's heads so they can see what's going on and it's just fun to see everybody kind of being kids and having a good time.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like the way you describe that. I saw people losing their cool when I was here before, just going nuts for their team so I can't wait to see it again.

Harrison Whittle:
I personally think that especially at the end of the year or over the start of Christmas break when we did our Denvac kid backwards, it helps them want to come to school and want to have fun since they know it's coming and they don't want to miss out on any part of it.

Anthony Godfrey:
They don't want to miss out. You want to be here, you want to be a part of it and that's really important. We've got you eight hours a day, every weekday almost. I really love that this is something to look forward to and something really exciting. I also love your mustache I have to say. The mustache and the green vest, you really look like a construction worker I just ran into it Maverik when I stopped for a drink. This is a good look for you. You ought to consider growing that mustache over the summer. Stay with it. Stay with it. Well, give me predictions. What's going to happen in the competition today? What's the analysis?

Creed Jensen:
I don't know. I feel like ninth grade is definitely coming in with the upper hand, with being up with the points. But I feel like eighth grade, we got a pretty strong roster for these games. I feel like we can come back. Seventh grade, they're just far behind. I just don't see the comeback in them. I don't know. It's like they got lots of hard competition.

Anthony Godfrey:
You acknowledge your current position but there's hope.

Creed Jensen:
Yeah, for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
But you've written off the seventh graders. I don't know. I think that could be dangerous.

Creed Jensen:
Yeah, I don't know. Seventh graders, huh. I don't know.

Anthony Godfrey:
These are advanced seventh graders. They're at the end of their seventh grade time. They're almost you. What do you thinks gonna happen?

Addy Simmons:
You know, the ninth graders, as Creed said, we are in the lead and we actually won as eighth graders last year. So eighth graders have a chance seeing as eighth graders won before. But we got to keep the title going. We got to just leave the school with our reigning championship.

Anthony Godfrey:
So if you won last year, nobody puts the thumb on the scale for the ninth graders every year. I mean, I've been at schools where the ninth graders just automatically won every year, but that sounds like that's not the case.

Addy Simmons:
Yeah, I mean, we kind of expected it last year as far as I can remember, but us eighth graders pulled through and we're doing it so far for this year too.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Well, I'm glad you took off time as a general contractor to be here today for competition. So what's your prediction today?

Harrison Whittle:
I want to take the title away from the ninth graders and have some graders win because you should always bet for the underdog. But personally, I think the ninth graders will probably win because a lot of the games are based on some strength and they have a lot of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right. I like the clear-eyed analysis. Now let me ask you this. Next year, though, when you guys are in eighth grade, do you think you have a chance to topple the ninth graders?

Harrison Whittle:
Yes, we're not. Next year, we are going to win.

Anthony Godfrey:
I didn't realize that the points accumulated throughout the year. Are there even enough points available today for you to surge and make a comeback?

Harrison Whittle:
Yeah, I think they're all pretty close in points. From ninth grade to seventh grade, it's probably around like a hundred-point difference and you can get that in one assembly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right. It's anybody's game right now and I'm really excited to be in on the ground floor and to be able to talk with you guys in advance. Thanks for talking with me. Put in that psych up music, whatever you're going to listen to, to be ready and we'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm standing now with the relay team for the mattress slide or the Lightning Race. All right, team members, introduce yourselves.

Jaby Segura:
Jaby Segura.

Zach Wurthmann:
Zach Wurthmann again.

Levi Parsons:
Levi Parsons.

Anthony Godfrey:
Has anyone here prepared or done this before? You've done this before?

Zach Wurthmann
I was involved in last assembly's mattress slide.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you don't have any butterflies at all? You're good to go.

Zach Wurthmann:
It's just a blast. Just enjoy.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's your advice?

Zach Wurthmann:
Slip and slide technique as if you're like summer on the lawn.

Anthony Godfrey:
Close to the ground.

Zach Wurthmann:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. That's been a while since I was on a slip and slide, but I'm going to try to access that memory. How about for you? You haven't practiced, you told me.

Jaby Segura:
I have not practiced. I'm just going for the quick tuck and roll after I slide to allow the next person to their slide.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh. It's getting out of the way quickly.

Jaby Segura:
Getting out of the way quickly is my advice.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's actually really good advice. Okay. Because if I don't hurt myself, I'll kind of stand up and just like celebrate. But what I need to do is get out of your way.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about for you? What are you thinking?

Levi Parsons:
I haven't done it before, but there's no choice but to win. So we're going to win.

Anthony Godfrey:
I am on the right team. All right. Let's see how things go.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here with the principal of Fort Herriman Middle School. Introduce yourself and assess how my team and I did in the Mattress Slide Lightning Race.

Glenn Richens:
I am Glenn Richens, principal here at Fort Herriman Middle School. The Mattress Race is one of my favorite events. Dr. Godfrey was the anchor in the first round. In the second round, he decided to go first and ended up being a good personal move there, where they were able to beat the other team in that second round. So quite amazing performance there.

