Author: communications

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a holiday tradition started by one teacher at Herriman Elementary School, now helping homeless children and teens throughout the year. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how a pajama project is bringing comfort to people served by the Road Home Shelter on cold winter nights and beyond. 

We're at Herriman Elementary to talk about a service project, and here with us is Kelly Grundy. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about this project.

Kelly Grundy:
My name is Kelly Grundy and I teach here at Herriman Elementary. I teach fourth grade and they're pretty amazing. We have started a pajama project. Actually I started it years ago, but my fourth grade class is joining in with us and we're gonna get it going and they're super excited. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Now when you say years ago, it was 14 years ago. Am I correct?

Kelly Grundy:
Yes. 

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a long time.

Kelly Grundy:
It's been a long time. I started, the idea came from teaching, actually. I'm a student from Bingham High School, and then when I started teaching, I taught in North Las Vegas. That was my first teaching job. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow.

Kelly Grundy:
And it was very different from where I came from. And a little bit of an eye opener. I taught a fifth grade class and when I was teaching there, my very first year, we were talking about traditions and I told them that we dress up alike at Christmas time and wear silly pajamas. And after the class discussion, I had a couple of students come up after, and they were in fifth grade and they said, Mrs. Grundy, what are pajamas? And I said, what do you mean? You know? And I didn't understand their question. They really didn't know what pajamas were because they'd been living in the shelter and it just wasn't something they were familiar with or needed in life.

And so that stuck with me and I ended up speaking with one of the counselors at the shelter and I told her about that experience because it was an odd moment for me. And she said, it's just not something they need. It's a want. It's not required for their life. You know, food and things come first. And that just broke me. And she also talked to me for a while about how symbolic pajamas are for kids in homeless shelters or in transient situations and how changing out of pajamas and putting on a new pair of clothes and doing that little routine at night really makes them feel like they have a home and makes them feel, you know, like they've got a different way of life. And that was really symbolic for them to change clothes at night. So once I heard that, I said, ‘okay, I'm in.’

So I've been collecting with my family, just here and there. My kids from the district, they'll tell their school teachers and we've been collecting for years. And when I would teach, we'd kind of do it here and there, or my community and stuff. So I've been doing it for 14 years, but last year when I started teaching fourth grade, I was telling my students about the project and I said, my family has been doing this for years. And they just lit up. They said, ‘we want help.’ So I thought, ‘oh, can they? Can I do that with kids?’ You know, are they gonna really do it? I mean, pajamas aren't cheap and I don't know if this is something they can do. The students here at Herriman and the community just went crazy. And they ended up collecting over 250 pairs, and we packaged them up, and each kid in the class wrote little tags on each individual pajamas saying, you know, we love you. 

Anthony Godfrey:
So it was personalized.

Kelly Grundy:
It was awesome. And so I thought, okay, I'm doing this with my students now for the duration of my time because they really had a great time doing it. And they loved it. And they're so excited. We've already started collecting and they've already brought in bags and they walk around, they tell their cousins and family and they're just really passionate about spreading the news.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now tell me again, the first time that you did it with students.

Kelly Grundy:
First time I did it with my own students was last year here at Herriman.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. And you were pretty surprised by the reaction it sounds like.

Kelly Grundy:
Yeah. Absolutely. I didn't think it would be. It's harder than collecting, you know, little cans or something small. Pajamas seem like a big ask.

Anthony Godfrey:
You don't say, ‘oh, hey, I have a new set of pajamas that will be perfect for a child in this drawer right here. Let me go ahead and grab them’, in the same way we can maybe grab food out of the pantry. So you have to be pretty intentional about saying, I'm in. I'm gonna participate.

Kelly Grundy:
Yes. And so I thought, well, I'll invite them and they'll bring a couple. They'll participate a little bit. And so I, you know, sent messages out. The kids made their own fliers and they wrote up a little thing about it and they shared it with people. And I thought, well, I'll get a couple out of this. And this area just from Herriman Elementary collected 250 pair.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's amazing. 

Kelly Grundy:
It was amazing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you have this year’s flier?

Kelly Grundy:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's take a look. Is this from students as well?

Kelly Grundy:
Yes. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Very cool.

Kelly Grundy:
We kind of worked together. They came up with what they wanted to say and we added it all together on the flier.

Anthony Godfrey:
14th annual. That feels pretty cool, doesn’t it?

Kelly Grundy:
Yeah. Yes. It was exciting. One year when I returned back, a cute little boy walked down the hall, said ‘the pajama lady's here.’ Okay, I gotta do this.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hey, there are worse things to be known for.

Kelly Grundy:
Yeah. I was excited. I was excited that I had a purpose.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's pretty great. So do you get a pretty wide variety of pajamas coming your way?

Kelly Grundy:
Yes. And for that reason this year, the data that we've got from the shelter says that there's 180 children that they wanna collect for. But with that being said, they don't tell us the sizes exactly. They can break down the ages, but they don't necessarily know their size always. And what they want. So with that, we try to double it. We try to double what they need so that there's choices. And that they're able to maybe even get a couple if they can, but the ranges go from, you know, two to four, but a four year old might wear a size eight, I mean, you just don't know what they're actually gonna wear. And the teenagers wear adult sizes. It's all over the spectrum. So for that reason, we try to double it if we can. So they've got 180 children that they're gonna service this year. So we're aiming for approximately 400 if we can get there.

Anthony Godfrey:
And if someone listening wants to become a part of this and contribute, how do they do that?

Kelly Grundy:
So they can drop off pajamas to Herriman High School. They can email me, I can come get them. Herriman Elementary has a Facebook page that has our flier on there. Any of those ways, we'll get it anyway that we can.

Anthony Godfrey:
And do you find people without a connection to the school necessarily, pitching in?

Kelly Grundy:
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Just random. The kids will take them to family members and, and somebody, I've had a couple people already who one of the children's parents put on Facebook and I had strangers emailing and calling and say, ‘I've heard about this and it sounds awesome.’ So they brought it over to us and dropped it off, and we don't even know where they heard about it. So we're, we were excited to have that.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's exciting. And it's encouraging to have that kind of support. Stay with us, when we come back hear a student talk about the pajama project and why she loves the tradition of giving back.

Break:
Hello, I'm Tracy Miller, President of the Jordan School District Board of Education. There are seven members on the Board of Education, one in each voting district. We are committed to listening and serving our constituents as we work together to provide the best possible learning environment for the students we serve. As members of the Jordan Board of Education, we believe it is our duty and responsibility to: increase student achievement; provide parents with the choices they deserve and desire; recognize and reward quality in educators; empower school leaders through policy governance and professional development; and communicate with the public, legislators, business leaders, cities, and parents. We invite you to get to know the Board member who represents you in your voting district, and to please join us at our monthly board meeting held on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Or listen from the comfort of your home, on our live stream. For more information and to find your Board member, visit jordandistrict.org. With parent and community input and support we will continue our work to give students every opportunity to succeed in Jordan District schools and beyond. Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Anthony Godfrey:
We also have the principal of Herriman Elementary, Bobbie Nixon here. Bobbie, what, what impact does this have on your school?

Bobbie Nixon:
I think this is wonderful for our school because it helps our students give. And I think the earlier you can learn to give the better. We've had different projects over the years, but I think this project from Mrs. Grundy is helpful because it can help so many people in a way we hadn't considered before.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the reactions you've heard from parents and students who have heard about the project and gotten involved?

Bobbie Nixon:
I've heard from parents that they love giving pajamas. Pajamas are all over this time of year, and Ms. Grundy purposely does it at this time of the year. You can go into any store and they're on sale and they're Christmasy and it makes 'em feel warm and snugly at this time of year. I've heard that their students get excited about giving and about making the note. And like I said, it's known about pajamas. We have the flyers everywhere, like on our Facebook. It's also caught on like, not only to do the pajamas, but now our third grade is like catching up for Utah Humane Society. So it's catching on, like just to do service and good things.

Anthony Godfrey:
So there's momentum that you really can't fight. Once they get a taste for service, it expands into other areas. And you're right, the younger the better because it feels great. And, it's a great time of year to be doing it. And every time they put on their own pajamas, they're reminded of the opportunity that they've taken to provide that for someone else. And I think that's exciting. Part of education is getting outside of yourself and connecting to the broader world. And this is a great way to do that.

