Author: communications

Anthony Godfrey:
You’re the total package, you can create the costume, direct it, pull the kids together, bring out the best in them.

Robin Michelsen:
Not alone.

Anthony Godfrey:
Singing, dancing, and acting.

Robin Michelsen:
Not alone, not alone.

Brynn:
She is incredible, you guys. She is amazing. You know what she did? She hand-sewed my entire dress. And she is just, she's amazing. It's incredible how much thought she put into this play.

(upbeat music)

(bell ringing)

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They took the audience back in time to the 1940s with period costumes, a creative set design, and delightful music.

On this episode of the Supercast, listen as Midas Creek Elementary School students take the stage in a lively and uplifting performance of the musical, "Don't Say No to the USO”. It is a family-friendly production with a focus on humor, suspense, and nostalgia. It was a spectacular student performance that had everyone clapping and doing some toe tapping.

We're here with Robin Michelsen at Midas Creek Elementary talking about the performances of "Don't Say No to the USO” that just completed last night. I was able to see it on opening night. What a wonderful performance. Tell us a little bit about what happened.

Robin Michelsen:
Well, I've been at the school for 15 years. We've done a play, we've tried to do a play every year. Of course, COVID came in, we had a couple of other years that got skipped that we didn't do it. We try to do something that correlates to the sixth-grade curriculum, but I will have to say this is my favorite play of all the plays we do. We do one in Egypt, we do one in the Middle Ages, but this is the one.

Anthony Godfrey:
It was really impactful for me. First of all, it really transports you to the 40s, takes place during World War II, and the hairstyles, the costumes, and the dialogue. It was just really cool to go back in time, and some sixth graders really pulled off looking like they were from the 40s.

Robin Michelsen:
They did.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the costumes and the hair. I know that you made the costumes, so let's hear about that.

Robin Michelsen:
Well, this is the second time we've done this play. We did this play also in 2017. So I had some of the costumes, I had a lot of the military costumes. I didn't make those, I went to military, what do they call them? 

Anthony Godfrey:
Surplus 

Robin Michelsen:
Surplus stores. I went to some surplus stores and took them in and stuff, so I didn't make those from scratch. But a lot of the dresses I had, some of those dresses are actually authentic. They're actually 1940s, '50s dresses.

Anthony Godfrey:
That doesn't surprise me. Not that I was there, but it looks like what you imagine the 40s to be.

Robin Michelsen:
Yeah, some of them are authentic. Actually, a funny story that the girls don't wear those kinds of dresses. So I would ask them to wear something that they could change into, and then they come out and it doesn't fit or whatever, and they realize they didn't know how to undo the zipper or the buttons. I had to show them how to put it on. There was one that zips up the back, and she's trying to zip it up the front. It was just kinda cute. They just don't have dresses like that anymore.

Anthony Godfrey:
How did you figure out how to show these girls and their families how to do their hair?

Robin Michelsen:
I took pictures. 

Anthony Godfrey:
40s hair for the boys is pretty easy. 

Robin Michelsen:
It is.

Anthony Godfrey:
40s hair for the girls is complex. That is sculpture. 

Robin Michelsen:
I found some videos on YouTube and sent them to the moms. Sent videos and some pictures, and stuff. Didn't they do an awesome job?

Anthony Godfrey:
They did so good.

Robin Michelsen:
I don't know how much hairspray that took.

(laughing)

Anthony Godfrey:
It really was amazing, and I understand that you involved more kids than ever in this one. This was a ton of kids to be part of the cast and part of the stage crew.

Robin Michelsen:
It was quite a few. In a previous time we did it, we actually had more, which turns out to be really hard when you have so many. And that time we double cast. We had two people for each part.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that just shows how many people want to be part of this.

Robin Michelsen:
Yeah, so that was really hard. We've kind of said we'll never do that again. (laughing) Not with two for each part. But yeah, there were a lot of kids. You know, and they were so good about coming every morning. For the kids that committed from the beginning just stuck with it. We had only one kid move out from the signups in December.

Anthony Godfrey:
Really? That's incredible. And they had to sing, they had to dance. There was, of course, acting and dialogue. And it went so smoothly. They worked really hard, as did you. Their efforts were apparent in the outcome. It was so well done.

Robin Michelsen:
One of my favorite things about these plays is a lot of times you give a part to a child and they act like, “Oh, I don't know if I can do that. I don't know if I want a speaking part or I can sing.” And they just find something within themselves that they didn't know they had. It's like wonderful to watch. It's wonderful to watch them blossom, to find that within themselves.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's the beauty of this is that students may not come into this thinking, “Oh yeah, I'm going to be able to act, dance, and sing.”

Robin Michelsen:
That's right.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you help them discover something that they didn't realize was there.

Robin Michelsen:
Yes, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I heard that there are high school students who look back on their experience with you.

Robin Michelsen:
That has happened, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And they are in theater in one way or another because of their experiences here. Tell me about some of those students.

Robin Michelsen:
I do, I have students. If I know, if they let me know that they're performing at middle school, I'll go watch them. I go let them know that I am still interested in their performing. And I do, I have them come back and say, “Oh, I was the lead in this part.” Yeah, it's really awesome to watch them grow into that.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a lasting impact.

Robin Michelsen:
It is a lasting impact.

Anthony Godfrey:
You can even just see it when the kids are on stage, how much they love being able to do that

 and being a part of something like that. Now, for those of you who have not seen “Don't Say No to the USO”, there's something special that you do at the end of the performance that makes it very personal for all of the families involved. Tell everyone about that.

Robin Michelsen:
We do a salute to the military. So we have all the flags in there. We have the Navy and the Air Force, and the kids have learned a little bit of each of their songs. So as they're making a tribute to each of the branches of the military, we are showing pictures, their family donates pictures to us, and we've made a slideshow that is up on the wall that is going in a slideshow as they're singing the song. It really is moving.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I also love the song about uniting, and we are one. I don't remember the exact--

Robin Michelsen:
That is it, you remember that is it. We are one, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
It was so well done, as everyone kind of comes together literally as they sing about that. It was very moving for me to see that, and it's a great message. I would think that students are impacted not only because they've discovered talents within themselves, but they connect to history, and they connect to a sense of patriotism.

Robin Michelsen:
They do, and so I did something different this year. I actually put together an assembly for this. Just the sixth graders this year. Because they kept asking what certain things were. What's the USO, or what's this line mean? So we put together an assembly and we talked about the history this time 'cause so they would know what they were doing. So I did a slide show, it was an hour, and they were really interested. They really were. We talked about World War I a little bit and how that led to World War II, and the USO and how it was created, and when did the United States entered into the war, and all of that. And I think it just, it really honed it in for them. Between finding their ancestors' pictures and hearing about the history. I think that's what really connected for them 'cause I did have students come and say, I didn't know, I didn't know I had veterans in my family. Because it's not something most parents are gonna talk about, really, right? It just over dinner table. So that was really amazing.

Anthony Godfrey;
Now we just stepped out, we pulled you away from the cast party at the end of the performances, and there were kids crying at the loss of not being able to continue to work on this show. Tell me about the impact on you and on the students.

Robin Michelsen:
Well, first of all, they asked if they could put their costumes on for the cast party. I was like, no, we are done with that part. It was a lot of work to get them dressed before the rehearsals. Yeah, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work, but I don't obviously do all the work. It's so many people helped. If I start naming names, I'm gonna leave somebody out. But we have teachers, we have a teacher who was, someone here who was a teacher who's retired now 10 years, who's always liked theater, and she came. She is the one who helped a lot in the mornings and--

Anthony Godfrey:
I think I saw her in the media center when I went to see the cast before the performance.

Robin Michelsen:
Yes, she hasn't taught in 10 years, and she still just loves, just wants to be a part of it. Yeah, and so we have parents that step up and teachers who aren't sixth-grade teachers. It really is a community endeavor, and it brings the community together.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, absolutely.

Robin Michelsen:
Which I think is really important 'cause that goes over into everything else. Into school, into academics, to have a close community.

Anthony Godfrey:
Absolutely, it's a huge impact. I'm sure there are students looking forward to being a sixth grader and trying out.

Robin Michelsen:
I've heard that a lot already. (laughs)

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a lot of pressure.

Robin Michelsen:
Especially, yeah, it's a lot of pressure, especially 'cause we haven't done it the last two years. So we skipped the last two years, and yeah, so now all of a sudden it's like, “You are doing this in three years, right? In four years, right?” I don't know. Let me catch my breath. (laughs)

Anthony Godfrey:
Everyone's staking their claim.

Robin Michelsen:
They are.

Anthony Godfrey:
What got you started in this? What got you started in theater?

Robin Michelsen:
The same teacher, Mrs. Goodman, that I'm talking about. So she taught here when I first started, and she started the play. Actually my background is, I'm a seamstress. It's what I did before I became a teacher: I sew. So she wanted some help with the costumes, and the next thing I know, that's what I was doing. So her and I are good friends, close, and that's just kinda how it developed. I would help with the background and all of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you're the total package. You can create the costume, direct it, pull the kids together, bring out the best in them. Singing, dancing, and acting.

Robin Michelsen:
Not alone, not alone.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know, I know, there's a lot, but it takes someone right at the center of it. 

Robin Michelsen:
I don’t sing. (laughs) 

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I was very impressed, so I called our communications staff and said, "Can we get out there in the next couple of days?" Because I wanted to really talk with you and the students about it. Because I was just so blown away at the quality of the performance, how excited everybody was about it, and the impact of the message. So bravo.

Robin Michelsen:
Thank you so much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well done and thanks for all the extra effort you put into this.

Robin Michelsen:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's obvious that it's paying off in big ways.

Robin Michelsen:
Oh, thank you so much. I have one last thing to say. I feel like I'd be remiss in saying, if the administration at our school wasn't supportive, it wouldn't happen. I mean, a lot of things have to be bent. And a lot of, when I say that, like we take this room or we'll take that room, or there's just a lot of adjusting. 'Cause we have band in the morning, and choir, and yeah, without a supportive administration, we just, we couldn't get it on.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I'm glad that combination is available here with your talents and their support. It's created a great opportunity for these students and a great connection for the community, like you said. So thank you for everything you've done.

Robin Michelsen:
Thank you, thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I look forward to the next performance, whenever that is.