Anthony Godfrey:
You know, principals are always able to put a good spin on things and this is no exception. I never should have anchored, but it was really, really fun and got to participate with some great teachers. So what a great vibe. What a great feel here today at Fort Herriman. Congratulations on creating a wonderful culture with the help of some incredible teachers and students.

Glenn Richens:
We appreciate all the support. We have great people here at Fort Herriman and they do a great job putting things like this together. Great students that are bringing the juice every day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Great staff, great students, and a great time. Thank you very much.

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.

Rebecca Chandler:
I was so lucky to have this amazing little girl in my class named Sariah, and wouldn't you know it, she interviewed for our school kindergarten position last year.

Sariah Schmelter:
She really was a great teacher and set the mood right off the bat for me and I just grew up knowing I was gonna be a teacher.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a full-circle moment for two former students and their teachers at Rose Creek Elementary School. On this episode of the Supercast, listen as former students are reunited with the teachers they grew to love in elementary school. They are reunited as co-workers, now teaching side-by-side in classrooms at Rose Creek. It is a story that speaks to the lifelong impact a good teacher can have on his or her students, leading to lasting friendship and future success.

Anthony Godfrey:
Talking now with two kindergarten teachers at Rose Creek Elementary. Introduce yourselves and how you know each other.

Rebecca Chandler:
Well, my name is Rebecca Chandler and I have been a teacher for 14 years in Jordan School District; took a little bit time off in the middle for about six years before returning back to teaching. I know this teacher when I started teaching at Hayden Peak Elementary in kindergarten and it was my second year teaching and I was so lucky to have this amazing little girl in my class named Sariah. And, wouldn't you know it, she interviewed for our school kindergarten position last year. Wow.

Sariah Schmelter:
I'm Sariah Schmelter. This is my first year teaching here at Rose Creek and I'm teaching kindergarten, and like Becca mentioned, I had Becca as a kindergarten teacher which was amazing. One of the reasons I actually wanted to come to Rose Creek was because I remembered how amazing she was as my teacher and I knew that she would be a good leader and mentor to me.

Anthony Godfrey:
You just called your kindergarten teacher ‘Becca’ twice. So how long did it take for you to get used to that or are you used to it yet?

Sariah Schmelter:
It was really weird, especially around my family, because my younger sister actually had her the year after. She to this day is still my mom's favorite teacher and so we always talk about Miss Chandler, Miss Chandler, Miss Chandler. So when I started calling her Becca, my mom's like “wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! This doesn't make sense.” Yeah, it's taken a while.

Anthony Godfrey:
I remember that as I have maintained contact with some students that I taught as well, they called me Godfrey for a while like they would drop the beginning. They finally called me by my first name a few times but I think it's still uncomfortable for them. Thirty years later, they still do, you know. It's ingrained, it's ingrained. Now you taught or you sought out the opportunity to teach with your kindergarten teacher. Tell me about that.

Sariah Schmelter:
Yeah, so I was just looking for jobs last year and I would do like a little bit of snooping, I guess, through the websites for each school, and just kind of seeing who's teaching there because I had a couple friends that taught at different schools.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it makes a difference who you're teaching with.

Sariah Schmelter:
It does, it really does. You want to be with people that you know will support you and and lead you. So when I saw Becca on there I was kind of like mind-blowing because for some reason, I thought she moved out of the state, which I don't know why I thought that.

Anthony Godfrey:
We have a lot of myths about our teachers in our mind, that they never go to the grocery store, or yeah, exactly.

Sariah Schmelter:
Yeah, so I remember I saw her there and I like took a picture of like my computer screen. I sent it to my sister, was like, Miss Chandler still teaching! Then she's like, “that's so crazy!” So I applied and when I got to interview, it was, it just felt right and so yeah, it's been fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. What was it about her that made you want to teach with her?

Sariah Schmelter:
She just I always remember her as being one of my favorite teachers. She was just always so kind and patient and I really enjoyed kindergarten. Because I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher, I knew that having a good kindergarten teacher that like I had already experienced be my leader and be my mentor was going to be a great option for me. So that's one of the main reasons that that I kind of sought out this position over some other ones.

Anthony Godfrey:
And just for context for our readers who may be more advanced in years, what year did you go to kindergarten?

Sariah Schmelter:
Oh, let's see. Okay, it was 2006 to 7.

Anthony Godfrey:
2006, 7 in kindergarten and now in your first year of teaching. You’re a very young teacher at the time. Becca, tell me about the experience of realizing that you're gonna get to teach with your former student.