Kelly Grundy:
Yeah. And I've noticed within my class, just once we started talking about the project, made the flier and started talking, they in general have kind of created a more giving community within each other. I know we have a little thankful jar in our class. And once we start talking about this project, they fill out a little slip of paper with things they're thankful for and they put it in the jar. Once we started the project, the jar started filling up, they started being more thankful. They push in chairs for each other. They're just a little bit more thankful. We did another project that we got a gift card for our class to buy supplies and they all said, let's, let's buy pajamas. And they are not thinking of themselves anymore. They really have a different vocabulary and they have a different way of talking. And it's brought a little bit, a lot of unity within our classroom as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's remarkable. The unity as well, and that they're looking out for each other. Once they went into generosity mode, it just doesn't turn off. That's beautiful. That's awesome. I love that. Speaking of, we actually do have a student here with us. Introduce yourself.

Emily:
My name is Emily and I'm a fourth grader at Herriman Elementary.

Anthony Godfrey:
And Emily, what do you think about this project?

Emily:
I'm really excited for it.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you like about the pajama project?

Emily:
I just like how we are helping the people at the Road Home Shelter just have pajamas and be more comfy.

Anthony Godfrey:
How do you think it feels to you and your classmates just to have that opportunity and to be focused on something outside of your school and outside of your classroom?

Emily:
I really like it because we've, like, as she said, we've grown more unity with each other.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's exciting. So, you can tell a difference in the way you're treating each other. 

Emily:
Yeah. 

Anthony Godfrey:
I see that you yourself are wearing pajamas today. And tell me about the pattern you've chosen there.

Emily:
It's Harry Potter.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. And is there a particular house or are they all represented?

Emily:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
They're all represented.

Kelly Grundy:
What house are you from?

Emily:
I'm in Gryffindor.

Anthony Godfrey:
Gryffindor? I kind of got a Gryffindor vibe as I walked into the office, but I wasn't sure. Okay. Sounds good. Of the donated pajamas coming in, what's the favorite that you've seen? Have you seen a cool pattern?

Emily:
Yeah, I saw a couple like of TV shows, like I'm pretty sure I saw my Little Pony one and also a Mario one, and I like the

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, nice. Some of the branded stuff. Okay.

Kelly Grundy:
I do know, when I asked my class, some of the things they're most excited about doing, they're excited about collecting them. But for those that are maybe not able to collect as many, they're excited to make little hand-made notes that have little drawings on them. They spend time drawing these little drawings and they say, ‘you are special’, or ‘we love you’. And then on the back we’ll put the size and things like that for the parents to go through and pick. And then we just wrap it up in string. But the kids get really excited to make those handwritten notes, and they get excited knowing that they don't know who they're going to. But it's gonna go to somebody we've talked about in class. It's gonna go to somebody who needs to hear that they were thought of and not just given it to, but they're gonna put as much of their own personality to each individual tag as they can. So they get really excited about making the tags and putting their own little touch and telling someone that they're special.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love how that personalizes it. It adds another layer to the connection that they feel. Did you do tags last year or is that new this year?

Kelly Grundy:
I did and that was the biggest surprise. Cause I collected pajamas before, pre Covid. We used to wrap them, like physically wrap them, but then since Covid they said maybe not. So we just do ribbon. And I thought, well I’ll just have the kids help tie the ribbon. We did some lessons, we had to teach them how to curl the ribbons. It was fun for the kids to practice, and they got a kick out of that. But then I thought, well, we'll have these tags, which I always have done tags with a size on it, but I had never put anything on the back. And so the kids actually had thought of it last year, and when they started it just snowballed. And that ended up being the biggest, most exciting thing for them is to individualize.

They weren't hurrying through each one. They really went through, and we ended up making 500 different individual tags to tie onto them. And they all put their little heart and soul into each tag and put a little message. And I was touched when I saw some of the things that they had written that I didn't tell them to write. But these little fourth graders had come up with their own little messages and just encouraging, just a little thought. And it was really touching that they were showing each other, and asking each other, and how do you spell this? And it was really from the heart and you could tell it. We really brought a spirit into our classroom last year. So we're excited to do that this year. For the same group of people.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, just like pajamas themselves. This pajama project kind of makes me feel warm all over that you get to create this opportunity for kids and this connection with the community. It's inspiring and it's really exciting. Thank you for providing that for the community and for your students.

Kelly Grundy:
You are welcome. I'm excited to do it.

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.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It was a day filled with fun and a focus on the ultimate prize, helping to break the world record in Sports Stacking. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Terra Linda Elementary School, where students joined others around the world in a race against the clock, stacking specially designed cups in something called the 2022 STACK UP! Find out how they contributed to breaking the world record in a really big way.

We're here at Terra Linda, where they are working on helping set a world record in cup stacking, and we're talking with the teacher who is overseeing all of this. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about today.

Jaime Scott:
Yes, I'm Jaime Scott. I'm the PE specialist here. We are just 1 class today, fifth grade, that is going to be a part of the world record. So it's going to be 3 days long. The world record is the most people sports stacking in multiple locations. So us in Utah, here at Terra Linda, other schools in Utah, other schools in the United States, and then schools in different countries, where we're all working to beat the 2019 record, which was 638,000. But the goal is to beat 650,000 people. They've been doing this for quite a few years. This is our first year at Terra Linda.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so you were not involved in the previous world record.

Jaime Scott:
We were not involved in any previous ones. This is our first time, but I'm expecting about 445 students to help with this record at Terra Linda.

Anthony Godfrey:
So is the record how many people have been involved over the course of the 3 days?

Jaime Scott:
Yes. And you have to stack for 30 minutes, and then I just keep track of how many were here today, and I'm gonna turn it in at the end of the day on Thursday.

Anthony Godfrey:
So to count in the group you have to stack for 30 minutes?

Jaime Scott:
Yes. Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Well, I don't have time to count.

Jaime Scott:
That's okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
But that's not the first time that's happened. Okay. So I see lots of different sizes of speed stack cups. Tell me about that. Does it matter what size they're using?

Jaime Scott:
So today's kind of our fun station day. We're gonna wrap up with some jumbo stacks, which are the oversized cups, and we also have mini cups that we're kind of using with your fingertips. But your normal cups are the handheld cups that are your medium size, and that's what you'll time yourselves for a world record if you really wanted to, and that's what we mostly use.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now normally there's the pad, I see some of the pads over there.

Jaime Scott:
Yes, the mat and the timer.

Anthony Godfrey:
So the mat is there and it can detect when your hands are on the mat. Am I correct?

Jaime Scott:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
And as your hands leave the mat, then the timer starts and the stacking begins.

Jaime Scott:
That’s exactly right. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, but this is not that.

Jaime Scott:
Nope. We're not trying to beat any timed record. We are trying to beat the most people sports stacking in multiple locations. So right now there's probably tons of other schools that are sports stacking with us at the same time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is it all schools that are involved or are there other locations and other groups that are part of the sport stacking?

Jaime Scott:
It would be other schools K-12, maybe some groups, some teams that would be doing it too. But yeah, there's really no.

Anthony Godfrey:
And is this international or just in the US?

Jaime Scott:
Yes, it is worldwide.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So we're part of a worldwide making of history today.

Jaime Scott:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me, what is it that got you connected to this global effort in cup stacking?

Jaime Scott:
So there were sports stacks when I came to school here four years ago. And it took me two years to kind of learn how to do it. So last year they learned sports stacks for the first time. It was later in the year. And then once I started doing my research, I realized, ‘oh, there's like a national, not a national day, but a day that they set aside to beat a world record.’ So that time I finally built into my curriculum so that we could take part of it. So this is their third day of sports stacking. So it's kind of our fun day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Great. So what kind of training have they been doing leading up to this day?

Jaime Scott:
Yes. So we've learned the 3 stack, which is the very simple stack, just learning how to switch your hands. Then you add in two.

Anthony Godfrey:
Can you show me a 3 stack? So show me a 3 stack.

Jaime Scott:
You will get 3 cups in front of you. You'll always lead with your favorite hand.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, I’m going to try it. Do the flames on the cup help actually?

Jaime Scott:
Do the flames help? What do you think students?