Robin Michelsen:
Oh, but they, do you know we already know what it is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, all right. We won't– no spoilers.

Robin Michelsen:
No spoilers. Next year.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much.

Robin Michelsen:
All right, thank you.

Students Singing:

♪ A country young and bright. ♪

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, more from Midas Creek Elementary School.

Students Singing:
♪ Working hand in hand, together we must stand. ♪

Break:
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.

(upbeat music)

Break:
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, counselors, and school psychology interns. 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.

(upbeat music)

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here with two students at Midas Creek who were in “Don't Say No to the USO”. I had such a great time seeing this two nights ago, but I had to come back and talk with you for the podcast. Introduce yourself and tell me a little bit about what it's meant for you to be in that production.

Hank:
I'm Hank, and I was Professor Sullivan, the hypnotist in this play. And I really liked how the play brought us together in this school, and what it meant to me was really amazing.

Brynn:
I'm Brynn, I was Ruth Taylor. I was the director of the USO club in the play. You know, I really just feel like, you know, the play is, the coolest part about it was how close we were brought together. Because all the different things that we got to do and all the time we spent together just really pulled us close. And you've got to know all of your classmates and all of your crew and your cast. And you really just got to be close to them, which was so cool 'cause you make so many memories.

Anthony Godfrey:
How long have you all been working on this? Tell me what the rehearsals have looked like.

Hank:
We started around the end of Christmas break, and the first week it was all cast. We were learning the songs. We started really basic, just learning the songs, holding our scripts, just reading the lines off the pages. And then that first Friday, we started separating. All the G men would go there, or all the spies would go that day. And then after that, we would start, oh, this group comes then, and then this group comes later. And then we would do that so we can get each theme really good, and then we'd kinda like mash them together.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fabulous, well, the parts came together incredibly well. You guys made it look effortless. That's why I wanted to know what the practice schedule was like, it's like you've been practicing it for three years because it was super smooth.

Brynn:
Yeah, it was really fun. Like he said, we started out, we would go in the library and we would just learn the lyrics to the songs. And then it progressed, and slowly and slowly, and we would usually work on one to two scenes. And then the closer we got to the play, we would start working on more and more scenes until it came together, and we were all of a sudden doing rehearsals, and now we're having our cast party. It's just crazy how fast it flew by.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, the time goes by fast when you're that occupied and you're connected with your friends and classmates. You both were standouts, there were so many great performances and so many wonderful kids involved. I was impressed. It really blew me away. So you brought the magic, you brought kind of the fun to it. Tell me about, tell me, those who didn't get to see it, tell them about your character.

Hank:
I'm more of like the mystic hypnotizer. So I'm a-

Anthony Godfrey:
And you brought the comedy relief, it was really funny. The dogs, the chickens, you know, it was really entertaining.

Hank:
Yeah, let me remember. I think I'm like a spy for Germany in the play. So I would hypnotize choreographers, like people who get coded information to go bomb areas, and I would hypnotize them and steal the info. But then I'd also like hypnotize them and bring fun to the USO. I was also in a, and my cover story was an entertainer for the USO.

Anthony Godfrey:
It was a good cover story, and it had a little dark underbelly to that story. I really enjoyed that. You could be in charge of just about anything. You were up on stage, I'm like, I need to hire her as an administrator. She's good, she's good. You were in charge, you were in the middle of things. Tell me about your, tell everyone about your role.

Brynn:
You know, I will say, getting to know your character. I think my favorite was probably Angie Wilberforce. And at the end, I learned that she was a spy. But I would favor her, my character, and I would always find her, and I would always find my different helpers. And I think that's what my character relied on 'cause I don't think she could do it herself. She had, she was so good. She was so independent, and I loved being Ruth Taylor. But I think it was the other people, her assistants and all her helpers and the hostesses that she was with that made her who she was because of who she was around and who she was with and who helped her.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love how deep you got into the character. That's very method, very Strindberg, you know? I'm impressed. Speaking of that, did this give you a taste for staying involved in theater? Tell me about that.

Hank:
Since I've been in this play, I really wanted to go into stage crew when I got into middle school and do the lights and the staging and everything. But now that I've been in something, I really would get into stage crew and then go into plays, so then I still had the chance to be in stage crew, but I also could be in the plays.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you wanna be involved in every way you can, basically.

Hank:
Yeah.

Brynn:
Oh yeah. You know, I just think it's such a fun opportunity and there's a ton of people in my class who didn't get to do it and they're like, "Dang, I wish I would have gotten to do that. I wish I could have been there the day to play” or “I wish I could have done that. Or “I should have done that."

Anthony Godfrey:
And they wish they could have said yes to the USO.

Hank:
Yes.

Brynn:
I know, they didn't listen to our wonderful songs.

Hank:
They should not have said no to the USO.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I thought it was a tremendous performance. What did it feel like to go back in time to the '40s? Did that make you think about our nation's history and what things were like back then?

Brynn:
Oh my gosh. So before the plays, I would have to wake up early to do my hair, right? And at first, we did victory roles, which were very popular. I hated it. It hurt so bad, but then it was also like, why? Why would you wear this?

Anthony Godfrey:
No, wait, are they called victory roles?

Brynn:
They're called the victory roles. They're like these little curls on the top of the girl's heads. But we switched my hairstyle because I just could not handle it. I don't know how the women in the '40s wore that all day, every day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that was a lot of sacrifice to look that way.

Hank:
Yeah, it was like, I feel very more patriotic now that I've done that play. And recognized all those veterans and people who went away from their homes to go serve in that war and lost their lives.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love how many layers there were to your experience. Connecting with soldiers, with veterans that you've never met, but now you can imagine what they went through and connecting to a completely different time and to characters and to each other. What a wonderful experience. What has it meant to work with Mrs. Michelsen through this process?

Brynn:
She is incredible, you guys. She is amazing. You know what she did? She hand-sewed my entire dress, and she is just, she's amazing. It's incredible how much thought she put into this play. She hand-sewed so many people's costumes and stayed up late at night so that she could do that. And then also she's just teaching us too, like through it all. She's amazing, you guys. We love Mrs. Michelsen.

Anthony Godfrey:
That’s pretty incredible.

Hank:
Yeah, it's just all, now that I look back on how much work it took to set the play up, I'm just so thankful that she, 'cause she's an awesome teacher. She also had to put days activities, like oh, a math lesson. Two math lessons even for both classes, 'cause we rotate. And history and science, and then juggling reading time and fun activities. That's just a lot of day out of your day to come early to help with the play and to teach school for all these wonderful kids in Midas Creek.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I appreciate the level of empathy you have for all the effort that she's put in. She really is amazing. And you two have great futures ahead of you with rocket fuel from Mrs. Michelsen. So, congratulations on a great performance. I'll let you get back to the cast party. Sorry to pull you away from that, but I've been looking forward to talking with you ever since seeing the performance. So great job and thank you very much.

Hank:
Thank you. 

Brynn:
Yeah, thank you so much.

Hank:
This has been an amazing experience with the play.

Student Singing:
♪ Together we must stand
We are one, we are the United States of America.
We are one, we are a nation indivisible.
We are one ♪

(upbeat music)

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)

Students Singing:

♪ We are the land of the free.
Together we must fight. ♪

Addison Olsen:
A buddy bench is something that people can use when they're feeling lonely. They can go sit there, and it lets other people know that they need a friend.

Blair Jensen:
They gave me the idea of involving other teachers. They said, "Get your construction trades doing concrete." And as soon as they said that, you know, light bulb clicked, a teacher ed, I’ve got, you know, aspiring teachers that will crush the assembly much better than me and my students.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Some high school welding, construction trades, and teacher education students are using skills they learned in the classroom to make it easier for younger students to make friends at school.

On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Monte Vista Elementary School, where there was a big surprise unveiled during a school-wide assembly. The big surprise was a “Buddy Bench,” made entirely by high schoolers who want to help their younger counterparts combat loneliness and bullying behavior at school.

We're talking now with three of the students who were involved in making this project happen. Please introduce yourself, tell us your home school, and then the program that you're a part of.

Ruby Sullivan:
I'm Ruby Sullivan. I'm from Riverton High School, and I'm in the teacher education program.

Austin Edwards:
I'm Austin Edwards. I'm from Kings Peak, and I'm in the construction management.

Mason Goates:
My name is Mason Goates. I'm from Bingham High School, and I'm at the welding program.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us about the buddy bench project for those who don't know what it is. I think you're visiting about a dozen schools in the way that you did Monte Vista today. So tell everyone about it.

Ruby Sullivan:
Yeah, so it's an interdisciplinary project between the construction management, teacher education, and welding programs at JATC South. And basically, we're just trying to decrease bullying and loneliness in elementary schools by installing buddy benches, free of charge to the school. So it gives children an opportunity to meet and make new friends, and it gives us an opportunity to practice the skills that we're learning in high school.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, some of the skills that you're learning as a student in the teacher preparation program that's to command a group of students. And you did so beautifully today. You did a great job.

Ruby Sullivan:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
It would be intimidating for many adults to be in front of 600 elementary students and try to keep them on task. How does that feel, and how did you do it so well today?

Ruby Sullivan:
Well, thank you so much. Honestly, it's such an enjoyable experience. I love working with children. I love working with students. And it was a great opportunity to practice my behavior management skills on a larger scale. So it was amazing to really be able to implement the tactics that I've learned about in my classes and practicums, and to be able to see them work at such magnitude.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, when you stood up in front of them, there was no sense that, "Well, I wonder if this will work." You knew it was going to work. You knew what your message was, and it was awesome. Now, the sound we hear in the background is the buddy bench being installed. This isn't just being set down on the concrete. You guys are installing the bench. Tell us about that process.

Austin Edwards:
So what we do is we first put the bench on there, make sure it's centered, and then we take a hammer drill, and what we do is we use it to drill the holes. Then we've got special anchors that we put a silicone layer in the hole, and then we hammer it down. Then we put just a little bit more silicone around. Then we put the bench on top. Then we take a washer and a nut, and we anchor it down to the concrete.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us about the construction of the buddy bench.