Rebecca Chandler:
Oh, it was so fun. I didn't I'll be honest I didn't recognize her right off the bat but as soon as she asked if I had taught at Hayden Peak and she told me her name. I she didn't have to tell me her last name. I just knew it right away, oh my gosh, and I remember your little sister, Nicole. It's like I could just see their little faces exactly. Then once I realized that, I'm like oh I can totally see you just as a little five-year-old. I just remember them being just both so sweet and kind to everybody. It just took me right back. It was such a wonderful time for me teaching there and just starting my career and everything. One of the things was our community was so great and my students were amazing and so it was just, just a flood of memories and it was just so fun to be back.

Anthony Godfrey:
She's tall for five years old.

Rebecca Chandler:
She's tall for five years old.

Anthony Godfrey:
And very accomplished.

Rebecca Chandler:
Just like a parent, you don’t like it when they get taller than you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Your kindergarten student has outgrown you but she hasn't outgrown learning from you, I'm sure. What are some of the things that you have picked up from Becca that have really helped you as a teacher?

Sariah Schmelter:
I don't even know where to begin. There have been so many things especially as a first-year teacher that I'm still learning and developing. Becca's been amazing and has come in and observed me several times and has helped me kind of figure out what I need to work towards especially, in like student engagement which can be sometimes be hard. I feel like that's one of the main things I've learned from her but also just how to be like kind and empathetic. She's an amazing teacher and her students love her. I mean,, I still love her like from a student perspective and her kids will come in during Walk to Read time and they're just like, “oh, we love Miss Chandler,” and like, “I love Miss Chandler, too.” So just learning how to be kind and empathetic to the kids so that you form that connection so they can have that healthy learning environment. I think that's one of the biggest things I've learned.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's wonderful! Tell me what you love most about teaching kindergarten.

Rebecca Chandler:
Oh, I don't even know where to start. Probably because I just find it so satisfying. What I mean by that is they come in just babies. I mean, they are babies. I still remember my kids that that little and I just couldn't imagine sending them off. So their parents are trusting us to have them and nourish them and teach them. It's just so satisfying to watch them come in, and while some may know how to read and things like that, they still don't know a lot about how school works. So to see the amount of growth from the beginning of the year to the end of year is incredible. I'm sure other grades see that too, but for me it feels just even more spectacular in kindergarten.

Anthony Godfrey:
It is something different when you're teaching students how to be in school but you're also teaching parents sometimes how to have kids in school. Tell me about what that's like.

Sariah Schmelter:
I feel very fortunate I have some amazing parents this year who seek out advice and really follow things. We work together as a team and so that's been really awesome. But yeah, I think there definitely is that learning curve when especially I have a lot of first kids.

Anthony Godfrey:
So first-time parents. first-time students,

Sariah Schmelter:
Yes, yeah, exactly, and but again I feel very fortunate that they they're willing to work with me. We talk about their students and how we can help them in class. They're just very open and willing to learn and grow and I'm open to it or an open and willing to learn and grow, so I think it's just been a good experience. They've all done really well.

Rebecca Chandler:
It is it is really fun to see some of these first-time parents because they I feel like are more nervous than the kindergartners. It is an extra responsibility to try and ease them into the into the role of being a parent of an elementary school student. Sometimes it takes a lot of time and training but overall, this is a great community.

Anthony Godfrey:
A kindergarten teacher I spoke with a couple of months ago told me about how they consider the parents on the first day of kindergarten like the paparazzi taking all these pictures, getting all the photos, and then like you said, they trust their child to come in and that's a big responsibility. When I came into your class Becca, it was obvious what a great teacher you are because the processes for getting kids in, seated, accounted for, lunches, all the procedures are there. I think that's really comforting to a kid to know to know how this works. I'm coming in, I'm part of this. You know everyone knows their place and what to do but they also get to be themselves.

Rebecca Chandler:
For sure. You know that you always learn and it's, I mean it, you will notice this in real life that behavior to how to manage behavior will always start with routines and procedures and I am a firm believer of that. My students, we work so hard on those routines that on the days that we have to vary sometimes they are so well trained in just their muscle memory, they're like Pavlov's dogs and they'll just do whatever; and I'm like wait, wait, wait! But we're changing today and they are just so used to the routine and the procedure that it's hard for them to even switch, but it makes our day go so much better.

Anthony Godfrey:
What it does is it creates time for learning to happen and for those positive interactions to happen. I've always been impressed by the way that elementary teachers in particular are able to set up those routines and you learned a lot from Becca about that just from what you described.

Sariah Schmelter:
Yeah, for sure I've learned a lot about routine and procedure. I've been able to observe her class as well and kind of see how she formulates her day, how she does transitions. Those can be really hard for kids when you're all the sudden transitioning from the carpet to the table. They want to kind of talk with their neighbor and they get lost in time. But I'm watching the things that Becca does. Sometimes she'll have them like have a task to do while they're going to their table or something like that, so it kind of keeps those kids engaged and in learning while they're transitioning. I've seen some really positive effects from doing stuff like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
You give them a great launch. Look at the launch that you gave her.