Anthony Godfrey:
Do the flames help? Oh, the flame cups are faster. That's good to know. All right. At least I've got the fast cups. Except now I don't have an excuse. Maybe I should grab the slow cups because then it would be obvious.

Jaime Scott:
Here you go. Pink ones.

Anthony Godfrey:
The pink ones are slow.

Jaime Scott:
There you go.

Anthony Godfrey:
Or the purple.

Jaime Scott:
Purple, okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
Or the green. You know what green feels right. Going with green. All right.

Jaime Scott:
So you always wanna start with your favorite hand. So favorite hand's gonna grab first, set it right next, and then not favorite hand and put it on top. Now your other favorite hand, you're gonna down stack and grab with your not favorite hand. Put it on top. So you have to switch hands. That is our rule.

Anthony Godfrey:
Switching hands.

Jaime Scott:
It's a world cup rule.

Anthony Godfrey:
Not favorite hand. Sounds a little mean.

Jaime Scott:
I know.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's just my right hand.

Jaime Scott:
Well, some kids don't know right hand and left hand.

Anthony Godfrey:
That makes sense. Okay, I got it. I got it. So, they’re all stacked.

Jaime Scott:
So you gotta start with 'em together. Favorite hand. Not favorite hand.

Anthony Godfrey:
I already messed up, it already fell over.

Jaime Scott:
It's okay. We mess up a lot, don't we?

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. That's what it's about, right?

Jaime Scott:
Yeah, growth mindset.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, here we go.

Jaime Scott:
Favorite hand, not favorite hand.

Anthony Godfrey:
Favorite hand. Not favorite hand.

Jaime Scott:
Favorite hand stacked down. Pull it that way. Good. Now not favorite hand. Put it on top.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Now I’ve got my favorite and my not favorite mixed up. Let's do it 1 more time. Okay.

Jaime Scott:
Okay. Favorite, not favorite hand. Switch. Favorite hand. Not favorite.

Anthony Godfrey:
I got it! That's the 3 stack.

Jaime Scott:
That's the 3 stack.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much.

Jaime Scott:
Yes!

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you. And that is the first step.

Jaime Scott:
That’s the first step.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's the most basic move. Okay.

Jaime Scott:
Yep. Then we add in two more stacks of 3.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, now that seems like a big leap forward. All right, let's try that.

Jaime Scott:
Okay. Now you wanna start on the opposite side. So you're always going 1 direction, towards your favorite hand. So you're gonna start here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, this is my favorite hand.

Jaime Scott:
Oh, your favorite hand’s your left hand?

Anthony Godfrey:
Yep.

Jaime Scott:
Okay, so you're gonna start over here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And what do I do?

Jaime Scott:
So start over here with your favorite hand. Okay. I'm gonna grab your hand. You're gonna go this way. So, favorite hand stack down. Not favorite hand stack on top. Favorite hand, not favorite hand.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah.

Jaime Scott:
On top. On top.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. On top.

Jaime Scott:
Favorite hand

Anthony Godfrey:
Favorite hand, not favorite hand.

Jaime Scott:
Now we go back to the beginning and then we down stack. So back to the beginning. Favorite hand, not favorite hand. Favorite hand, not favorite hand.

Anthony Godfrey:
Favorite hand, not favorite hand. Favorite, not favorite.

Jaime Scott:
There you go. That's the 3, 3, 3.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much.

Jaime Scott:
Now you want a timer?

Anthony Godfrey:
No, I do not want a timer.

Jaime Scott:

All right, you wanna learn

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the next step?

Jaime Scott:
3, 6, 3. And then a 6, 6. And then a 1, 10, 1. You wanna watch the kids do it?

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I wanna watch. I wanna watch 1 of the kids do it. I am not going to try that next step.
Jaime Scott:

Yes. Cade, Eva, Lilli, and Cashtin. We’ll get you on.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let’s see what you’ve got.

Jaime Scott:
Okay, there you go Cashtin.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, tell me your names again.

Cashtin:
Cashtin.

Cade:
Cade.

Lilli:
Lilli.

Jaime Scott:
And here’s Eva.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, Cashtin, Cade, Lilli and?

Eva:
Eva.

Anthony Godfrey:
Eva. Okay, let’s see what you’ve got.

Jaime Scott:

Let's throw the 3, 6, 3. Everyone else you wanna come watch ‘em?

Other students:
Yes!

Jaime Scott:
Okay, let's stand an arms length away from 'em so we can give 'em plenty of space. Now you'll notice Mr. Godfrey, they all start with their hands on the table to mimic the timer. Okay. So 3, 6, 3. Ready? Go. So they're gonna start with the 3, then the 6 in the middle, and then the 3. It’s slippery on this table.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah. Okay.

Jaime Scott:
So that's the 3, 3, 3. Let's show him the 6, 6.

Student:
Can I do it? Can I do it next?

Jaime Scott:
We'll get you on here in a second. 6. 6. So now it's just two stacks of 6. Ready? Go.

Student:
I can do the 1, 10, 1. I know how to do it.

Jaime Scott:
There you go.

Students:
Cheering and talking.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Wow. That is impressive you guys.

Jaime Scott:
Now we put 'em all together. So it's the 3, 6, 3. The 6, 6 and 1, 10, 1. And that's called the cycle. Are you comfortable with the cycle? All four of you?

Anthony Godfrey:
So they go through the cycle of doing all of those in sequence.

Jaime Scott:
All in a row. Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the 1, 10, 1?

Jaime Scott:
1, 10, 1. Yes. You'll see. This is the hardest one. We're gonna start with the 3, 6, 3.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right.

Jaime Scott:
They’re gonna show us the cycle and show Mr. Godfrey the cycle.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, let’s see it.

Jaime Scott:
Start in the 3, 6, 3. There you go. Then they turn it to the 6, 6. And then 1, 10, 1.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, how long does that normally take? On a good surface? I know this is a slick surface.

Jaime Scott:
30 seconds.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Jaime Scott:
We’ve got one 6th grader who can do it in 17 seconds.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. All right.

Jaime Scott:

This is the cycle. 3, 6, 3. Then a 6. 6. Stay with it. Good. There you go Cashtin.

Anthony Godfrey:
Those cups don't know what hit ‘em.

Jaime Scott:
So Eva's on the 1, 10, 1. There you go Lilli, 1, 10, 1.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Oh, we have a rebuild. All right. There we go. Eva. Nice job. Everybody looks good out there.

Stay with us when we come back more with students having fun in the 2022 STACK UP!

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 life and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at employment.jordandistrict.org

Anthony Godfrey:
Lilli, tell me what you like about stacking.

Lilli:
I like the cup sound.

Anthony Godfrey:
You like the cup sound? Yeah. It's kind of satisfying as you're throwing those cups around.

Lilli:
Yeah, it makes satisfying sounds.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right. When I saw that you were doing the, is it called a 1, 10, 1 you started over because it kind of fell over. Do you have to do that sometimes?

Lilli:
Yeah. Sometimes it's just too hard to redo, so you have to restart. Like sometimes when it’s 3, 6, 3, but sometimes it's just like one at the bottom falls, so you have to restart.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does that kind of translate over to homework and other things that sometimes you just have to restart and just start over and start fresh?

Lilli:
You have to redo it several times and stuff. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Good. Well, it looks like a lot of fun. Do you do it at home too?

Lilli:
Yeah. My brother has the flame ones, so yeah, I do do it sometimes at home.

Anthony Godfrey:
And is what they say about the flame cups true? Are they faster?

Lilli:
I don't know.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a scientific experiment for the future, right?

Lilli:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey;
Okay. Eva, tell me what you like about cup stacking.

Eva:
It makes you be more faster. It could also help you with basketball. Like, almost like dribbling, it's helping you move quicker with the cups. And I also think it's cool because it's learning something new and different that a lot of people don't know.

Anthony Godfrey:
It really helps you focus too. It looked like everybody just kind of focused in and nothing else gets in your way. You just get focused on the cups.

Eva:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now do you like sports? Do you play basketball?

Eva:
I’ve played basketball. I play soccer and I'm trying out for volleyball.

Anthony Godfrey:
Awesome. Well, good luck with volleyball.

Eva:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really cool. And I'm glad to hear that the cup stacking seems to help your ball handling. Tell me what you would say to someone who's thinking about doing cup stacking.