Mason Goates:
The construction... it was a lot, I'll be honest. Welding had to do a lot of the project. We've been working on this project for almost half a school year, actually. We got the prototype metal in, and we actually had a lot of difficulties in trying to figure out how to assemble the buddy bench, especially with the seat slats, because we just struggled to figure out how to bend them at the right angle to make it comfortable to sit on. We built the entire layout of the buddy bench from scratch. We built everything on this project from scratch. The only thing that was used from somebody else is the design on the back, and we just took inspiration from it. So we actually had to plan everything out and try to execute it to the best of our abilities, basically. So it was a little bit of a struggle, but we were able to make 12 benches after planning everything out, and our advanced class started working on it all.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's pretty exciting that you're going to be able to walk by this or drive by and say, "Look at that bench.” There's something permanent about what you guys are doing here, and it's really exciting. The buddy bench concept, talk to people about how it's intended to be used, and how that's going to combat loneliness here at the school.

Ruby Sullivan:
The buddy bench mostly just provides a place for students to meet. It can be kind of awkward to go up and introduce yourself to someone, and so the buddy bench is just there to facilitate that kind of interaction. It's for students; if multiple students don't have friends or their friends aren't there today, they can go sit on the bench, and that just provides a perfect introduction for them to be able to talk to one another and have a conversation. Or then if students see somebody who's sitting alone on the bench, they feel like they can go speak to them. They feel motivated to go get to know that student, and that can be really helpful.

Anthony Godfrey:
So when you sit on the buddy bench, what you're saying is, "I could use a buddy, I need a friend."

Ruby Sullivan:
Yeah, exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, you were masterful, you and the other students, at modeling how this is supposed to work. And it was obvious that you studied how to be a great teacher because you gradually built, from showing an example to having everyone involved. Talk everyone through that process because I was very impressed, not only, like I said, at the way that you kept the attention of 600 elementary students at the end of the day, in May, no less, but how you showed them how to use the bench in a way that I really think will make sure it has a lasting impact.

Ruby Sullivan:
We really try to implement the scaffolding technique so that we can show students how to use it and then have them practice using it in a controlled setting before allowing them to just do it on their own. And this helps them to cement that knowledge more firmly, so that they can actually use it in the future and be prepared to teach others how to use it in the future.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like how you use construction terms, too. Scaffolding, cement, you know, you're really tying everything together. Well done, well done. The volunteers, when you asked for kids to volunteer, you guys saw almost every hand shot up. It was pretty incredible. How has it felt as you've gone school to school to be a part of this project?

Mason Goates:
I mean, it actually feels really good. I love helping kids feel included into the school. I'm actually a very big advocate for making sure that kids feel safe in a school environment, and making sure that they know that they are cared about by teachers, other students, by just district officials, by anybody. I enjoyed interacting with the kids. I enjoyed seeing their faces light up with joy when they see the bench or when they are jumping up and down to be volunteers.

Anthony Godfrey:
I saw you had to have kids, “Sit down, sit down.”

Mason Goates:
Yeah, “Quiet, quiet.” Sometimes I have to remind them to get excited. I've really enjoyed being able to help the kids get out there and realize that they can be a buddy for other students and for each other.

Ruby Sullivan:
And Mason's from welding program, but we're trying really hard to convince him to become a teacher because he's so good with the kids.

Anthony Godfrey:
He was very natural up there. It was really good. How does it feel for you to be involved in this?

Austin Edwards:
It feels good. It feels like something I can look back and know that a lot of kids are going to have buddies, and they won't get bullied anymore, hopefully.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I think that's absolutely going to be the outcome of this project. How about you? Did it cement, as you said, your desire to be a teacher?

Ruby Sullivan:
Absolutely. It's so fulfilling to be able to see the students so engaged and so motivated to help one another. It really just brings a level of joy that can't be described.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, be sure you apply in Jordan and nowhere else, okay? You guys are all fantastic. Thank you for making such an impact. How many schools do you have left to visit now?

Mason Goates:
Oh, we have like four, I think.

Austin Edwards:
Four more schools.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, most of the way through, but plenty left to do. It's a busy end of the year for all three of you.

Students:
Oh, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you so much.

Mason Goates:
You're welcome.

Ruby Sullivan:
Thank you.

Mason Goates:
Thank you so much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, we hear from the teachers involved in the Buddy Bench Project.

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.

Break:
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

Ruby Sullivan:
Hi, everyone. How are you guys doing today?

Students:
Good.

Ruby Sullivan:
That's so good. That's so good. I'm glad to hear you. So, who here knows what bullying is?

Anthony Godfrey:
We're going to talk now with the three teachers who are involved in this project. It was so fun to see this today. Just introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your involvement and how this got going.

Ryan Clayton:
Yeah. My name is Ryan Clayton. I'm the Construction Management and Trades teacher at JATC. My students... Well, Blair's got plenty to say, but he's the arbiter of all of this and got the ball going and involved me and Brenda in the process. And we were super excited to get on board. So our class, my class, the construction class, decided to help out by doing the concrete pads for them. And so we started talking in class. I took my class out for two months straight. We were... Instead of going to the shop in the classroom, we went out to elementary schools during class time and worked at all the different elementary schools, putting them in.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Well, that concrete work gets harder and harder. No, I'm just kidding.

Ryan Clayton:
No, it gets easier.

Anthony Godfrey:
It is pretty exciting for the kids to see something permanent, a permanent result of the work they've done.

Ryan Clayton:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
I answer a lot of emails, but I don't get anything permanent out of it. So it's pretty fun for them to see the fruits of their labor. Tell me about the teacher education program.

Brenda Straley:
Yeah. My name is Brenda Straley, and I do the teacher education program at JATC. Blair invited us to be a part of it as well. So we actually created the content, designed the assemblies, and did a lot of research on buddy benches and loneliness. And decided, you know, what was needed, what it was going to look like, and then just facilitated the process of skits. A perfect project-based learning experience, in that it was a culmination of everything that they've learned over the years. So, taking what they've learned and then realizing, like, in an assembly, they need proximity control, and they need, you know, let's experiment this way with this assembly, and let's see how quickly we can get this one to go up and down. So it was really a cool experiment of, like, their teaching. The culmination of everything they've done. And that relevance was really important. It's just been fantastic to see how it's increased the confidence of all of the students involved, you know, teacher education, welding, and construction.

Anthony Godfrey:
I was so impressed with the way that, the presence that students had in front of 600 elementary kids. There are plenty of adults who would be terrified of trying to keep things moving forward with kids aged 5 to 11 in May.

Blair Jensen:
That's me.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right. Blair being one of them. But it was very intentional. It was clear there was a lot of preparation. It was also clear they really understood how to really make the most of an event in front of students. They did a great job.

Brenda Straley:
They really supported each other in the process, too. And it was all them. They did an excellent job.

Anthony Godfrey:
It was great work. Talk about the bench's Blair and the welding program's involvement.

Blair Jensen:
Yeah. I'm Blair Jensen. I'm the welding instructor at Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers. The Buddy Bench has been something that's kind of ruminated in the back of my mind for a while. I've always been passionate about what their meaning is. And I knew that some of our schools didn't have them, but just trying to figure out how I could incorporate it into my program. When I won the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, part of winning that prize is they send me to a conference every summer with all of their prize winners. So I get to go and mingle with the best around the nation, the best instructors around the nation. They have a Community Impact Grant, which is what funded the majority of this project. So every summer, as part of our conference, the people who had won the grant the previous year showcase their projects. They do a review and say, "This is what I did with my grant. This is how successful it was." And then after they present, we have roundtables and discuss. And I brought up to the welding instructors and a few others, "I'd like to do these Buddy Benches, but I'm struggling with an idea of how to make it a little more impactful." They gave me an idea of involving other teachers. They said, "Get your construction trades doing concrete." And as soon as they said that, light bulb clicked of, "Yeah, construction trades, teacher ed. I have got aspiring teachers that will crush the assembly much better than me and my students."

Anthony Godfrey:
I think it's really exciting, like you mentioned, Brenda, that the students relied on each other, but the three of you brought your students together to show just how their skills can complement each other and literally build the foundation for where the bench is going to be, present it in a way that allows students to make the most of it, and build the bench in the first place, and get things going. So this has been really fun to see. I was quite touched seeing the reenactment. I thought that was really, really well done, really well done. And the way that they built from the skit to show how it's supposed to work, to involve another student, to involve two elementary students, and the volunteer rate was high. 97% of students raising their hand wanting to be up there helping.

Blair Jensen:
We don't get that at the high schools.

Brenda Straley:
In fact, a lot of the assemblies, they didn't bring their hands down. They just kept holding it up.

Anthony Godfrey:
I might get a chance to volunteer for something else. I'm just keeping my hand in the air. I can only imagine this is going to help with recruiting for the projects, too. Remember that Buddy Bench, everybody? You can come be part of a crew that can make those, and do the concrete work, and all of that.

Blair Jensen:
Well, think at least half the principals have asked, "When can we get another one?" So I think I'll probably be applying for the grant next year, and we'll try and do this some more. It's clearly been a great impact for the community. Not just for our students, but for these kids. The principals are loving it, everybody.

Anthony Godfrey:
I loved the idea, but it was very touching, very moving to see it in action, and see your kids in front of the elementary kids. Just really teaching them how to be better friends to each other, and how to connect in a deeper way. There's this concrete, literally, reminder of how they can do that. Thank you so much for all you're doing. This is fantastic.

Brenda Straley:
Thank you.

Blair Jensen:
Thank you.

Students at the assembly:

Student 1: Hi, my name is Hannah. What's your name?

Student 2: Hi, Hannah.

Student 1: What's your favorite movie?

Student 2: My favorite movie is probably Toy Story. What's yours?

Student 1: I like to watch Wish. Do you want to play at recess with me?

Student 2: I would love to, Hannah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm talking with two students here at Monte Vista Elementary just after the assembly. Tell me your name, what grade you're in, and what did you think of the assembly?

Ellie:
I'm Ellie. I'm in fifth grade, and I loved the assembly.

Addison Olsen:
I'm Addison Olsen. I'm also in fifth grade, and I think the assembly helped us understand a little more what a buddy bench is.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is a buddy bench? Tell us about that.

Addison Olsen:
A buddy bench is something that people can use when they're feeling lonely, and they can go sit there, and it lets other people know that they need a friend.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think that's a great summary. What did you think about that buddy bench when you saw it, and when you heard what that's all about?