Rebecca Chandler:
She's given me a lot of credit, but she is one of the most incredible first-year teachers I have ever seen. In my observations, I've all made notes about, I love that, I'm gonna steal that idea. So, I even made a couple of notes and then I've used them in my classroom. My students have really loved it. So she's given me a lot of credit but she needs to give herself credit because she really is an amazing first-year teacher.

Anthony Godfrey:
I talked to a lot of teachers and it's really obvious what a great teacher you are right out of the gate, so I hope you have many years ahead in Jordan District. You have as many as you want, but it's a real thrill to talk with both of you and enjoy celebrating this year of progress that your kindergartners have had. You've given them a great start.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back as we talk with Stacy Marshall and Riley Butterfield, teacher and student who became a teacher.

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:
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 here with two teachers at Rose Creek Elementary. Go ahead and introduce yourselves and then we'll talk a little bit about how long you've known each other and why.

Stacy Marshall:
My name is Stacy Marshall and I taught Riley in kindergarten in 2002, so that’s why we are here.

Riley Butterfield:
I'm Riley Butterfield and I am now here at Rose Creek for my second year of teaching.

Anthony Godfrey:
Riley, the former kindergartner, what do you remember about being in that kindergarten class?

Riley Butterfield:
Honestly, I don't remember a whole lot just because that feels so long ago now.

Anthony Godfrey:
It’s a long time ago.

Riley Butterfield:
Yeah, I just remember having so much fun. She really was a great teacher and set the mood right off the bat for me and I just grew up knowing I was gonna be a teacher.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you knew the way that it felt to be in her class. How did it feel to be in her class?

Riley Butterfield:
She made it a very loving environment, fun, welcoming, made sure that everyone was, you know, greeted and then sent off in a good way.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did it feel organized?

Riley Butterfield:
Oh year. She's always been organized.

Anthony Godfrey:
The reason I ask that is I know she's highly organized and has the processes, has the procedures. Do you think there's a little bit of her teaching DNA that has inhabited the way that you run your first-grade classes?

Riley Butterfield:
I would hope so. I try to be as organized as I possibly can and I think there's a little influence there.

Anthony Godfrey:
How many years have you been teaching now?

Riley Butterfield:
This is my second year.

Anthony Godfrey:
Your second year teaching and both here at Rose Creek?

Riley Butterfield:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
What brought you to Rose Creek specifically?

Riley Butterfield:
I finished my student teaching in November and I saw that there was an opening and kind of hard to find a job in the middle of the year. This one was open.

Anthony Godfrey:
At what point did you realize you would be teaching at the same school as your former kindergarten teacher?

Riley Butterfield:
It took us what like three months to realize. My mom had come and helped me set up the class and she was like, “gosh, that teacher looks so familiar.” We were trying to figure it out, me and my mom, back and forth, and she's like, maybe your brother had her. So, then I was telling Stacy about it. She pulled out all of her yearbooks and there I was, and so it was not even my brother. It was me. So, it was fun to make that connection and see that after.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now just so that everyone listening can feel a little older, in what year were you in kindergarten and now second year, now you're a second-year teacher?

Riley Butterfield:
Yes, I believe that was 2002.

Anthony Godfrey:
2002 in kindergarten.

Riley Butterfield:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Half-day kindergarten back when we did not offer that. Oh, the old PM kindergarten.

Riley Butterfield:
Yeah, I was the PM kindergarten.

Stacy Marshall:
A letter a week.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very nice. All right. How do you enjoy teaching? How do you feel about teaching now that you're now that you're in it?

Riley Butterfield:
Oh, I love it. I love being able to interact with the kids and just joke with them and teach them and watch that light bulb moment. You know, when they're reading and be able to really think back and when they're writing, thinking about their six syllable types and how they can break that apart to like, figure out the word. It's just fun to watch them do that.

Anthony Godfrey:
When you're teaching first graders you really get to see that huge progress. I taught middle school and high school and I got to see progress and you saw the light bulbs go on. But I feel like a first-grade teacher or a kindergarten teacher gets to see that all the time, that they are lighting the boards up all the time. You see this huge progress and that they're growing up before your eyes. Tell me about that.

Riley Butterfield:
Yeah, it's weird to watch them like even our beginning of the year photos, and like looking back at class photos that you take during your class parties, and then you have them flipping through on the screen. Then all of a sudden, you're at the end of the year and you're like that's a different kid. They hardly look the same. Yeah, so it's crazy to even just like look back on the photos that are flipping through the screen.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a lot of time that they, that you, spend together every day. They get to know every stitch of clothing that you own, every mood that you are feeling. Do they, do they tell you all the time you look kind of tired or you look kind of sad?

Riley Butterfield:
No, I haven’t gotten that one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Or oh yeah, I got that all the time. Or it would be about oh are you tired, Mr. Godfrey? You seem tired. Anyway, how about you? What do you remember about Riley when she was a kindergartner?

Stacy Marshall:
Well, you know this is my 24th year of teaching so that would have been, you know, a little bit back then but I  . . .