Eva:
It's a little tricky at first, but if you keep on trying and try your hardest, you can get it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that a lesson that you've used in other parts of school, that even if things are hard at first with some work they can become easier?

Lilli:
Yes. Like I've heard that phrase or something like that before.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, great. Tell me, what do you hope kids take away from this experience?

Jaime Scott:
I hope they take away that it's fun, and it's something different, and to challenge themselves. So that's a lot of it, is that it's hard, and it takes a lot of focus, and working both sides of your brain, coordination. And it's not easy, but I hope that, you know, they see that they're active with cup stacking and that they want to take it home or get their own and just, you know, some fun like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it was interesting as I talked to the kids that they recognize that it's hard at first and it got easier with practice. And I think that's an important lesson.

Jaime Scott:
Yes, it is. That we will fail. We'll have mess ups, but just keep moving and don't give up. And I see a lot of attitudes change too. Some kids come in and they see cup stacking. It's like, ‘oh wait, I've gotten better than last year. This is kind of fun.’ So I see that a lot in PE with other units too, but I think cup stacking is the most evident to change some attitudes and mindsets.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's a great addition to the PE program and obviously they're focused, they're engaged, they're concentrating, and they're having a good time too. And they were very kind to encourage me, even though I was struggling quite a lot.

Jaime Scott:
Yes, and hey, you did it in a smash course. They've gotten it in 3 days. 3 different days.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, and I love these jumbo stacks here. These are the size of a waist basket. Yes. And they're doing the same thing. They you're doing with the handheld cups, except with something much larger and over here with a thimble, something much smaller.

Jaime Scott:
Yes. Fingertips.

Anthony Godfrey:
Have you found that it's physically challenging for the kids?

Jaime Scott:
I do add in cardio to each lesson. So I do add in some exercise portion, but other than that it's gonna be more coordination and quickness.

Anthony Godfrey:
Dexterity.

Jaime Scott:
Dexterity, working to get ambidextrous. So, I do try to add in some fitness to it, as you can see the TicTacToe Relay race.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, and I do love the sense of efficacy. I wasn't good at this at the start. I've worked at it, I've tried and I'm better at something physical. And this is something accessible for everybody.

Jaime Scott:
It is. Yes. You can buy 'em on Amazon.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for being creative and giving them such a rich experience in their PE class.

Jaime Scott:
And being a part of a world record.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's right. Yes.

According to the World Sports Stacking Association, the previous world record was 638,503 stackers participating in competitions at one time around the world. The current world record, which Terra Linda helped establish, stands at 737,480 stackers participating at one time. Congratulations Terra Linda students for being new world record holders. 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.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Butterfield Canyon Elementary School teachers have been working hard to create meaningful connections and fun memories with parents this school year. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how a Thanksgiving performance by third graders, followed by "Parents and Pie" is bringing everyone together in a sweet expression of thanks and gratitude this holiday season.

We're here at Butterfield Canyon Elementary for the "Parents and Pie" event, and we're talking with Dr. Jay Eads, the Principal of Butterfield Canyon. Thanks for inviting us over today.

Dr. Jay Eads:
Thanks for coming. We appreciate it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I understand you're going by Dr. Jay these days. Is that right?

Dr. Jay Eads:
Yeah, that's a little easier to say than Eads so the kids can say, Dr. Jay pretty easy.

Anthony Godfrey:
That has a ring to it. I like it. Tell me a little bit about this event and the way that third graders have been talking about Thanksgiving.

Dr. Jay Eads:
So, the "Parents and Pie" event was something that was happening pre-COVID. Of course, COVID kind of put an end to it, but now that we're past that, we brought it back this year. The emphasis is helping kids to feel gratitude for the things that they have in their life so that they can express that. We have a Thankful Tree outside of our doors to our gym and cafeteria here, where students have listed what they're grateful for. And then just with the songs, it's just been the opportunity to perform for parents and for getting parents back into the building so that they can be part of the school and part of the community again. I think that's important.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a great connection and it's a great combination. The tree with the leaves, it's a paper tree. Two paper trees at the entrance of the cafeteria with individual autumn leaves that have been written on by students just to express what they're thankful for. And then the program and the "Parents and Pies". We'll talk with teachers that have organized this. What impact does this have on the culture of your school having an event like this?

Dr. Jay Eads:
I think the most important thing, I think a couple things. One, it brings parents and students together back into the school. I think that's critical. It helps to reinforce, we're a Leader in Me school. As a Leader in Me school, it helps promote some of those concepts. We can link to them. Gratitude helps, it is a form of respect, actually I think. By being grateful for the things we have, we're actually showing respect for those things and gifts that we have in our lives, for our parents, and for others.

Anthony Godfrey:
And Dr. Jay, what are some of the things that you are grateful for?

Dr. Jay Eads:
I’m grateful for my family, of course. I'm grateful to be here. This is a wonderful school. It's a wonderful staff. Kids are just absolutely fantastic. They're responsive. They're eager to learn, eager to please. It's just been such a positive experience just in my short time here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, we're very grateful to have you here. You've played various roles in the district extremely well at every turn. And we're really happy to have you here as principal.

Janet Hall:
Thank you so much for coming to our program today. In a minute, we're gonna have the kids come and find you, their parents or family members that are here, and then we'll excuse you by color of your table you're sitting at to get pie. While you're waiting for pie, or while you're eating, the kids will have a questionnaire sheet that you guys can ask each other questions and talk about things you're grateful for. We also have a few photo backdrops, if you wanna take a photo, you're welcome. We just want you to know how thankful we are for you as parents and all the support you give us as teachers at our school, but most especially to your kids. They are amazing.

Students:
Amazing!

Janet Hall:
And we're so grateful to have a small part of their life. So thank you so much. They'll be coming to you in just a minute.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking with Janet Hall, one of the third grade teachers here at Butterfield Canyon. What a fantastic program.

Janet Hall:
Yeah, we've loved it. The kids have been practicing since before Halloween, and when we told them they needed to have everything memorized, they just rose to the task and have loved singing. They even sing at recess.

Anthony Godfrey:
They nailed it. I'm not surprised by that. Their performance was so crisp, and I've been to a lot of great school programs. I've never seen anything like this, and I've never heard these songs before. I thought it was fantastic.

Janet Hall:
Yeah, there's a really great resource called Music K-8. I know our music teacher, Tina Workman, uses it a lot. But they have a lot of fun, unique songs that the kids just really love.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, they did a great job of it. Tell me, how did this get started? The "Parents and Pie" tradition?

Janet Hall:
Well, it started actually with one of our third grade teachers, Mrs. Workman, who's our music teacher now. But we used to do a reader's theater of There was an Old Woman who Swallowed a Pie, and she would invite her class in and they would do the reader's theater and have pie. And then a couple of others of us started doing it, but then pretty soon, all of the third grade teachers wanted to be a part of it, and so that's how "Parents and Pie" started.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think it's a wonderful connection back to parents. And you mentioned this when you were the MC, that it's just so nice to have parents out and it's a chance to be grateful. To show gratitude for parents and show gratitude for their kids that you get to be a part of.

Janet Hall:
Yeah. And you know, really that's why we do our jobs. For the kids. But without that good support and love from their parents, they need that. So when they come to school, they're ready to learn and be a part of it. And we just really are super grateful for everything they do to encourage their kids to make sure they're here at school and just the support and love that they give to us as their teachers.

Anthony Godfrey:
So there's this fantastic performance, and then "Parents and Pie", and the students go out and find their parents, and then there's a list of things for them to do or talk about. Tell me more about that.

Janet Hall:
Yeah, so we wanted it to be a time for parents and their kids to really be able to connect with each other. A lot of times life is so busy, we just don't have time for those casual and meaningful conversations. And so we thought if we could give them some questions and conversation starters and provide this opportunity where they can focus on their kids and be in the moment. What a great opportunity for them to learn what their parents are thankful for, for parents to get insights on what their kids' lives are like outside of their home. And we just thought it would be such a good opportunity for some communication.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a connection between parents and their child and it's a connection between the school and families.

Janet Hall:
Yes. And we're so, so grateful to be able to have families and parents at the school. You know, during the pandemic when we couldn't, there really was a piece of that missing. And I think the community missed it and we missed having them come in.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's not the same without that family connection. Thank you for being so intentional about making that possible once again.