Ellie:
I definitely was surprised, because we do have a few benches on our playgrounds that were supposed to be buddy benches, but no one really used them, and so this is more official of being a buddy bench, and I feel like more people will be looking out for that and seeing if anybody's on it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like that the student showed an example of how it's supposed to work, and then they had some volunteers come up, and then everyone got to practice out there. What was your practice like? What did you talk about when you practiced with the students sitting by you?

Addison Olsen:
Me and my friend, we were just asking each other things about each other, and some of the things were things we didn’t already know about each other, even though we're really good friends.

Anthony Godfrey:
So even though you're good friends, you learn new things. That's awesome. How about you?

Ellie:
I feel the same, so I was sitting with my friends, and we were just asking each other questions, and I learned new things.

Anthony Godfrey:
So sometimes when you're intentional and you ask questions on purpose, really trying to get to know somebody better, even your good friends might have some things that would surprise you about them.

Addison Olsen:
Yeah, for sure.

Ellie:
Definitely.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, have a fun summer looking forward to being sixth graders.

Students:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, see you girls.

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.

Allison Kunz:
In training for things like Nationals and Worlds, they'll throw anything at it. I will buy anything and try it. The more you do something, the less intimidating it is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure. That was fast. That was really fast.

Allison Kunz:
Ten minutes?

Anthony Godfrey:
Seven minutes, thirty-eight seconds.

Allison Kunz:
So, probably ten minutes with the sword.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very fast, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She is known for her custodial skills, keeping classrooms clean and everything in working order at Joel P. Jensen Middle School. But in her free time, Allison Kunz is passionate about cleaning up and beating the competition in the sport of speed puzzling.

On this episode of the Supercast, we find out what speed puzzling is, what it takes to win, and how Allison Kunz has managed to qualify for world championships.

We're here today at Joel P. Jensen Middle School to talk with a speed puzzler. Introduce yourself. Tell everyone what you do here at Joel P. Jensen.

Allison Kunz:
I am Allison Kunz. I'm the lead custodian here at Joel P. Jensen. It's my job to come in, typically, at the end of the day and turn the school around, get it all clean, fixed, and ready for the next day.

Anthony Godfrey:
The lead works the swing shift and really brings the school back together from the day's activities, readying it for the next day.

Allison Kunz:
Yep. I like to say we turn the chaos back into order.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very good. Very good. And how long have you been here at Joel P. Jensen?

Allison Kunz:
I've been at Joel P. almost a year. I was at Oquirrh Hills Middle School for a year before I came here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Awesome. Well, we're very glad to have you.

Allison Kunz:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about speed puzzling. First of all, you are decked. You've got your puzzle pants on with puzzle pieces all over. You've got your competition shirt from Nationals. Tell me about what is speed puzzling exactly.

Allison Kunz:
So speed puzzling is you take a 500-piece puzzle, they count down, three, two, one, go. You open a bag, dump out the puzzle, and do it as fast as you can.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what got you started on this?

Allison Kunz:
I fell into it by accident. A Facebook group I'm involved in did a kind of informal speed puzzling competition, and I just thought it was great fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what was the Facebook group initially related to puzzling or no?

Allison Kunz:
Yeah, it's called Dowdle Puzzle Lovers. It features Eric Dowdle's puzzles.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you've been a fan of Eric Dowdle's puzzles for a long time.

Allison Kunz:
I have a calendar of Eric Dowdle’s from 2001.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow.

Allison Kunz:
I've loved his artwork for many, many years. So, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. And so the group had a competition, and you jumped in.

Allison Kunz:
They did. It was a kind of informal thing. I jumped in and said, "That could be fun. Why not? I've never tried that."

Anthony Godfrey:
And you wrecked everyone the first time around.

Allison Kunz:
I did not. I did not. But I had fun and discovered I'm not that slow.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Allison Kunz:
And with a little work, I could be faster.

Anthony Godfrey:
You need to be better at bragging. “I'm not that slow” is not a good brag.

Allison Kunz:
I'm not the fastest, but I'm not the slowest either.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me about the different types of competitions you've been in, the types of events you've participated in.

Allison Kunz:
So I've done a little bit of everything from just kind of informal stuff to state stuff to a few out of state, and then to nationals.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the level of speed puzzling in the state? How frequent are things happening?

Allison Kunz:
We have some really competitive people. We had 11 people go to nationals this year from Utah. And yeah, there are some people that are really fast.

Anthony Godfrey:
How does the qualifying work when you're trying to go from the state level to the national level? Is it a certain amount of time on a certain puzzle?

Allison Kunz:
It's all pretty informal.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Allison Kunz:
When you're doing like a state competition, you have two hours to finish the puzzle. Whereas at nationals, it was an hour and a half to finish the puzzle. At Worlds, it's an hour and 15 minutes. So you have to be pretty fast to go and do well.

Anthony Godfrey:
An hour and 15 minutes.

Allison Kunz:
To do a 500-piece puzzle.

Anthony Godfrey:
See, I have no clue. Like a four-minute mile.

Allison Kunz:
A typical person probably does a 500-piece puzzle in about, I would say, about four hours.

Anthony Godfrey:
So, a typical person, 500-piece is four hours.

Allison Kunz;
Probably, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
For me, probably eight hours.

Allison Kunz:
And that's totally okay. That's the beauty of puzzling.

Anthony Godfrey:
And for you, what's your personal best on a 500-piece puzzle?

Allison Kunz:
About just over 40 minutes, I think.

Anthony Godfrey:
Just over 40 minutes?

Allison Kunz:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow. That is fast.

Allison Kunz:
It's fun. You know, when it comes to competing, everybody is so good-natured, and there's not a lot of trash talk because it's always you against the puzzle.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Allison Kunz:
You know, everybody's happy for whoever wins. There are certainly people way faster than me. But I just think it's fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
So there's no full-contact puzzling where you're like trying to block each other.

Allison Kunz:
No fighting. No. None of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Well, you know, I think that's an idea. We could really explore that.

Allison Kunz:
We could institute that.

Anthony Godfrey:
We could really give it a shot.

Allison Kunz:
We do have the wardrobe to do some WWE kind of stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
There you go. Now, how do you train for this? Because I assume that the national -- well, first of all, is it a new puzzle–

Allison Kunz:
It is brand new.

Anthony Godfrey:
– when you're at the state or national? Because otherwise, you would just say, "I'm going to do every 500-piece puzzle I can find, and hopefully I'm prepped."

Allison Kunz:
Yeah. At the higher competition, so typically state, national kind of thing, they are unreleased puzzles, puzzles that have not been released before.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hmm. Is there any insider trading where -- are there leaks about what puzzle it's going to be or anything like that?

Allison Kunz:
No. No. I volunteered at Nationals, and I still knew nothing about what puzzles were coming.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay.

Allison Kunz:
I didn't see inside any of the bags. They had people there that were in charge from the company that sponsored it. They were in charge of the puzzles, and everything was in a bag with a sticker on it for each round, and even volunteering–

Anthony Godfrey:
It's in a dark bag if I -- I think I've seen it on TikTok.

Allison Kunz:
Yeah. I think I’ve got a picture.

Anthony Godfrey:
Isn't it in a dark bag that covers it all?

Allison Kunz:
Yeah. It depends on the competition, but yeah. But this box would be in a bag.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Let's look through some pictures here.

Allison Kunz:
Let me find..

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. So the puzzle theme must be everywhere.

Allison Kunz:
Everywhere. I did take Joel P. with me and took my lanyard –

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah. Good. Good. Representing out there.

Allison Kunz:
-- make sure to rep our people.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah. Okay. Here you go.

Allison Lunz:
Yeah. So that's the bag it came in.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, and that's the brand I was trying -- Ravensburger.

Allison Kunz;
Ravensburger was sponsoring.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Now, where do you get puzzles locally? Do you buy them mostly online, or do you go to --

Allison Kunz:
I get a lot from thrift stores because I go through a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
Red Balloon has a lot.

Allison Kunz:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, you get them at thrift stores because you --

Allison Kunz:
I do because --

Anthony Godfrey:
You need volume.

Allison Kunz:
Right. Training leading up to nationals, I was doing three or four puzzles a day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow.

Allison Kunz:
And that's not sustainable on my salary.

Anthony Godfrey:
Of course. I understand.

Allison Kunz:
To spend $80 a day on puzzles. You know, they tend to range about $20. So, yeah, I get a lot of puzzles from thrift stores and just do them.

Anthony Godfrey:
So if anyone's listening and they have a 500-piece puzzle that they don't want anymore, they can drop that off at Joel P. Jensen.

Allison Kunz:
Absolutely drop it at Joel P.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Allison Kunz:
And if I'm not using it, they actually have a puzzle table here in the library, which I think is so cool for the kids.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. That's a legit request. If you're listening and you've done the puzzle, you've proven yourself, and it's a 500-piece, bring it by Joel P. Jensen.

Allison Kunz:
Bring it by. I will put it to work.

Anthony Godfrey:
Put it to good use.

Allison Kunz:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I may have one myself. I'm thinking about that.

Allison Kunz:
Okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm thinking about that.

Allison Kunz:
Drop it off, the 500 pieces are my favorite.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Now, I see that some people have the top of the box propped up.

Allison Kunz:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And some do not.

Allison Kunz:
Some do not have one of these fancy plastic–

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. And it looks like you brought one.

Allison Kunz:
I did. Yep. My son 3D printed this one for me. It's a box holder. It's got a little puzzle piece on it. It's kind of fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's very nice. So you slip it in the edge of the box in the slot right there.

Allison Kunz:
You can take the box into the slot, and that way you can have it in front of you looking at the puzzle picture.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, very nice.

Allison Kunz:
Some puzzles don't include a poster with their–

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I do have one puzzle at home that had the poster that came, which was kind of nice to be able to–

Allison Kunz:
Yeah. Typically, American-made puzzles come with a poster, and those made overseas do not.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, interesting. Do you start with the outside edges?

Allison Kunz:
I do not, ever.

Anthony Godfrey:
You never start with the outside?

Allison Kunz:
Okay. I won't say never, but almost never.

Anthony Godfrey:
But generally, that's not the approach.

Allison Kunz:
No, because when I'm doing a puzzle quickly, I need to be able to slide pieces in. So I start with the middle, or I typically start with whatever I think is going to be the easiest, and work my way to the hardest. I might do the top edge, I might do the bottom edge, and kind of fill in, but yeah, I never do the full border. I used to.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it makes sense to me that that would just get in the way.