Anthony Godfrey:
She's the only one you remember? She was a standout. I mean she's shown like the sun.

Stacy Marshall:
Your first year.

Anthony Godfrey:
I mean, she shown like the sun.

Stacy Marshall:
When I first started, I was eight months pregnant with my youngest. I know people say, “oh, your first year is like a train wreck or something.” You just hope they survived you, know so I was hoping. I was looking at her now. I'm like, okay, one made it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, she made it, she made it.

Stacy Marshall:
That year is just a little bit of a blur because so much was going on and it's your first year. But it was it was a good class. I look back at that yearbook and some of the kids that were there. I taught siblings of those families. I made good connections that way with the families at Jordan Ridge and then yeah, I watch her now, she's just amazing. She's an amazing teacher.

Anthony Godfrey:
So that was your first year teaching and you had a career in law enforcement before that, is that right?

Stacy Marshall:
I did, I did 11 years with police.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about being a police woman and then coming in to be a kindergarten teacher. Tell me about the skills that transferred from one job to the next.

Stacy Marshall:
You know I tell people that it's kind of the same because, except that the kindergartners are better because they're supposed to behave that way instead of adults behaving like they're fine you know.

Anthony Godfrey:
So, they match your expectations a little better than the adult behavior did.

Stacy Marshall:
Sometimes. Wow, you know. But I don't know. I just I think because my last part of my police career was in detectives and in crimes committed against children, it just kind of led me to want to see that positive side versus I was in so much of, you know, the sadness of the things that can happened to kids. But being on the teaching part of it just brought me back that happiness. That yeah, kind of like you said, that growth and the kids are so empathetic in first grade. If you're having a rough day, they're like, “oh are you sad? You know, or how can we help? Can I give you a hug?” They're just like that and that's my attraction to first grade, too, for that the kids are just wonderful.

Anthony Godfrey:
What would you say to those who are thinking about becoming a teacher? The kindergartners out there listening to the podcast were thinking one day maybe I can teach first grade?

Riley Butterfield:
Do it. I don't know I've loved every single minute of it. I know that some people are like, “oh, never become a teacher,” but I just can't relate. I can't relate to that. I look forward to coming every day and I can't wait to hear the stories that the kids are going to share or tell me of what happened last night. I just I love it. It's really what I want to be doing and I just would say do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
The question I used to love that they would say is, you know, they can't wait to tell you about their lives but also what are we doing today? I think that's a big compliment like there's going to be something cool, what is it? I just can't wait. I can't wait to tell you about my life and I can't wait to see what you have for me today.
On the other end of a career, what would you say to those who are thinking about teaching?

Stacy Marshall:
I do think it's an innate calling that people just are drawn to that, you know, I really do. Especially I mean I guess if people stay in it for as long as they do, it has to be that connection. Yeah, and those connections, those daily connections, like you say, whether it's learning how to read or even those who are struggling, it just being a part of that struggle is a positive in your life. So, I can look back and say I know I made the right career choice. It's been a bumpy ride at times but it's been a good ride. I wouldn't have swapped up for anything. I really truly wouldn't have swapped up for anything.

Anthony Godfrey:
The bumps are part of the deal. Yeah, and what's nice is that you see the kids the next day and you're able to recover. You know, you get that consistency.

Stacy Marshall:
Well, you know, when they go to second grade the beginning of the year, I always feel like a rock star walking through the lunch room because that's always, “Miss Marshall, Miss Marshall!” Yeah, you do feel like a rock star. You've got your paparazzi back. It wears off. Third or fourth grade . .

Anthony Godfrey:
Fourth grade just kind of gives the head the head nod you know.

Stacy Marshall:
But second grade is like, but it's even fun. Still I've got the kids that I first taught here are in fifth grade now and they'll walk by and say, “Hey, Miss Marshall,” and so that's kind of fun to still have that connection with them. But yeah, beginning of the year second graders, you're just a rock star.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, enjoy your rock star status both of you and good luck with the remaining days of the year.

Stacy Marshall and Riley Butterfield:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right take care thanks for talking with me. Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember. education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see out there. Bye.

Melanie Dawson:
What's really tapped into developing skills that they may have already had somewhat, but to really expand that and give them this connection to school that might they might not have had before; something that they love and they love to come here for.

Eddie:
I was mad one day, so I just wrote a song.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah?

Eddie:
About how I was feeling.

Anthony Godfrey:
And when you wrote that song did you feel better after that?

Eddie:
Yeah, definitely.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. You could say students are really rocking it at River's Edge School this year. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how music in a brand new school band is enriching the educational experience for students at River's Edge and how teachers are taking note, loving the experiences.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at River's Edge School talking with the principal. Tell us a little bit about the school and introduce yourself.