Janet Hall:
Yeah. You're so welcome. Thank you for coming and enjoying our program today.

Anthony Godfrey:
It was awesome.

Stay with us. When we come back, hear Thanksgiving performances from third grade students at Butterfield Canyon Elementary.

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 for a successful transition to post-secondary education. Career and Technical Education provides work-based learning opportunities. We partner with industry experts to offer apprenticeships and internships with students working in the real world at real jobs while going to school. The CTE experience starts in our elementary schools with the Kids' Marketplace and grows through middle and high school. To explore all CTE has to offer in Jordan School District, visit cte.jordandistrict.org today and let's get your child started on the pathway to a profession.

Students Singing:
Turkey dinner, turkey dinner,
Gather round, gather round.
Who will get the drumstick? Yummy, yummy drumstick.
All sit down, all sit down.

Chocolate muffin, cornbread stuffin’,
Pudding pie, one foot high.
All of us are thinner, ‘til we get to dinner.
Me oh my, me oh my.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here with a mother-daughter team at Butterfield Canyon, attending "Parents and Pies". Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about the activity that they set up for you today.

Cassidy:
My name's Cassidy and I am the mom to Jaidyn. This was set up as "Parents and Pie" where we got to listen to them sing about what they were thankful for.

Anthony Godfrey:
They did a great job, didn't they?

Cassidy:
Yeah, they did. They should be a choir.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, they should. Yes. I think they should be a choir.

Anthony Godfrey:
It was awesome.

Cassidy:
Yeah, they were awesome.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I know there's an activity where there's a list of things for you to ask each other. Have you had a chance to talk about that?

Cassidy:
Yes, we did.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Can we go through a couple of these and hear what their responses were?

Cassidy:
Yeah, absolutely. What is something you are looking forward to?

Jaidyn:
I'm looking forward to my trip to...

Cassidy:
We're going to the Dominican Republic. So we're looking forward to a family trip.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, awesome. That sounds fantastic. I have not been to that particular republic, so that sounds pretty fun. Jaidyn, what was one of the questions that you asked your mom?

Cassidy:
What's one of the questions?

Jaidyn:
What is something you love doing with your family?

Cassidy:
What is something I love doing with my family? We love going on trips. We also love playing games. We love playing family games. We have game nights a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like games too. What's one of your favorite games, Jaidyn?

Jaidyn:
We usually play Uno or Sorry.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay. Wow. Those are fun. Now tell me, what are some of the things you're thankful for Jaidyn?

Jaidyn:
I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my house, and that I get to go to school. The sports that I do, the stuff that my mom and dad pay for, like the trips and stuff that I do.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, what's your favorite thing about school?

Cassidy:
I ask this question every day, huh?

Anthony Godfrey:
Recess and lunch are acceptable answers.

Cassidy:
No, she doesn’t say that.

Jaidyn:
I like math.

Anthony Godfrey:
You like math? Fantastic. That's great. I really like math too. I wasn't as good at it as you are probably, but I did like math.

Cassidy:
She's pretty smart.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is there something about math that you like the most?

Jaidyn:
I really like multiplication.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. Okay, great. Well, you stay with that math. That's fantastic. And how about your mom? What do you think she's thankful for? Shall we ask her? All right.

Cassidy:
I'm thankful for my kids, and how good they are, and my family, and that we just have a roof over our head right now.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. Well, thank you for being here and thanks for talking with me today.

Cassidy:
Yeah, absolutely. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Have a great Thanksgiving, both of you. And a wonderful trip to the Dominican Republic.

Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about the activity today.

Lucie:
My name is Lucie. Something I like to do with my family, I like to do razor rides. And the Native American taught pilgrims how to grow corn. What is something you are glad you learned this year? I'm glad I learned division and multiplication.

Anthony Godfrey:
You like division and multiplication?

Lucie:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Is math your favorite subject?

Lucie:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Great. What are some of the things you're thankful for?

Lucie:
I am thankful for my family and my cousins, and I'm thankful that we could be here on earth.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a great thing to be thankful for. How many cousins do you have?

Lucie:
I would say on my mom's side, I have 30 something, but I have more than that now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Lucie:
And I also have on my dad's side, for my first cousins, I have about 10.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's a lot of cousins. That's good cousin time. Let's talk to your mom too. Let's ask her to introduce herself and what she's thankful for.

Angie:
I'm Angie and I am thankful for family and peace that you can create at home in a chaotic world.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. Tell me about "Parents and Pie".

Angie:
"Parents and Pie" has been really nice. I love seeing the kids sing their songs. Lucie's been singing her songs nonstop at home, so it's really fun to see it all put together with actions and the energy. It's been really sweet to have some time with her.

Anthony Godfrey:
Awesome. Lucie, tell me, what was your favorite song from the program?

Lucie:
Uh, I liked the dinner one the best.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I thought they were all so great. What does the song talk about? One foot high. What's one foot high in the song?

Lucie:
The turkey dinner.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, the turkey dinner. Okay. Well, hopefully your turkey dinner is one foot high and you get lots of cousin time.

Angie:
I love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Happy Thanksgiving. Have a great time.

Angie:
Happy Thanksgiving to you guys.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks very much. Thanks for taking the time.

Students Singing:

We are thankful, we are thankful. We are thankful, oh we are thankful.
We're thankful for the things we have, thankful for the things we have.
Ohhh, thankful!

We are thankful, we are thankful. We are thankful, oh we are thankful.
We're thankful for the things we are, thankful for the things we are.
Thankful for the things we have, thankful for the things we have.
Ohhh, thankful!

We are thankful, we are thankful. We are thankful, oh we are thankful.
We're thankful for the things we do, thankful for the things we do.
Thankful for the things we are, thankful for the things we are.
Thankful for the things we have, thankful for the things we have.
Ohhh, thankful!

We are thankful, we are thankful. We are thankful, oh we are thankful.
We’re thankful for the things we’ll be, thankful for the things we’ll be.
Thankful for the things we do, thankful for the things we do.
Thankful for the things we are, thankful for the things we are.
Thankful for the things we have, thankful for the things we have.
Ohhh, thankful!

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 and thank you for listening.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Students at Majestic Elementary Arts Academy received a real-life lesson in Native American culture and traditions in their classrooms recently. They were even treated to a taste of homemade fry bread. On this episode of the Supercast, we head to Majestic along with a representative from BYU who grew up in New Mexico as part of the Navajo Nation. She shares her incredible story with students and the Supercast as we celebrate National Native American Heritage Month.

We're here with the principal of Majestic Elementary Arts Academy. Introduce yourself and tell us about what's happening today.

Marianne Johansen:
My name is Marianne Johansen, and today we are celebrating Native American Heritage Month by inviting the Native American Arts and Culture Initiative Director from BYU. She's here reading a story called Fry Bread to our students, and she's talking about Native American history and Native American culture. And then we will be using her special recipe for fry bread and serving it to the students so they can kind of have that experience.

Eric, what do you want my man? Yeah, put this in the middle right here. Okay. Okay. Honey butter. That's where it's at, my friend. There you go, enjoy it!

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about why you invited BYU here to help. Tell us about that relationship with BYU.

Marianne Johansen:
Yeah, so Jordan District has an arts partnership with BYU and that has really helped us as we have started this Arts magnet school. They are helping all of our classroom teachers get their Arts Integration Endorsements. So one of their facilitators is here today helping Brenda, she's the Native American director that is here helping us read the story today. One of their professors is here helping her get the lesson pushed out, and she helped write the fry bread lessons that all of our teachers have been doing in class with their students over the last couple of weeks to prepare them for today.

Anthony Godfrey:
So this is a culminating activity for some things that kids have been doing in class throughout the last couple of weeks.

Marianne Johansen:
Yes. So the professor that is here today, Jen Purdy, wrote the Fry Bread lesson plans in conjunction with input from Brenda, and our teachers were asked to do parts of those lessons. So that has included some videos of watching people make fry bread. That has included some information about Native American history and culture. And then the students using instruments or vocal play to make some soundscapes representing kind of those stories and that history and using some of that culture and those lessons.

Anthony Godfrey:
And the food, and the soundscapes, and the partnership with BYU, and taking advantage of the Native American Curriculum Initiative are just examples of the way that Majestic is focused on creating a really immersive experience for kids. Just making sure that their learning is at a deep level and involves some real life experiences.