Allison Kunz:
It does.

Anthony Godfrey:
That would prevent you from moving pieces in.

Allison Kunz:
The more times you have to lift pieces up, that slows you down. It's not as efficient.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Never thought of that.

Allison Kunz:
So if you're doing it for leisure, do the border. It gives you some structure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, it will always be for leisure with me. Except when we throw down in a couple of minutes here to see how I do.

Allison Kunz:
To see if you can beat me?

Anthony Godfrey:
That's right. So, do you start with a particular color? Do you say, all right, this is the most distinctive feature on the puzzle? So I'm going to start with the, for example, on this one, I'm going to start with the panda in the treehouse.

Allison Kunz:
Yeah. So I started with the sky area to get that out of the way. And then I worked on the treehouse and on the white house, and then all this stuff on the bottom. You know, with a 500-piece puzzle, when I'm sorting it at the beginning, I might have five or six piles. And I will just grab a pile and try and make sense out of that and then move on to the next pile. And the biggest key to keeping it efficient is if you're not making progress, if you're staring at it for too long, skip that pile, go back to it later.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you pile them up by color.

Allison Kunz:
By color or by feature.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Okay. I'm learning a lot here.

Allison Kunz:
Yeah. In order to make it faster, you've got to do some sort of sorting for most puzzles. There are a few that sorting doesn't do you very much good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you do, do you ever do puzzles that are larger or smaller?

Allison Kunz:
Sometimes, yeah. Yeah. I have puzzle boards. I have four puzzle boards at home, and they usually have varying levels of difficulty puzzles going on. I am working on a 3000-piece right now.

Anthony Godfrey:
So 3000-piece is just like, you know, leisurely.

Allison Kunz:
That's leisure. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's leisure.

Allison Kunz:
Yeah. Yeah. I tend to stick with the thousand or less because I get impatient when it takes too long.

Anthony Godfrey:
A 3000-piece.

Allison Kunz:
But I do have a 3000-piece that has been very challenging that I'm just taking my time with.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the theme of the puzzle?

Allison Kunz:
That one is SpongeBob, and it's lots of little tiny pictures. It was a gift from a friend a few years ago, sat in my closet, and I finally said, I have got to do this and get it out of my closet.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you have trouble parting with puzzles?

Allison Kunz:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
I tend not to part with a puzzle.

Allison Kunz:
If I really like a puzzle, I'll do it several times. So I'll do it and put it away a year or so later. I'll come back and do it again. I have a walk-in closet and it's half full of puzzles. I’m going to need a bigger house here pretty soon if this keeps up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does the theme of the puzzle, like a SpongeBob or something else, draw you in? Because it seems to me that a lot of times it's kind of a random picture.

Allison Kunz:
I think–

Anthony Godfrey:
Fantasy theme or you know, or some—

Allison Kunz:
My favorite are like the folk art like Dowdle does. That's just my personal favorite. But in training for things like Nationals and Worlds, they'll throw anything at you. So I will buy anything and try it because I want– The more you do something the less intimidating It is. In life and in puzzles. So yeah, things like circle puzzles. Those throw me off every time. I really need to practice a bunch more of those.

Anthony Godfrey:
Circle puzzles. What about the ones that are either all the same color or a gradient?

Allison Kunz:
I do not enjoy those. No, I do like a gradient. Those are fun, and they don't go as slow as you would think. But ones that are kind of monochrome have one or two colors. Not really my thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's not for me.

Allison Kunz:
Like I might do it to challenge myself, but I wouldn't find it fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. What is it that draws you specifically to Eric Dowdle's puzzles?

Allison Kunz:
I think because there's a story to all of them. You know, he goes out, he researches an area, he listens to people's stories, and gets to learning about what happens in their city or town or whatever. And if you look on the back of his puzzle paper, you can see he's marked what things are of note in the puzzle. So then you can kind of learn more about a place. It's like going on a vacation without actually going on a vacation.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's very cool.

Allison Kunz:
I can't afford to take as many vacations as I would like. And this allows me to, you know, get to know places that I haven't been.

Anthony Godfrey:
A little bit of an escape that includes a sense of place.

Allison Kunz:
Yeah, absolutely.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very nice.

Allison Kunz:
A great way to, you know, use your own imagination. As adults, I don't think we do that nearly enough.

Anthony Godfrey:
We do not. Yeah, I agree with that. Now, did you see that South Jordan hosted him, that Eric Dowdle came out?

Allison Kunz:
I sure did.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you go?

Allison Kunz:
I was working that night, so I met up with him later. He and I are friends.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, you are friends with him.

Allison Kunz:
We are. After this long, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
That was going to be a tragic story if you had missed out because I'm not much of a puzzler.

Allison Kunz:
I saw him earlier this week. I think we're good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, did you? Okay, good. Good. Yeah, he does a great job, and he was very warm and enjoyable to talk with when I did meet him at the event.

Allison Kunz:
He's much more extroverted than I am myself.

Anthony Godfrey:
As a puzzle maker, he's more extroverted than some puzzlers, maybe.

Allison Kunz:
I think so. I think doing puzzles is maybe more of an introvert thing, but being an artist, you know, you've got to go out and talk to people. You’ve got to go out and see places.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it was fun to see. And he had a long line. He had a lot of people interested.

Allison Kunz:
He has a lot of fans.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, there's a South Jordan one. Is there a Herriman one also?

Allison Kunz:
There is a Herriman one. There's a West Valley City one. There is Lindon. There's a bunch.

Anthony Godfrey:
How many puzzles does he have overall?

Allison Kunz:
460 something?

Anthony Godfrey:
And how many of them have you done?

Allison Kunz:
Probably a little over 300.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Wow. I want to see you in action.

Allison Kunz:
You want to see me in action?

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, I do.

Stay with us. When we come back, Allison demonstrates her speed puzzling skills and the role a dissectologist plays in this puzzling game.

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.

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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:
Are you a puzzler? What's it called? What's it called? Are you called a... What's the term?

Allison Kunz:
It's a speed puzzler or a dissectologist.

Anthony Godfrey:
A speed puzzler or a dissectologist?

Allison Kunz:
A dissectologist is someone who loves puzzles. It's a throwback. Did you know?

Anthony Godfrey:
I expected a dissectologist to be holding a scalpel and to be very terrifying.

Allison Kunz:
Oh, let's see what you didn't know. The term dissectologist comes from the origins of jigsaw puzzles. They were invented in 1762 by John Spillsbury, who was an engraver and a mapmaker, a cartologist.

Anthony Godfrey:
John Spillsbury. I love his roles.

Allison Kunz:
And they were originally wooden maps that he cut up to use for geography, to teach kids geography. So originally it was an educational thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
I always thought it was Jeremy Jigsaw that had come up with the puzzle.

Allison Kunz:
Jigsaw wasn't invented until the 1860s or something like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Really? Wow. Okay.

Allison Kunz:
Originally it was dissectologist because...

Anthony Godfrey:
A dissectologist.

Allison Kunz:
So now, someone who loves puzzles or is a puzzle expert is called a dissectologist.

Anthony Godfrey:
A dissect... I had no clue.

Allison Kunz:
When I'm competing, I'm just a speed puzzler.

Anthony Godfrey:
A speed puzzler. A speed puzzler sounds good if you just say, "I'm the puzzler." It's like a Batman villain. Like a Batman villain is like, "I'm the puzzler."

Allison Kunz:
I could do villain. That could be fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you know, so far you don't seem villainous. Let's pull out this Dowdle puzzle and let's see it in action.

Allison Kunz:
All right.

Anthony Godfrey:
These are good pieces.

Allison Kunz:
This is a 100-piece puzzle. This is not a super challenge. But I thought it would give me a chance to kind of show you what we're looking for.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, you don't get to turn all the pieces over when you're timed, right?

Allison Kunz:
You do while you're timed. The timer is already going while you're turning pieces over. So we're dividing things. I'm going to pull the grass. This is the bottom of the puzzle. We're going to pull that down to the bottom.

Anthony Godfrey:
Talk me through what you’re doing.

Allison Kunz:
We're putting the sky at the top. We're putting bushes and building in the middle. And we're just kind of sorting as we go, as quickly as we feel like.

Anthony Godfrey:
And see, you're not setting a separate pile for the edges.

Allison Kunz:
I'm not.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I would always do that.

Allison Kunz:
I do sometimes with the 500-piece, but with a 100-piece,I don't think we need another puzzle pile for that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Allison Kunz:
It's not, you know–

Anthony Godfrey:
Did I see that Dowdle does have a poster that goes with this?

Allison Kunz:
Oh, yeah. There's a poster.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know normally when you're speed puzzling, the sorting would be part of the timing.

Allison Kunz:
It would. Absolutely.

Anthony Godfrey:
But this is also a 100-piece puzzle. And have you ever done a puzzle live on a podcast?

Allison Kunz:
I've never done a podcast.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Allison Kunz:
No, I've never done a puzzle live on a...

Anthony Godfrey:
This is your moment. I'm going to hit start, and let's see how long it takes you to do a sorted 100-piece puzzle.

Allison Kunz:
Okay. No pressure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do I count down, or do you?

Alison Kunz:
Go for it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Three, two, one, go.

All right. She sort... She just kind of moved them so that you can see all of the pieces in a particular grouping. I'm going to put the poster up there. But I feel like you don't need the poster.

Allison Kunz:
On this size of puzzle, I probably wouldn't use it too much. It's not really a talk, while you do it kind of thing. Sorry. I'm not much.

Anthony Godfrey:
No, I'm letting you focus. Don't want to get in your way.

Allison Kunz:
Right.

Anthony Godfrey:
Big money on the table.

Allison Kunz:
Oh, yeah. Yeah. This is the one.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're closing in, just a handful of pieces left. We're working along the bottom edge. And you're... I'm not going to tell you the time. I'm going to see if you can tell how long it took. Stop. There you go. Wow. That was fast. That was really fast.

Allison Kunz:
Ten minutes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Seven minutes, 38 seconds.

Allison Kunz:
So probably 10 minutes with the sorting.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very fast. Yeah. No, you have a really good sense of time and pace. I would be doing it and feel like I've been here for 90 minutes.