Melanie Dawson:
Hi, my name is Melanie Dawson. This is my third year as principal. I've been here six years as an administrator. River's Edge School is a school serving the students in the District who need the most intense social, emotional and behavioral support. They come here through a placement process and we have a lot of supports that exist throughout our building where we can provide them what they need and I take very seriously that this is their opportunity, not only to get some behavioral supports, but also this is where they get their education. So really making sure that we have as high quality and rigorous classes for them, so that the time they spend in our building, they are being educated at the highest levels possible.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is where students go to receive the most intensive support for social and emotional needs and behavior issues. Is that correct?

Melanie Dawson:
Correct. That is the population that we serve and they all come to us for a variety of reasons. We serve elementary through high school, so that is one thing that makes us unique. We have smaller numbers than they have at typical schools, but we have a huge breadth of the things that we do and the programs that we provide since we serve all ages.

Anthony Godfrey:
And a K-12 school means that you, exactly as you described, need to provide support for lots of different ages, stages of development, lots of very unique needs based on a lot of things in that child's life.

Melanie Dawson:
Absolutely. Absolutely. That is one thing that makes us unique, and that's one thing I absolutely love about my job at River's Edge. Because we have a small number of students, we also have a smaller staff than is typical, but our ratio of staff to student is actually quite high, so these students can receive an individualized education. Our teachers have to do a lot of flexing. Sometimes they'll be teaching an elementary class at one point in their day but then they might be teaching a high school class and there's a whole lot of variety and change even from period to period and year to year for our staff.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have to be ready for anything basically.

Melanie Dawson:
Yes, in more ways than one.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are some misunderstandings about River's Edge, and so I'm glad you laid it out so clearly. Some people think it's only secondary, first of all, and some may not realize that there is mainstreaming that goes on. Tell me about that.

Melanie Dawson:
Oh absolutely. I mean I view our top priority, priority one, is to stabilize students’ behavior with our supports. But one B, not two, one B is to get them back out to a mainstream opportunity so that they can be educated around typical peers to the extent that they are ready. And that looks different than it looks at other schools. I mean other schools that might have some type of a special ed program they can usually walk a kid across the hall for some kind of a class and they have a lot more access to what that mainstream environment is. But my team we are really working with any school across the District to mainstream a child and trying to coordinate what those services and what those supports look like to foster success as much as possible. And our goal is that when a student is ready to not need River's Edge, we hope that they're able to move on to another school as a more permanent placement. It doesn't always look that way but this is where we take it individual case by case based on what a student is ready for.

Anthony Godfrey:
And the point is that so for mainstreaming, that's more of a typical sort of school environment where this is a more restrictive environment for those who may not understand what that is. Can you talk about the range that students, where students might be placed based on their needs?

Melanie Dawson:
Absolutely. So there's what we consider a continuum of services especially when you're talking in the world of special education, and the general education classroom setting is the least restrictive. That's where students have full access to content and to peers, and then sometimes students need a little additional support so that might be like a resource pull out or something like that. But they still might receive the majority of their day in a gen ed classroom. And then we start to get more restricted from there where maybe an IEP team decides that a child would benefit from more of what we'd call a self -contained placement where they have more of their day in a room with students who have similar needs to them so we can kind of consolidate our efforts towards those students. And then we receive students who need even more than that, more than just a self-contained classroom. So we are considered a self-contained school. We are a special ed school that serves those students, where based on data, based on experiences in their other their other experiences throughout that continuum, the data and the team is able to get together and say yes, like this student would benefit, at least right now, from some additional support. So we're able to then have this entire beautiful school where we can focus our efforts on students who have somewhat similar needs.

Anthony Godfrey:
One way of looking at it would be that you try the least restrictive environment and you move toward a more restrictive environment cautiously thoughtfully until you realize this is the least restrictive environment. You place a student in the least restrictive environment where their needs can still be met.

Melanie Dawson:
Oh, that was beautifully articulated. That's exactly right, and that's why mainstream is such a big priority here, too, because as soon as we feel like they're ready for something less restrictive, even if that's only for one hour of their day, then the onus is on us to make that opportunity available to them.

Anthony Godfrey:
So the idea is not to play someone and say well, they’re River's Edge and we're done here. It's okay they're at River's Edge, now let's build back if we can, if there's any chance of building back, let's do that, so that a student can move toward the less restrictive environment over time.

Melanie Dawson:
Absolutely, again, very well-articulated. That's always our goal and I especially as the principal of this building I always keep my eye on that goal. That is where we're always trying to aim for student, and again, that may or may not be the reality depending on when they come to us, how much time we have left with them, what their actual combination of behaviors look like, but it's really important because although we I love River's Edge, this has been an amazing place and we provide as many opportunities as we can. But with a small number of students and a small staff, we also sometimes are a little bit limited in the variety of things that we can offer students so sometimes mainstreams give them access to electives and things that are so awesome for that child where we, you know you think of a typical high school and how many teachers they may have on staff there. We have eight full time teachers here, so we do our best to rotate electives and to match that to our student needs and interests, but honestly, sometimes mainstream gives them access to something new and different, not just typical peers, but also content that we have not yet provided within our walls. It also connects us as leaders to the kinds of things like, oh could we add something like this into the rotation? Do we have the right person to teach this, or to get creative about how to approach this content area?