Marianne Johansen:
Yes, exactly. And we really wanted to focus on making sure that we brought in somebody from the Native American culture that could really connect our students to those stories and to that experience. We definitely shoot for a high depth of knowledge on all of those subjects, and that's how the arts help with that. They help the students create things on a higher level so that they really get a full understanding of what that means.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love how intentional you are about this and many other things that are wonderful about Majestic. Just making sure that teachers are laying the groundwork so that when you have these guests here from BYU that it has the most impact that it possibly could because they're prepared. They're ready to learn more from someone with a Native American background.

Marianne Johansen:
Yes. And we are very intentional about those things. In fact, we even had Jen prepare teachers in their Arts Endorsement class. So my teachers are here from 4:00-7:00 every Monday earning their Arts Integration endorsements. And Jen came in and prepped the teachers on the lessons to make sure that those were delivered correctly and efficiently with the students. And we do try to do that with all of the core subjects. With math, with science, we really try to think things out beforehand to make sure that the students get the most out of what they're learning.

Anthony Godfrey:
And in case anyone missed that the first time you said it, every week teachers spend from 4:00-7:00 getting additional training on how to, not just make art a part of the day, but to integrate it into instruction. And this is another example of that, with the soundscape and everything that they've done to prepare for today. So congratulations on going all in. Majestic doesn't do anything halfway, and it's really exciting to be here this morning.

Marianne Johansen:
Well, thank you so much. We're so, so excited to have you. And we love having the opportunity to help students learn in a unique and creative way.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, find out how much students enjoyed their fry bread.

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 and counselors. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org.

Brenda Beyal:
I want to know if you have been learning this week about fry bread, just by the raise of your hand. Oh, fantastic. What activities have you done with fry bread, with the fry bread lesson? Oh, do you want to show me how to make it? Okay. Stand up and show us how you make it, and if you know how to make it go ahead and work with him and just do what he's doing.

Student:
Okay. So first you put the powder and flour and then you put some kind of powder or whatever.

Brenda Beyal:
Salt.

Student:
Salt. And then, um, yeah, you do this.

Brenda Beyal:
What is that called?

Student:
Dough.

Brenda Beyal:
You mix it.

Student:
It's called dough.

Brenda Beyal:
It is called dough.

Brenda Beyal:
Oh, first of all you, what do you do first?

Student:
You put water maybe.

Brenda Beyal:
You put water in it.

Student:
And then you like stretch out the dough stuff, and then put it on the pan, and then just flip it over when it gets to like bread stuff.

Brenda Beyal:
Oh, fantastic. Fry bread is made all across the United States. I'm going to read this story, that a man that's not even Navajo wrote, because fry bread is a part of every Native American culture here in the United States. This is called Fry Bread, a Native American Family Story. Fry bread is food, flour, salt, water, and he says corn meal. So his tribe makes it different. Baking powder, perhaps milk, maybe sugar, because they took the original recipe and they added their own ingredients to make their kind of fry bread.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here with two representatives from BYU who are here at Majestic Elementary Arts Academy as part of the Native American Curriculum Initiative. Thank you very much for being here. Would you please introduce yourselves.

Brenda Beyal:
(Brenda Beyal introduces herself in Navajo.)

I just introduced myself to you in Navajo and it's just something that we traditionally do. I let you know that I am born into the Salt Clan and born for the Towering House people. And then I let you know about my maternal and paternal grandparents.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me about that.

Brenda Beyal:
It's a way of developing kinship and finding those who you may think you have no relations to in a group setting. You may find that they have the same clan as you, and so automatically you find that you have relatives among you. When I was teaching school, I had a young boy come from the Navajo Nation to my 3rd grade class. He introduced himself to me in Navajo. And he was t'áá 'áhání, which means that he was my grandfather. And so for the rest of the school year, I called him Shicheii, which made him feel like I am a part. This place that I am in, away from the Navajo Nation, I still can find relatives. And so sometimes, I still see him and I'll call him Shicheii.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that it's a way of making a connection immediately when you introduce yourself. Now tell me again, break that down for me again. Tell us about the information you shared in Navajo.

Brenda Beyal:
So I shared that I was born into the Salt Clan.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what does the Salt Clan mean exactly?

Brenda Beyal:
The Navajo people belong to different clans, and we all belong to the clan that our mother is. And then we are born for our father's clan. And so we have over 40 some odd clans that are traditional clans in the Navajo Nation. And so anywhere you go, you might find a relative. Just because you are able to, you know, share your clan.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, great. So through the Clan is where you would possibly determine that you are related?

Brenda Beyal:
Yes. Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And then what was the next part that you talked about?

Brenda Beyal:
The next part we're talking about was my maternal grandfather's clan and my paternal grandfather's clan. So you already know that I am born into the Salt Clan, which is my mother's clan, and I'm born for my father's clan. And so now I share my grandfather on my mother's side's clan, and my grandfather on my father's side's clan. My grandfather on my father's side, he would be my shinálí. And on my mother's side, my grandfather would be shicheii.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's very moving because it emphasizes right out, even as you introduce yourself, just the broad connection you have with ancestors and with family.

Brenda Beyal:
Family is extremely important to the Navajo people. In fact, all indigenous cultures, we believe in multi-generational kinds of learning. And so school, or our kind of school before we had buildings where where learning was had, there was constant learning with people among us. Whether it was our aunts or our uncles or our grandfathers or our grandmothers. And so the idea of multi-generational learning and living is one of the fabrics of Navajo culture.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now you grew up as part of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, is that right?

Brenda Beyal:
I grew up in Tohatchi, New Mexico. It is around the Four Corners area, probably 80 miles from Shiprock, New Mexico. And yes, I grew up there and I graduated from high school there and then came to college.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you're talking to third graders today?

Brenda Beyal:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
What was it like being a third grader for you?

Brenda Beyal:
When I was a third grader, I had a wonderful teacher. I loved to read and I loved to just learn new things. But I was actually the champion cursive writer in third grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Impressive.

Brenda Beyal:
Impressive right?

Anthony Godfrey:
It makes an impact still today that, ‘Hey, wait a minute. I was a champion back then.’

Brenda Beyal:
Yeah. Third grade. And so that's one thing I remember about third grade. But also, I remember around this season when the first frost and when things started getting cold, we started playing string games. I just remember carrying around my string and learning all different kinds of patterns and designs. And I have a sister, my older sister,  who I would consider one of the most expert string game people. And so to this day, when she comes and visits, we still get our string out and we will play with them. And one of the reasons why you do this in the winter time is because that's when the spiders are away. And if you were to play with them in the spring or the summer, you invite the spiders into your web. And I don't ever wanna do that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. No, none of us do. What do you hope students come away with after having the chance to meet you and hear your presentation today?

Brenda Beyal:
Well, that's an interesting question because what we hope they continue to do is to learn and become more curious about the true history of the indigenous tribes here in Utah. What we share in our Native American Curriculum Initiative is not what people think, maybe historians or curriculum book writers or anyone else feels that children should know, but we share information that the eight Sovereign Nations here in Utah would like children to know. And so what I hope they come away with is a new understanding, maybe a correction of narrative, of how they think about Native Americans. That we are still here, that we are not invisible, that we are continuing to move forward. That we have a legacy of resilience. Though there have been many things in history that have been hard for Native Americans, but we have overcome.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a compelling message. Thank you very much for being here to share that with our students.

Brenda Beyal:
You're welcome.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell us about this program and introduce yourself a bit.

Jennifer Purdy:
My name's Jennifer Purdy and I'm a program coordinator with BYU ARTS Partnership. My primary art form is music, but I've been an elementary educator for many years as well as special education and music education. And now I get to work with these amazing people like Brenda. And like she said, collectively we talk and develop things. And so this lesson plan, Fry Bread, and the activities contained in that lesson were developed in collaboration with other team members.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic. Now, I heard you talking about soundscape before. Tell me what that means and why that's a part of this lesson.