Allison Kunz:
I think sometimes it's easy, when the middle of a competition, to be like, "Oh, my gosh. I'm taking forever,” and be tempted to look around and see what other people are doing. And you have to just rein yourself in and go, "It doesn't matter how they're doing." You've just got to focus on what you're doing.

Anthony Godfrey:
You don't win the 100-yard dash by turning and looking over your shoulder.

Allison Kunz:
You don't. You don't look to see who's doing better than you or worse than you. It's not going to change anything anyway. You just got to stay focused and get it done.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So you talked about state and more informal competitions. What's next for you?

Allison Kunz:
I am registered for Worlds, so if all goes well, then in September, I will go to Spain and puzzle with the world people.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're going to Spain to do puzzles.

Allison Kunz:
I hope so. We'll see if we can work it out.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really cool. That's really cool.

Allison Kunz:
It'll be a lot of time away from work and family, so we'll just kind of see how that all plays out. September's a ways away, but I'm registered.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're registered.

Allison Kunz;
I've got my plane ticket spot, so we'll see.

Anthony Godfrey:
Really? That's fantastic. So, how many days of puzzling is it?

Allison Kunz:
It's about a week of competition.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Allison Kunz:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. How many puzzles a day?

Allison Kunz:
So it just depends. In Nationals, they did a preliminary round, and then people who moved on moved on to a final round. I think in Worlds, there might be three rounds to get to finals.

Anthony Godfrey:
You go head-to-head?

Allison Kunz:
No, but everybody goes at the same time.

Anthony Godfrey:
And then the top times get to move on.

Allison Kunz:
And then the top times move on. So it'll be the top times like at Nationals. They had three preliminaries, and the top, I think, 66 out of each of the three preliminaries moved on to the final. I did not move on to the final at Nationals. It wasn't my day, and that's okay. Life is about showing up for yourself, doing your best, and even if your best isn't the best, did you choose to have fun?

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you choose to have fun?

Allison Kunz:
I always choose to have fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
You always choose to have fun. Well, I think in Spain, competing in Worlds, that will be an easy choice. I think you'll have a great time.

Allison Kunz:
I mean, it's Spain.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's Spain.

Allison Kunz:
Just like Washington, D.C. That was a great time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Allison Kunz:
I got to go. I got to volunteer as a judge, which I'd never done before, so I was just enjoying the whole experience.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good luck in Spain. I hope everything works out to get there, and that you have a very successful competition.

Allison Kunz:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's been really cool talking with you, and I am going to go home and bust out a puzzle.

Allison Kunz:
Do a puzzle.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm going to get to it.

Allison Kunz:
Puzzles are great for you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Allison Kunz:
So many things that we can learn from puzzles. Patience, persistence, you know, all of those things.

Anthony Godfrey:
A sense of accomplishment.

Allison Kunz:
Celebrating the little things.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Allison Kunz:
You got a border done. Have a little party.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Move forward.

Allison Kunz:
Encourage yourself, not everybody will encourage you.

Anthony Godfrey:
That’s right, that’s right. Thank you for everything you do here at Joel P. Jensen and for letting us explore the world of dissectologists.

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.

Kinley:
I feel good about how I collected so much food for like families that need it, because I might end world hunger.

Anthony Godfrey:
You might end world hunger. You're on your way to doing that. I'm so proud of you guys. How do you feel about having collected so much food?

Grayson:
I feel amazing because now people don't starve.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They were hungry for donations and had a big desire to help those in need.

On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Terra Linda Elementary School, where students and staff recently held a huge community food drive. A food drive that was so successful, it taught students if you have a huge appetite to help others and be kind, you can make anything happen.

We're here at Terra Linda Elementary talking about the canned food drive. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what's been happening.

Natalie Newbold:
So my name is Natalie Newbold. I'm a fifth-grade teacher, and I'm also in charge of the student council. Every year, we do a canned food drive, and we focus on points which are the most needed food items from the food bank rather than just simple food items.

Anthony Godfrey:
So if I brought a bunch of ramen, my points might be a little bit lower.

Natalie Newbold:
Actually, no, those are double.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, ramen is double. Oh, I guessed wrong. What are some of the foods that get the most points?

Natalie Newbold:
So the most points are peanut butter, mac and cheese, chili, SpaghettiOs, canned meats such as tuna, chicken, or beef, and anything boxed or packaged.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay. Very good. So, you turn it into a competition, I understand.

Natalie Newbold:
Yes, we do a competition where our first-place winner gets to be Mrs. Martinez for the day. Our second-place winner gets to be Mr. Davis for the day, and our third-place winner gets to be Mrs. Fuell for the day. Everyone goes crazy to try to get to be them for the day because they get to miss out on their school day, and they get to take over with her or them.

Anthony Godfrey:
I just saw some fist pumps from the students who have won that prize. Let's talk with each of them. First, let's talk with our third-place winner. Tell me your name and what grade you're in.

Grayson:
I'm Grayson, and I'm in fourth.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how does it feel to be in third place?

Grayson:
Very good.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you get to be the administrative assistant in the office where really everything is coming through the office. There's a lot of organization going. What are your plans as the administrative assistant in there?

Grayson:
Just to make people be their happiest, and if they're sick, get them home immediately or try to make them not sick.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have a really good sense of the job. That's awesome. So tell me your name in grade.

Kinley:
My name is Kinley. I'm in fourth grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about you as assistant principal? What are you looking forward to the most?

Kinley:
Maybe I can make it an early out day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, an early out day. Get those buses over here. Get people home.

Kinley:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Well, let's see how that goes because you've still got to go through her. She's the principal. Principal, what do you think about an early out day?

Vivienne Bartlett:
That could be a possibility depending on the teachers and well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Listen to this political speech. Well, it could be a possibility. It depends on the teachers. Let's take a look at things. I love it. You're going to be a great principal, not just for one day. Maybe I can hire you as a principal later, do you think?

Vivienne Bartlett:
Yeah.

Natalie Newbold:
She was actually our mayor at BizTown.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, you were the mayor for BizTown?

Vivienne Bartlett:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you have leadership in your blood. Okay. Do you want to be a leader growing up? You already are here at school as a student leader.

Vivienne Bartlett:
Yeah. And actually my whole life I've wanted to be a teacher or a principal or some sort of school employee.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have a great future, and I am going to stay in touch with you. That's for sure. Tell me your name and grade.

Vivienne Bartlett:
I am Vivienne Bartlett, and I am in fifth grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me how you gathered so much food to be number one in the school.

Vivienne Bartlett:
Well, it's a magical place called Macy's, and my mom doesn't mind how much money we spend on food because it's going to a good cause.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so you were able to persuade your mom that this was the way to go.

Vivienne Bartlett:
Well, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Excellent. And how does it feel to have provided so much food for those who need it?

Vivienne Bartlett:
I feel really good about that.

Anthony Godfrey:
How do you guys feel about having collected so much food for the needy?

Kinley:
I feel good about how I collected so much food for like homeless and families that need it, because I might end world hunger.

Anthony Godfrey:
You might end world hunger. You're on your way to doing that. I'm so proud of you guys. How do you feel about having collected so much food?

Grayson:
I feel amazing because now people will starve and will have a bunch of people living on earth.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, taking good care of people around you. It's wonderful. Now tell me, are you a competitive person having won number one? Did you have your eye on the prize the whole time?

Vivienne Bartlett:
Um, actually, no. I have never been competitive, but last night I was laying down like, I really, I just really hope I win this, and I've never actually felt competitive, but until last night.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think being competitive about helping people in your community not go hungry is a great thing to be competitive about. So, you're going to be principal for the day. Do you have an agenda? Do you have any ideas of what you want to do?

Vivienne Bartlett:
Um, I actually have no idea.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're pretty happy with how things are going at Terra Linda, so there aren't big changes you're looking for. Is that right?

Vivienne Bartlett:
Um, there are a few things I would change, but otherwise, you know, like I would have people pick up their, make sure they pick up their trash and stuff. Just, you know, help our janitor out.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sounds like you have a really good idea of how people can do a little bit better. That's exactly what a principal ought to be doing. I'm looking forward to your day as principal. I think that's awesome. You know, I'm here to help if you need. Are you going to be calling me on the day that you're principal for a consultation, maybe?

Vivienne Bartlett:
Yeah, probably.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. I'm counting on it. Give me a call. We'll talk through the issues. Okay. I have confidence in you. You're going to do a great job.

So Natalie, tell us a little bit about where this came from. How did this get started?

Natalie Newbold:
So when I took over for a student council four years ago, I really wanted them to do a service learning project that had never been done before. And I wanted to do a canned food drive because it's easy and everyone can bring at least one can. We were hesitant because we have so many of our population that takes food home, but we decided to try it. And our first year, we got 1500 cans, and then it's just gone up every single year. They have just raised the bar, and the whole community gets involved. The parents get involved. And as you can tell, the kids absolutely love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's had an impact on the students, even though we talked about the prizes that they're winning and the things they get to do. They're very focused on helping others and really being empathetic and thinking about the needs of other people and how they can help meet those needs.

Natalie Newbold:
Absolutely. Yeah. And that's the biggest thing that came out of it is you are seeing that they absolutely love helping people. And like Vivienne said, her mom's okay with spending a lot of money on it because it's for a good cause. And we hear that all the time. We just have parents in the morning just drop off big loads of food. So we love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, so now you've involved the community, you've involved parents, and it extends beyond the school. So that's really exciting. And I think this is the perfect time of year for the food bank. Aren't they really depleted at this time of year and needing to catch up from having used up the food that they received over the holidays?

Natalie Newbold:
Absolutely. And that's why we try to do it during March. So it is a good time for everyone to donate.

Anthony Godfrey:
And these bins, we were here earlier for another event, and there are these huge cardboard bins out in the main hallway with a ton of food. When you see it all put together, it's really impressive. So it's a very tangible sign of the importance of this initiative and some incredible results.

Natalie Newbold:
Yeah, absolutely. We started off with one gigantic box and then several little barrels. And every year, we just keep adding more and more boxes. So we are we're absolutely loving the progress and the results we're seeing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I see that there's also a pizza party for the grade that has the most. Who is the top grade?

Natalie Newbold:
So our fourth grade will be winning that. And so they will get that pizza party, and they worked really hard. Fifth grade is in second place. And you can tell we just have amazing results with the rest of our grades.