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that. Being creative about how you can provide a wide range of opportunities for students, because opportunities will bring out the best in those students when they have a chance to connect with something meaningful and enjoyable for them.

Melanie Dawson:
Yeah, absolutely and that's really how our music program, that we're going to show you today, how it evolved. It was part vision on our part like knowing that we wanted to bring some more arts into their lives. We ended up hiring the right people, who personally had the right skill set and they had the right passion to give us some of these resources. Then we were able to create new opportunities under the umbrella of arts for our students. It's been so awesome to see how they have blossomed with these opportunities and how it's really tapped into developing skills that they may have already had somewhat, but to really expand that and give them this connection to school that might they might not have had before, something that they love and they love to come here for.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic and it is exciting. I can't wait to play with them and hear more about their experience being able to be involved in music here. Well, it's a remarkable school. You and your staff do an incredible job, and I'm really excited for people to learn more about it and to be here and jam out with some of your students.

Melanie Dawson:
Oh, they're looking forward to it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back, more about the important work going on for students at River's Edge School every single day.

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 at Jordan District. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here to talk about the band and this music experience here at River’s Edge. Everyone, introduce yourselves, and let's talk about why we're here today.

Lance Weaver:
I'm Lance. I'm the music teacher and I'm here to teach these kids some music.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how long have you guys been working on this particular song?

Lance Weaver:
We've been working with Leryk the first part of the semester, or the first semester, and then with Eddie the second semester and Kai's been a drummer the whole time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Leryk, Eddie and Kai, those are great rock and roll names. So let's get to it. Let's get to it. Introduce yourselves and tell us what you play in the band and what type of music you like. I also want to hear about the type of music you listen to. I mean, it's on the shirts a little bit already, but tell us about it.

Leryk:
My name is Leryk and I like a lot of music.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you play in the band, Leryk?

Leryk:
Guitar, sometimes bass.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. That's a common answer when you ask someone what they do in the band. It's sometimes bass. Tell me about what music you like to listen to.

Leryk:
I like older rock music when it wasn't so depressing and angry all the time, like it is now.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm with you. Yeah, let's get some bright, sunny rock and roll tunes. What are some songs or bands that you really like?

Leryk:
Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, which I rarely hear anything about.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very nice. Jefferson Airplane as opposed to Jefferson Starship as opposed to Starship.

Leryk:
There's a lot of modern bands to listen to. I also like electronic music, like Daft Punk.

Anthony Godfrey:
Daft Punk, very nice. Crossing the pond for that one, very good.

Leryk:
I also really like old 1940s and 50s jazz.

Anthony Godfrey:
Really? Wow. How about you?

Kai:
My name is Kai.

Anthony Godfrey:
Kai, what are you doing in the band? Your drums? Is that right?

Kai:
Yep. I'm a drummer.

Anthony Godfrey:
What drew you to the drums?

Kai:
My dad used to do it. He's a big inspiration for me, but he used to be in drum corps and used to play for a band. It was a tribute band. Not the actual Slipknot. They spelled theirs with an N instead of a K.

Anthony Godfrey:
Untied, maybe, would be the name of a cover band. The Slipknot cover band, that's intense. Very cool. What type of music do you like to listen to?

Kai:
Anything that sounds good and has a stable beat.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's about the beat for you?

Kai:
Pretty much. I don't care about the context of the song. As long as it sounds good and has a funky beat to it, I can jam to them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Any drummers or particular bands that you like?

Kai:
Stick Figure, Korn, Tool.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah?

Lerck:
Tool's one of the greatest bands ever. I can double it. Tool is my favorite.

Anthony Godfrey:
I went and saw Tool before I really knew who they were at Lollapalooza here. I had boots on, I had my whole rocking boat here on, and I had to walk for two miles in my boots. Tool was actually on the side stage. Primus was on the main stage, and Tool was on the side stage. It was in the early days, in the 1900s. How about you?

Eddie:
I'm Eddie, I play guitar.

Anthony Godfrey:
Of course, Eddie plays guitar. That's how it goes.

Eddie:
Yeah. I like metal, mainly.

Anthony Godfrey:
What kind of metal bands do you like?

Eddie:
Slipknot, mainly new metal bands, some death metal bands like Cannibal Corpse.

Anthony Godfrey:
New metal like the NU.

Eddie:
Yeah, NU metal. New metal for those listening, yes.

Eddie:
Yeah, like Korn, all those. Also, love Tool. I love Primus. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, Primus is out there, but I like him.

Eddie:
Oh yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like him. They're coming in concert, actually.

Eddie:
Oh, that's cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, what has it meant to you to be part of this band, to be part of this music program?