Jennifer Purdy:
We actually took a video of a woman, a traditional woman, making fry bread in Monument Valley over an open fire. And it gives students an opportunity to listen, what are you hearing? And as they listen to this video, they may hear the sound of the crackling of the fire, the bubbling of the oil, the patting of her hands as she's flattening the dough into the shape to fry the bread. And you can combine those and have children actually use instruments to represent some of those sounds, or vocalizations, or body percussion, which means clapping or patting or things like that. And just create and recreate what they heard on the video. And that may not sound like your traditional music concepts that you talk about. But you're listening, you're playing, you're creating, and those are all really important aspects of music.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's engaging all of the senses in learning and making sure that we don't glide over and forget the importance of sound as we're trying to create an immersive experience for students. I love the intentionality of the way that you've gone out to talk with people and say, what do you want kids to learn about your culture? It's just a great way to approach it.

Brenda Beyal:
So this fry bread lesson is more of a general lesson? Yeah, because fry bread is eaten all across the United States. And so we felt like we needed to,

Anthony Godfrey:
By me on numerous occasions.

Brenda Beyal:
Numerous. So now what we're doing is we're helping children build a context around fry bread. And through this lesson, they learn important history of the Navajo people and where fry bread originated and how it came to be. And then we bring in all of the other cultures that use or make fry bread now across the country.

Anthony Godfrey:
You talked about curiosity earlier. And I think these lessons are gonna be impactful for the rest of their lives, not just because of the content, but because it will ignite this curiosity about people around them so that they can really be open to learning more about the people they interact with throughout their lives.

Brenda Beyal:
You're absolutely right. Another component of that curiosity is just children who come from indigenous cultures that are in the schools. It's an opportunity for them to see themselves reflected in the curriculum. And so if we have children who are from, from different Native American tribes, it sometimes. I remember third grade, there wasn't much that represented me in the curriculum. And so the string game connected me, that I could do in school. That was what I did. But all of the other things I learned were not reflective of who I was. And so we are hoping to change that for children.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you for bringing this rich experience to our students and to our school. They've been sitting behind us this whole time. I think. I haven't even looked, but they're so quiet. I'm not even sure they're there.

Brenda Beyal:
I know. They're amazing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. There they are. Look at that. Okay. Well, I'm going to stop standing in the way of you getting to interact with these great students. Thank you again for taking the time for these students and for talking with me today.

Brenda Beyal:
Thank you. Thank you. We appreciate it.

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.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a process schools are required to use when they need to conduct a controlled and safe release of students to parents or guardians following an emergency or other significant disruption to the normal school schedule. On this episode of the Supercast, we dive into the most important details of Reunification. We'll explain why understanding how Reunification works can help us get students safely back home to loved ones in an emergency situation. We're talking today with Lance Everill, our Emergency Operations Manager. Lance, thanks for taking time again to be on the Supercast.

Lance Everill:
Good morning. It's my pleasure to be here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Lance does a ton of great work to keep us all safe, and students in particular, here in Jordan School District as you've heard on previous podcast episodes. If you've been listening in. We wanted to talk with him today about the Reunification process. What it is, when we might use that process, and what it will look like, first of all, from a parent's perspective. I want to remind everyone, this is just one aspect of what we do to keep kids safe and to keep our employees safe. So many different things can possibly happen when we have as many students and employees and buildings as we do, and so we have to be prepared for anything. So it's rare that we need to use this procedure, but we really want to be sure that we have it in place, and that we've trained well, and that we're prepared if we do need it. So, Lance, would you mind starting out just telling us about what Reunification is and when we might need it?

Lance Everill:
So a Reunification would be a time when we have to release students either earlier than a normal release time or later than a normal release time. And this would be because there's some type of an emergency or disruption to the normal school day schedule that would cause us to have to do that. Now, that's obviously not what we want to do is to release students at a time different than normal. And the reason is, is because at that normal release time, the whole rest of the world outside of the school district and the school, lines up to meet and greet, and receive, and pick up, and babysitters, and family members, and neighbors, and whomever might have that charge to take care of those kids. So ideally, we always release that normal end of the school day, but we do have the ability to then release early or later if it's warranted.

Anthony Godfrey:
We only need Reunification after something has happened at the school that requires us, as you said, to either keep kids in place beyond the end of the school day or to release them early. And there can be any number of reasons for that. But there's been communication to parents before Reunification happens about what's happening at the school.

Lance Everill:
Yes. Yeah, so we have multiple means to do that. The most common way that the District communicates with parents is through the Skylert Messaging System. So all parents and guardians should have an opportunity beforehand to identify the best means that they can receive those Skylert messages related to all kinds of school business. And in this circumstance, obviously related to a school specific emergency where we needed the parents to be aware and then if we needed to enact a Reunification.

Anthony Godfrey:
So let's go through a scenario. Let's say that there is construction going on around the school and workers hit a gas line, and we start to smell that in the school. So we know that we can't continue the school day. Talk me through what may happen as a result of that.

Lance Everill:
So the first response would be to do a shelter in place, which is a response to the chemical spill outside, if you will. So we would try to stay in the building as long as we could, as long as it's safe. So the first reaction the school would have would be to shut down the air handlers to prevent the outside air from coming in. So we're not bringing in noxious air into our students and staff in the occupied spaces. If for some reason it got so bad that law enforcement and the fire department determine as a public safety issue, we can't stay at the school property. Now, keep in mind, we always want to stay at the school property if and when it's safe to do so, because it's all of our tools, our controls, our food, our water, restrooms, everything that we need to sustain, plus our background checked people. But in the interest of immediate life safety, if it's determined that we have to exit the property altogether, all schools have identified a secondary evacuation location that's just for immediate life safety. Let's get to a church house, or a local business just down the street, or the school next door, where we have an understanding that we can relocate in the interim.

Anthony Godfrey:
And many times we are able to dispatch buses very quickly and get kids loaded onto buses. We have people in the office that can drive. We do have some spare buses. So in case of an emergency, I've also seen us scramble and just get kids on buses quickly.

Lance Everill:
Yes. And that is a great option because the last thing we wanna do is have our kids stuck in a parking lot somewhere or a park just down the street for an extended period of time. Naturally, there's going to be needs that everyone has with using restrooms, food and water. Also, the nice thing about what you're saying is if we can transport kids from that secondary evacuation location to another one of the Jordan School District facilities, let's say a middle school or a high school down the street that has a large auditorium or a large gymnasium, cafeteria that they can help us house the student body in. Then we all of a sudden have gotten our kids back within a Jordan School District facility again, with our controls, our food, our water, our people, our background checked people, and then that way we're not also imposing on a local business.
Anthony Godfrey:
I can think of some specific examples where we've pulled kids to say the auditorium at a high school, and what do we do? We continue instruction. We've actually been able to hold onto kids, we get the problem solved, and we bring them back to the school. But for purposes of this discussion, let's say that we aren't able to return kids to school. We determine that we need to end the day and we can't continue instruction. And let's just, for the sake of argument, assume that they're still at the school, but we, and, and they're safe for the time being, but we know that we need to reunify them with parents and guardians for the remainder of the day. So talk me through what that looks like as a parent. They've probably already received a notice that we've been alerted of a gas leak. We're working on that. Once we determine that Reunification is necessary, then what does it look like from a parent's perspective?

Lance Everill:
So I think the parents, one of the first things we'll do is just to reassure them that everybody's safe and that the emergency or the disruption has been handled, like you're saying. But now we've determined that we have to reunify them either earlier or later than the normal release time. So part of that process is, is we can notify parents in advance. The District has produced about a six to seven minute long video that's housed on the Auxiliary Services website, under the Incident Command page that's strictly for parents and guardians to view. And it gives them some information in advance of an emergency of what they could expect in this type of a circumstance. So it talks about staying home, staying informed, and being ready. When we talk about being ready, that means knowing that I will be called to come to the school or the Reunification location to pick up the child accordingly. So when they are notified that they can come to the school or wherever that Reunification center is, that they will come as directed by the school, bring their ID, and then we have a process that we help cycle them through so they can get their kid and take their kid home for the day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Talk us through what that looks like on our end, on the school's end. What are the things we're doing to be sure that students go home with their family?

Lance Everill:
So one of the most important things about schools directing parents and guardians to watch this Reunification video in advance, is because it talks about how important it is for us to try and be as orderly as we can when coming to pick up kids. Because you have to imagine that whatever the disruption was or the potential emergency that occurred during the day, there's probably a heightened sense of emotion in all those parents and guardians as well. And they're eager to get home or eager to get to the school to pick up their child. So an important thing for them to understand is that this is a meticulous process. There's nothing more important for the school and the school district than student life safety and student accountability.