Anthony Godfrey:
How many cans of food, how many food items this year?

Natalie Newbold:
So we have three thousand four hundred and five points, and we'd have to decide all that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Three thousand four. That's well beyond the first year. That's exciting.

Natalie Newbold:
Yeah, that is like double our first year.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that you emphasize getting the right food because sometimes people are just bringing whatever they happen to have on hand. And this makes sure that the food that's provided is the food that can be used most easily and be most effective in combating hunger. So bravo. Thank you so much, guys. I'm really impressed with what you've done. This is so important, the service learning you've done and more than anything, the help that you're giving to people in your community. So thanks for being a great example to me and to everybody in your school.

Natalie Newbold:
Thank you.

Students:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks, guys.

Stay with us. When we come back, we talk with the principal of Terra Linda Elementary School.

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.

Break:
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, counselors, and school psychology interns. 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:
Let's go take a look at what you've collected out here. This is a mound of food. This is so much. How does it feel when you look at all of this? You have to kind of peek up, go on your tippy toes to peek over the box. It's so huge. Are these yours that you brought in? Oh yeah, I've got some mac and cheese. What's that? These two are chock-full.

Grayson:
I did the purple boxes. That was my 90 points to get me in third place.

Kinley:
I brought a lot of the ramen.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I love ramen. It's good stuff.

Natalie Newbold:
They're going to be making the announcement any second now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

We're talking now with the principal of Terra Linda Elementary. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about Terra Linda.

Yajaira Martinez:
I am Yajaira Martinez, principal at Terra Linda Elementary, where we house preschool through sixth grade and three autism support classrooms. We're a very diverse population with a ton of amazing kids.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me what this food drive has meant to the culture of the school overall, how it's impacted students and the community.

Yajaira Martinez:
I think it teaches our students, this is our third year doing it, it teaches our students to come together, work together, but also encourage each other. We have other students encouraging other students to become principal of the day, but it also provides that sense of community and how to support each other in the neighborhood.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's really exciting to see how impactful it was for the three students who are the winners, and they didn't want to talk as much about the prize as about the impact that gathering the food has had. I feel like this has helped them really see things from the perspective of other students.

Yajaira Martinez:
I agree.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've seen that as well.

Yajaira Martinez:
I agree.

Anthony Godfrey:
So how are you feeling about a student being in your place for the day? She seems very capable, having been mayor of Biztown, and she seems well prepared for the role.

Yajaira Martinez:
Yeah, they love it. I actually see it as I have another person to help me out throughout the day, so it's fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Perfect. I offered to let her call me if she needs a consult, but she's in good hands. I think it's going to go really well. It's exciting. Tell me, this is just one component of the positive culture that's here at Terra Linda. We were here to see students coming through and doing a little shopping based on some good behavior, some good things they've done in school. Tell us about that program.

Yajaira Martinez:
Yeah, so it's a program that I started, this is my fourth year, so we call it our PAWS. So it's our school-wide behavior program, where every time we catch them doing something that defines our PAWS, they get a little ticket that they drop into their grade-level basket. And every Friday, we just pull some out, and they get called down to come get something from the principal's office, whether that's a snack, a toy, or something. It really encourages them to just show that positive behavior throughout the school.

Anthony Godfrey:
There's a really nice array of colorful options here on the table, toys and prizes, like you said. But they're also timed. They get 10 seconds to choose what it is that they want. That gives an added level of excitement.

Yajaira Martinez:
Yes, because I learned quickly that if you don't give them a time limit, they will shop forever.

Anthony Godfrey:
I also saw that you have a really robust student council. You had a large group in here doing announcements at the end of the day and announcing the winners for the contest. Tell me about the student council.

Yajaira Martinez:
So it's very procedural routine with them. We want them to represent leadership. We hold them accountable for a lot of things, and being role models for those little kids. So they have a procedure that they learn, whether that's getting kids inside the assembly. They know which grade level they are to walk to their seats, play silent Simon Says with them, opening assemblies, closing assemblies, or announcements. So I like to give a lot of the leadership back to the kids so they can start getting comfortable with communicating in front of people and making announcements and just out of their, you know, just comfort.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's obvious that it's having a really positive impact on the students. We were here for an assembly earlier, and I don't know, you did the, give me three, two, one. There was a count, and the entire gym is instantly quiet. It was really fun to see. And today, earlier, there was an assembly with a magician, and I know some other things have happened throughout the year when the behavior has been what it needs to be in the school. I think almost every student qualified to be in that assembly today. Tell us about that program throughout the year.

Yajaira Martinez:
So it's part of the PAWS program I started, again, four years ago, where every quarter I have what we call Behavior Fiesta. Students that haven't had any extreme incidents, office referrals, get to participate every quarter, whether that's a 15-minute extra recess, an assembly like today, a popcorn party, whatever it is, to encourage them to continue to follow the rules at school and keep everyone safe.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's outstanding. Well, I've only been here a little bit today, and I've seen so much evidence of a very positive culture, kids that are leaders and really focused on the right things. So great job. Bravo to you and your staff for creating a wonderful environment for these students.

Yajaira Martinez:
Thank you.

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.

Kellie Openshaw:
I want them to see the different exploratory classes, like maybe it tells them you're a good fit for marketing, and manufacturing, and health science.

Anthony Godfrey:
You don't always think about what industries or what jobs might be right for you, and YOU Science is exactly that. It's a scientific approach to helping connect kids with opportunities.

Anthony Godfrey:
What if there was a tool to help your student discover their natural ability to do something pretty amazing? Well, that tool exists and it's being used right here in Jordan School District.

On this episode of the Supercast, we meet some students involved in an aptitude-based program called YOU Science. Hear the exciting ways this program is helping students uncover natural talents they didn't even know they had, and in turn, helping them find their personalized pathways to future success.

We are here at Fort Herriman Middle School talking with Kellie Openshaw about YOU Science and how it's used in Jordan School District. Thanks for joining us.

Kellie Openshaw:
You're welcome. I'm glad to be here.

Anthony Godfrey:
You are the Director for YOU Science for the state of Utah, correct?

Kellie Openshaw:
That is right.

Anthony Godfrey:
So, tell us about YOU Science. What is it? And, now, the state provides that for every student in the state, and Jordan has really worked hard to take advantage of this great program. So, tell us about what it does.

Kellie Openshaw:
Absolutely. So, YOU Science is a college and career readiness platform, and it's a place where we want our students to cultivate their career and their life, and really see success for their future. So, as you mentioned, every student in Utah has access to a YOU Science account, and you know, there's a lot of college and career readiness platforms out there, and the thing that makes us unique is that we start with an aptitude assessment. We're the only company that provides an online aptitude assessment where we give the students a series of brain games and help them figure out their natural talents, like numerical reasoning, spatial visualization, 3D visualization, things like that. And so, by understanding those talents, we can show students careers that would be a good fit for them that they may not have otherwise considered.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us about when this is administered, when do students get access to this, and play the brain games?

Kellie Openshaw:
Sure, absolutely. So, we usually start with the aptitude assessment in seventh grade, and so we do a more simplified version. There's five brain games and then one interest survey, and we want our students, those results, to show them different industries that they're a good fit for. Because they're still in seventh grade, we want them to explore at this point, so we want them to see the different exploratory classes, like maybe it tells them you're a good fit for marketing, and manufacturing, and health science. Well, that helps them and their counselors know what kind of exploration classes to take in eighth or ninth grade to start figuring out what they may want to study more later. And then in ninth grade or after, we have them take the more advanced version, and that gets them to specific careers that they can start to discover.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's the blend of aptitude and interest. So, the brain games say, "Hey, you're pretty good at this," but then there's also interest. If you're interested in these things, these are the types of industries that might be a good career for you.

Kellie Openshaw:
Exactly. And it's really important. I mean, we obviously want our students to be interested in what they're studying. But a lot of times, if we think about teenagers and the things that they're interested in, they kind of live in this fun teenage bubble of friends and social, and sports, and music, and all the things. They haven't been exposed to a lot of the careers that are outside of that bubble. And the aptitude brings in that exposure to let them know, "Hey, I bet you didn't even know that you'd be really great at being in computers or really great at being in manufacturing.” Just things they hadn't had exposure to.

So we call that our exposure gap. When we see an interest level in an industry versus an aptitude level, the difference between the two is an exposure gap. Let's take computer science, for example. Nationwide, we pulled our data on over half a million students, and there was a 75% exposure gap from the aptitude to the interest. So, figuring out how to get through that. And here in Utah, if we look at women, that exposure gap is 92%. So, how do we help, in this case, how do we help women figure out that they could actually be very talented in computer science, but it's not something they're naturally interested in? How do we close that exposure gap?

Anthony Godfrey:
I love the way you describe this exposure gap, the idea that you're good at something, but you don't even know it's out there as a career. You don't even know it's a possibility. Utah has a very diverse economy. We’ve worked hard at that. So there are options that even parents or others who might be advising them would not be aware of.

My dad didn't say, "You know what? Have you considered being a superintendent one day? I think that would really work for you.” People can decide whether it really works for me. But I do love being a superintendent, and you don't always think about what industries or what jobs might be right for you, and YOU Science is exactly that. It's a scientific approach to helping connect kids with opportunities and with ideas about who they could be and what they could do.

So, tell me about how parents would interact with this. Parents who are listening and say, "Well, hey, I have an eighth grader. Maybe they took that last year. Maybe it kind of didn't ever hit their radar." How do parents access this information?

Kellie Openshaw:
Yeah, great question. So the first thing is to have a conversation with your student and say, "Hey, do you remember taking those brain games? Do you remember YOU Science?" Because a lot of times, the students have an account and they've forgotten.

Now, in your district, that is impossible because you're actually going back to the results often. And you're helping the students recognize this as a resource. But sometimes that's not the case. So I think the more our districts engage and go back to those results, they lean on those results to invite them to different things. It helps the parents be more engaged.

Then, when a parent asks about that and says, "Hey, show me your results," because right now they'd have to show through their student's profile. We're working on a parent profile, so we're hoping we'll have that in the next year or so. But they can then sit down with their student. They can see their talents. They can see the different careers and industries that their students would be a good fit for.