Leryk:
I think it's a great way to learn and instruments in general. And like, how do I describe it? It really, really helps you learn something when you're in a room with a bunch of random people. And it's like, okay, guys, be in rhythm with each other, figure out a song, play it.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. You've described exactly what my guitar teacher told me decades ago. That is, when you play with other people, you get better. You get better faster when you're playing with other people because you're supporting each other. So it's really being part of a team. How about for you? What does it mean to you, Kai, to be part of this?

Kai:
What it means to me is a group of random people coming together just to make music, stuff that sounds good, that just auditorily pleasing, so to say. And I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Sometimes it can be a little stressful not naming anyone. Anywho.

Anthony Godfrey:
There's always a little band tension.

Kai:
If I had a nickel for every time, they were like, "Stop tuning!" I'm practicing my fills. "Alright, Kai, I'm tuning."

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you've got an instrument in front of you. It's hard to resist. I understand that. But there's that creative tension. That's what I like to call it.

Kai:
Oh, yeah. But besides from that, we cooperate pretty well with each other.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good.

Kai:
Being in the band, it helps me get a lot of my anger out. And also just play music with my friends. It's the part of the day that I look forward to.

Anthony Godfrey:
It gives you a way to express yourself.

Kai:
Yeah. It's what motivates me to come here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good. That's fantastic. When you listen to... Do you listen to music differently now that you've been playing music? Appreciate it in a different way?

Kai:
Oh, yeah. You appreciate it in a different way. You can pick the music apart and listen to the individual beats.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Eddie:
Because before I couldn't tell what the beat was at all, but now I can, listening to the music, except for Tool.

Anthony Godfrey:
What about you, Leryk?

Leryk:
If I were to be honest, kind of, not really. I'm hearing more tone balancing out in my ear. But like, no, it still all sounds the same to me.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right. Well, tell me about the song that you've been practicing. I heard that in the hallway. What have you been getting ready to perform?

Leryk:
1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, very nice. You know, I was around for 1979, but we don't need to talk about that. Why 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins?

Leryk:
I think it's a really interesting song about life in general. If I remember the story correctly, the lead singer, he wrote the song about how he felt like he kind of wasted life. The song is just about like limited time on earth and that you should spend it very well.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a message I can get behind.

Leryk:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about for you two?

Eddie:
The story for that song that I heard was that he was sitting in his car and it was raining. And he saw like out of his front windshield, that's all his life in front of him. But behind him in his rearview mirror, that was like his childhood and it was all ending and stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
So growing up and assessing life.

Kai:
I really like the rhythm and beat of the song. I find it calming in a way, but it's a very good song and I love playing it.

Eddie:
Yeah. We're also going to be performing another song that I wrote.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, awesome.

Eddie:
Spitback.

Anthony Godfrey:
Spitback?

Eddie:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about writing Spitback.

Eddie:
I was just mad one day, so I just wrote a song about how I was feeling.

Anthony Godfrey:
And when you wrote that song, did you feel better after that?

Eddie:
Yeah, definitely.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good. So then did you bring it into the guys and said, all right, let's make this into a full song?

Eddie:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how did that go?

Eddie:
It went good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did it go pretty quickly?

Eddie:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, can we hear that first? That's the one I want to hear right now.

Eddie:
Okay. Sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Can we do that? All right. Here it is Spitback.

Eddie:
It's a magic wand. The most common one indeed.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, are there lyrics to Spitback?

Eddie:
No

Anthony Godfrey:
I like it, I like it.

 Anthony Godfrey:
The crowd goes wild.

Anthony Godfrey:
That was fantastic. You were up and down the neck of that guitar. That was really, really good. That was engaging right from the start. You are a skilled guitarist. Well beyond my hacking it out. That's wonderful. Let's travel to 1979. Okay, you guys ready?

Kai:
Nice and relaxed. One, two, three, four.

Anthony Godfrey:
So as a member of the band and the instructor, what type of progress have you seen in their musicianship?

Lance Weaver:
They are musicians now. Before last year they weren't really. Seeing that Leryk went home through the summer and learned some songs and he came to me with them. I tried to talk them into playing folk and bluegrass but they weren't having it so I said, well then, let's rock. So that's what we're doing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Outstanding. That's great. Well, the folk will come later. The folk is on the horizon.

Lance Weaver:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well I appreciate what you're doing with these students, giving them this opportunity. I think music is the best example of where you didn't know how to do something and then you do.

Lance Weaver:
Music can be their friend when there is no friend.

Anthony Godfrey:
No, I agree. Absolutely. How long have you been working with them now?

Lance Weaver:
Last year, I started just bringing in some instruments and letting kids play and try to direct them a little bit. This year, we turned it into an actual class. So yeah, all year long.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks a lot for talking with me today. It is super impressive stuff. I love what you're doing. The creativity that you bring to it and the dedication. Playing that over and over again, this is not easy stuff to play, so well done. 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.