A good thing that parents and guardians can do in advance of this, is to make sure that in their student Skyward records, that they've identified multiple people that they authorize to be able to check out their child in case of an emergency or other type of need. That really helps because if we're released, if we have to reunify students before the end of the school day, a lot of parents might be at work. They might be stuck in meetings. They could even be in the next county related to their business. So that becomes extremely hard for them to then break away from that and make it all the way out to the school then to go through the Reunification process. Additionally, because of that heightened sense of excitement, they might be, ‘I can't wait half an hour. I can't wait 45 minutes. I need to know that my child is safe now.’ So it's really helpful when they keep those checkout rights in the student skyward records updated and with as many people as that they are comfortable listing.

So when the parents then come, they will be greeted at the school, and told where they can line up and what to prepare for. We have a student Reunification Checkout Card that we provide to every parent or guardian that they fill out who their student is. Then when they check in at the school, they have an opportunity to then show their ID so the school can verify who the person is and then verify within the Skyward that they have the right to pick up the child. Once we've verified that, then the parents are directed to a spot to wait for the kid, the Reunification center or the Reunification area. Then a runner takes this verified student checkout card to the applicable teacher area where the kid is, notifies the teacher that they're picking up this particular student, and then they go to the Reunification area to reunify the student with the parent or guardian. At that point, what's really important is that we take that student checkout card and we mark on there, indicating that the student was reunified with that parent or guardian. That becomes our accountability process because we have records of the student coming to school. We took accountability and attendance related to the emergency, and then we are doing this final accounting once the student is checked out and reunified with that parent or guardian.

Anthony Godfrey:
And when do they fill out this form?

Lance Everill:
There's a couple of different ways they can do that. Part of our Reunification video online advises them that if they want, they can fill out the bulk of it in advance and they can do it online. We have these forms available online for parents and guardians, both in English and Spanish. We do have a form fillable document on there. They could fill out the basics of the information in advance, and they could even keep it in an appropriate place. Their glove box, their wallet, their purse, or something like that. And then related to if we do have an emergency, they just have to update it with the current date and the current time, and maybe just a little basic information. Otherwise, the school can provide these checkout cards when the parents arrive and they're greeted by the greeters. They'll be handed a checkout card that they can fill out, and then our checkers can then verify the ID and check out rights within Student Skyward.

Anthony Godfrey:
We'll provide a link to the video so that parents can watch that, and a link to the form as well in our show notes. As you pointed out, Lance, it's a time of heightened emotion, but this can take some time. And it can take some time because it's so vital that we make sure students are connected with their family appropriately. I think it's worth the time investment to be sure we do that the right way.

Lance Everill:
Right, and I know that parents and guardians expect that of us. They expect us to have constant accountability of their kids while they're in our care. And then once we turn them over, they would expect that we would keep meticulous records. What we can't afford is to have somebody bypass the checkout process. Whether that's the parent or guardian, they bypass our process, or the student bypasses and sees them, you know, in the parking lot and then runs away. And then we're like, ‘Well, where's little Johnny or Jane’ or whomever? So it's really important and we want them to support us that there's nothing more important to us than the safety and accountability of their child.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more on what you need to know about Reunification in a crisis.

Break:
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:
So tell me, on the school end of things, what does it look like? What are some of the roles that we have in place? You talked about a runner, you talked about a checker that can check IDs. What are some of the roles that are in place in case of Reunification?

Lance Everill:
So as part of our incident command process, we have roles identified at the school in advance to deal with all those various emergencies that could occur during a school day. Such as the Incident Commander, Documentation, Safety person, and so forth. Once the emergency has been handled and that we feel like that the scene is safe and everybody's accounted for and we're ready to enact a Reunification, the school can prop up some additional roles that are specific to Reunification. Such as greeters that welcome the parents when they get there. Checkers that check the parent's or guardian's ID, and verify that against the student's Skyward records. We have runners that then go to retrieve the student once the checkout rights have been verified.

We also have a special circumstance person that might be identified that we can pull parents off to the side that maybe have unique circumstances like English as a second language, or they don't have their ID. There might be some type of other medical issue that's occurring. So we want people to be able to attend those parents and guardians specifically to try and meet their needs in an expedited process as well.

We also might have an activity coordinator identified at the school to try and engage the students productively in some type of activity if they're not able to stay in their classrooms in the building. This helps minimize stress because we're keeping people engaged in activities. We want to keep the activity at that moment while we're waiting to reunify. We want to keep things as normal as we possibly can to bring everybody's stress level down to engage students so they don't worry unnecessarily. And then we also need to potentially have crisis counselors from the District queued up and ready to go just in case there's any type of traumatic things that we need to attend to with students and staff.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you for putting together such a thorough plan. And as you go through the roles, I'm reminded that every time there's an emergency, we are in great contact with fire and police. You work really hard at those relationships and we continue to be complimented on the work you've done to establish a close connection with all of our emergency services in all the municipalities that serve Jordan District. So thank you for making that such an essential part of, of what we do as a district, connecting with those emergency services is essential to effectively keeping everyone safe.

Lance Everill:
Yes. Just so everybody understands, we have a team of about 23-24 people just on the District Fire, Safety and Security side of this conversation. All these people. We have somebody on duty 24-7, 365. And so we are there to support schools and these types of efforts. And that's just talking about just on the district level, and we can get a lot more district employees engaged if we need to. But what you're talking about with that involvement with police and fire, we work really hard in our huge team at the Auxiliary Services in the district office to engage with them and plan appropriately. But the amount of work that the schools are doing with their School Resource Officer, and their DARE officer, and their local fire agency is tremendous. And a big part of what they do is invite them out to their drills so they have an understanding of what they're doing and also get some of their input on things like, ‘Hey, how can we improve things?  And what can we do better from your professional perspective?’

Anthony Godfrey:
Lance, I appreciate that explanation of our relationship with emergency services. I think that's, like I said, it's really important to our success and you work very hard at that. And I know that they were involved in modifying this Reunification plan to meet the needs of Jordan because we need them to be on board with the plan as well. So they were part of developing it from a best practice national model used throughout the country. So this has some really good backing this, this Reunification plan. It isn't just one person sitting in an office putting this together.

Hopefully we need to use it very rarely, but I just appreciate your continual focus on student safety. Parents out there who may be wondering, ‘Hey, what happens if this happens or that happens?’ You are always thinking about that. I really appreciate that you've had such a laser focus on all of the what ifs and we go about our daily business. We make sure that we're well trained, but you are always thinking about what could happen and what we need to be doing to be as prepared as possible.

Just to summarize, I appreciate your advice here to parents and that is to watch the video, be aware of that form, and if something does happen in that unlikely situation, just be ready to hear from the school about when to come and pick your child up. In most cases, we are able to continue the school day. We're able to keep kids safe. We keep parents informed, but mostly we can keep kids at school. But in the rare case, when we need parents to come, making it clear to them where to come and when to be there, I think can give a lot of comfort just for parents to know that we have that in place.

Lance Everill:
That's one of the biggest things we're really trying to accomplish. We're trying to inform everyone. And when we talk about responding to an emergency or enacting a Reunification from a school, it's not just about the students and the staff, it's obviously about the parents, guardians, and community members as well. So when we're all well informed, we've had an opportunity in a non chaotic moment to learn and understand the why. Why are we doing this? Now that we all buy into the why, how do we do it? When we all understand why and how we are going to make this happen, it's going to work in a much more efficient way while maintaining a safe environment, student safety and proper accountability.

Anthony Godfrey:
Like you said, we just have to stay focused on the purpose. The purpose is to keep kids safe and when necessary, reunify them with their family during the school day or after the school day. It's student safety and it's the peace of mind of parents that are at the forefront. Well, thank you again to you and your team, a large team, which if this happens, is gonna be on site, helping make sure that things go smoothly. You guys are always quick to respond and to be there for small incidents, for large incidents. And I really appreciate your responsiveness.

Lance Everill:
Well, thank you so much. And like I said, it's been a team effort. And we really rely on our professional emergency management and first responder community to give us best practice direction.

Anthony Godfrey:
As I like to say, we all have different roles, but the same goals, and that goal is student safety.

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.