It really brings up some fun talking points for parents to have with their students, really introduces them to their students, quite honestly, where they have conversations they've never really talked about before showing, "Wow, I had no idea that you had a natural talent for organization or for recognizing patterns in numbers." Then it starts to click for the parent, where it's like, "Oh, now I know why, as a kid, you used to line up all of your race cars along the edge of the table." Or "Now I understand why you actually are really good at keeping a schedule." It just starts to help you see your students through a new light. So, for parents, I'd recommend talking to your students, have them pull up that account, and show you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that's great. And like you said, it's a conversation starter, something that goes beyond “How was your day?” and walking through the room saying, "Oh, is that Fortnite you're playing?" Instead, it's a deeper conversation, and you learn something about your students' abilities and interests.

Kellie Openshaw:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
One of the things we did in Jordan District for those listening is we actually did go to the YOU Science results to find students who were particularly prepared or interested in the type of careers associated with NSA. We used that information, wrote letters, and sent those out to parents and students, and invited them to be part of a meeting where NSA had some internships that they wanted to fill. That was hugely successful. We had a great turnout because it wasn't just sending an email out to every student saying, "Hey, you decide whether this is of interest to you." We knew something about our students, and we were able to connect them with opportunities that they wouldn't have dreamt of.

Again, it's not like, "You know, I wonder if you would be good at the NSA internship." Once you start toward one destination, you get a little different perspective on every destination, and you can move a little closer to your ultimate goal. Each pathway, even if you don't choose to follow that for the rest of your life as a career, it informs your next choice and helps you move forward, rather than feeling around in the dark, or just doing what you figured you would do because your parents or family members were already involved.

So, I love how this blows the possibilities wide open and really does make the world their oyster in a really meaningful way. So, thank you very much, Kelly, for all the support you provide us and for taking time today.

Kellie Openshaw:
Absolutely. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more on YOU Science.

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.

Break:
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 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:
We're talking now with Cyler and Glenn, two students here at Fort Herriman Middle School, about their experience with YOU Science. Thanks for talking with me today.

Glenn:
You're welcome.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about YOU Science. What was it like taking the YOU Science assessments?

Glenn:
The number of things they were kind of weird, but they were kind of cool too, at the same time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Weird and cool number of things. What did the weird, cool number of things tell you about yourself? What did you learn in the results from YOU Science?

Glenn:
From the results, I learned that I'm great with or probably great.

Anthony Godfrey:
Allow yourself to be great. Not probably great. You are great at fill-in-the-blank.

Glenn:
Numerical checking or number checking.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Did that surprise you?

Glenn:
Kind of, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you had not been walking around checking numbers, and suddenly you realize you're good at it.

Glenn:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's like discovering that you can fly or that you can turn invisible or something, some superpower. So, where has that led you now? Are you taking classes and doing things differently because of that?

Glenn:
Currently, I didn't think of looking at YOU Science to take my classes this year, but I am going to be taking more health science classes next year, not next year, in high school.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know this can change. You're not locked in just by being on the podcast and telling me this, but what sort of careers have you considered?

Glenn:
An EMT or a paramedic.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm glad that there are people who want to be an EMT or a paramedic. That's exciting. What is it about those jobs that interests you?

Glenn:
I mean, you get to save people's lives.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, you're definitely having an impact on people's lives in a very real and immediate way, so that's awesome. Great.

How about for you? What's your experience been? Do you remember the assessment? Do you remember taking the YOU Science assessment?

Cyler:
Yeah, I do. The thing is, for me, I didn't think it'd add up too much. I thought, “Oh, this is just something for the teacher that they want us to do. I'll just quickly do it, and then I won't have to deal with it anymore.” And then I figured out later, "Oh, I guess this does raise an impact."

Anthony Godfrey:
Sounds like you're a survivor first of all. You know how to have an assignment in front of you and take care of business right away. Tell me what changed, what shifted when you took the YOU Science assessment. How was it different from what you expected?

Cyler:
There was a lot of, I can't remember exactly, but there was a lot of random things on it like, “Oh, I don't see how this is going to help with anything. I don't understand this or that.”

Anthony Godfrey:
But it was challenging, it was engaging.

Cyler:
Yeah, it was like, “Oh, this is really weird. I don't know what to do with this.”

Anthony Godfrey:
And what can you tell me about the results of your YOU Science assessment?

Cyler:
There was one big one. I have something about spatial reasoning. I'm able to place things where it should go. I'm really good at organizing. And something it said about me was, I was really artistic.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think that's a very unique combination, that you are artistic and you're highly organized. I think that can serve you quite well. So what are some of the careers and professions, jobs that you're thinking about that could tap into your artistic and organizational sides?

Cyler:
One thing that I've been trying to do is a cloth designing. So I've been designing clothes, I have a bunch of drawings of clothes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the designs, what sort of style of clothing are you designing? Victorian, Elizabethan, what sort of a look are you going for?

Cyler:
Honestly, I don't really have a look. It's just, I'll get like, I'll think of something like a hat or shoes or just anything. And I'll be like, “Okay, so this is what it looks like. How can I make this look special in my own way? What's something that people usually don't do?” Like, for instance, women's pants, I've heard, oh, the pockets aren't big enough, that stuff. And with pants, I'm like, “Oh, I also really want to add stripes of different colored denim in it.” So that's what I did. And I also added bigger pockets and extra cargo pockets on the legs.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have big things ahead of you, my friend. That's pretty exciting. That's really cool. It's a high level of creativity, but also being very thoughtful about the impact of your design and that personal touch that you're putting on things. We have a number of ladies in the room here. Are the pockets too small in women's pants a lot of the time? They're nodding in agreement, so you've really tapped into something here. Let me know. I want to be an early investor in your clothing company. It looks like you have your finger on the pulse there. So that's really exciting. You have your portfolio.

Cyler:
Yeah, I just keep them in my notebook.

Anthony Godfrey:
Highly organized, of course, right?

Cyler:
They used to be connected to a bigger one. I did-- so this is my first–

Anthony Godfrey:
This is in-depth design.

Cyler:
So this is my first one. So Angie, she's my neighbor, and she also deals with student help. So she came over because this one time she had me take a test of what I think I'm going to do when I grow up. And I said, “Oh, I don't really know what I'm going to do.” And it was like, any worries that you have. And I'm like, “I'm worried about not being able to do anything.” So she read it, and she's like, “Oh, no, this is really bad.” So she looked at YOU Science and was like, “I've got to show this to him.” So she came over to my house after setting an appointment with my mom, and she started telling me about all this stuff. And then right after she left, I drew a vest.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you drew a vest immediately after having this opened up to you, this idea that you really could do some things that you didn't believe you were maybe capable of.

Cyler:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is awesome. That is so impressive. You have a drive and just a personal confidence that I think is going to carry you very, very far. Well, I love that YOU Science kind of set you down a path. It's a path that allows for a lot of creativity and really some great ideas from you. So you strike me as someone who's very observant, that you're always watching for ideas, and watching for needs that you could fill with your designs. Is that true?

Cyler:
I try my best, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, Glenn, tell me, you had some experiences that helped move you toward EMT as a possible profession. Tell me about that.

Glenn:
So yeah, we went on this, for like CTE, on this 911 operator field trip. And while the guest speaker was talking, showing us videos and recordings, I saw a video of an EMT rushing in, helping someone that was, I believe, in cardiac arrest. So the caller had to provide CPR to the person in cardiac arrest. And then they were doing it at like a certain pace. And then the EMTs came in, and they were going really fast with the CPR. And then just hearing how the calls went, and it just inspired me for the EMT thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a serious field trip. I love that the combination of what you learned about yourself through YOU Science and the CTE field trip experience really has set you on a path of saving lives in the future as a career. Well, thank you both. Super impressive. Great things are happening in the future for both of you. I have no doubt of that. I'm excited to follow where things go from here.

We're talking now with Jacob Cope, the CTE team lead here at Fort Herriman Middle School, about how he uses YOU Science in his classes. Jacob, thanks for talking with me. Talk a little bit about the classes you teach and how you use YOU Science to create what I understand are focused field trips.

Jacob Cope:
Yeah. So at Fort Herriman, we have a lot of different CTE course offerings for students. We have courses in business. We have courses in engineering and manufacturing, courses in coding and technology, family and consumer science courses. And so one of the goals that we've had as a team over the last couple of years is to help tie students' interests into opportunities to associate with and see what happens out in the workplace. So we have been working toward each month having a focused field trip and a focused guest speaker. And the plan is, at the beginning of each month, we have a guest speaker come in and talk about their job and what they do. And then later on that month, we take a group of students, that same group of students that listened to the guest speaker, on a field trip to actually visit the work site of that person.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about how you use YOU Science to develop the plan for these experiences and how that impacts the way you interact with students.

Jacob Cope:
Yeah. We obviously have students in seventh grade and ninth grade take the YOU Science Brain Games. And it's in eighth and ninth grade that students are participating in these field trips. So we allow students to apply. We have an application process for the field trip. And so students that are interested apply to go on the field trips and hear from the guest speakers. We then look at their YOU Science results and encourage them, as part of the application, to look at their YOU Science results. And based on what we see in their applications and what YOU Science tells us about those students, we pick the group that gets to participate in the guest speaker and the field trips.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's really exciting to hear that we learn about students, and then we provide experiences specifically tailored to their interests and abilities. And it's a great launch to, if not a career, at the very least, some really exciting experiences.

Jacob Cope:
Yeah, definitely. In addition to using YOU Science for these field trips and guest speakers, we're also using the results that we get from it to help students find classes that would be of interest to them. So, for example, we just went through our registration process recently, and we took a look at specifically business and marketing students, students that would be interested in taking classes in business and marketing, and those that would be interested in taking coding classes. So we looked at their YOU Science results and found students that were interested in those areas, had aptitudes and interests in those areas, and actually invited them to take our courses. Hopefully, they can, as they take those courses, determine if that's the direction they want to go.

Anthony Godfrey:
Which again is so much better than simply putting a poster up in the hallway, you know, saying, "Hey, take this or that class." Instead, it's, "Hey, you are someone who could really enjoy and benefit from this particular course." It makes school so much more meaningful and helps students really discover a lot about themselves. Well, congratulations on providing incredible experiences for these students. Thank you very much for everything you're doing.

Jacob Cope:
Absolutely.

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.