Supercast

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are considered pioneers in their sport, making history throughout the State of Utah. Girls' high school wrestling became a sanctioned sport for the first time this year, and at Copper Hills High School, it was an exciting season filled with success. On this episode of the Supercast, we stopped by the wrestling room at Copper Hills High, where the girls wrestling team is still talking about their first ever State Tournament. Several of the girls walked away with State Championships and the team placed second overall. They are girls in a league of their own, literally making history during Women's History Month.

We're here at Copper Hills High School with the girls wrestling team coaches. I'm going to let them introduce themselves, and we're going to talk about this sport that was just sanctioned this year by UHSAA.

Coach:
Hi, my name is Coach Hatch. I've been a coach in here at Copper Hills for 12 years. This is my first year with the girls, as expected, because it's the first year they've been sanctioned. It's been a lot of fun and a great learning experience.

Coach
Hi, I'm Cheryl Flowers. I'm the Assistant Coach here at the girls wrestling team and I've coached other sports here a couple of years. My daughter wrestles, so I joined this team.

Coach
Hi, I'm Scott Post, Head Coach here at Copper Hills High School. I'm excited to be here and to share our excitement for the sport with our girl wrestlers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Cheryl, tell me, what other sports do you coach?

Coach:
I coached basketball a couple of years back, but I stopped doing that because I was a mom first. Now my kids have all grown more and I've got my last two in the high school here. So I decided to help with the wrestling team when my daughter decided to wrestle.

Anthony Godfrey:
How does it feel to coach your daughter in wrestling the first year that it's sanctioned?

Coach:
Oh, it's an amazing experience. These girls are amazing. And to have my girl on the team, it's been fun. She's watched her brother. She's had four older brothers that have wrestled here at Copper Hills and to watch them, she kind of came in with a little bit of an advantage, you know, watching her brothers wrestle.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's exciting. What were some of the hesitations you had going into it and how do you feel about those now?

Coach:
Well, in the past, it's been a real male dominant sport, right? And watching these girls start to go up the lines in the State of Utah, some of these girls that have been amazing throughout the State. She's watched them do it, because we've gone to all these tournaments, watching these girls wrestle and she's like, mom, I just want to try it. And I said, okay, let's try it and see where it goes. And she actually is pretty good at it. So we thought, okay, why not? You know, but it's a hard sport to be against boys with. And now that it's sanctioned for girls, it's opened it up for these girls that wouldn't want to wrestle boys.

Anthony Godfrey:
Her older brothers are big fans .

Coach:
Very much so, very much. They love her and they support her one hundred percent.

Anthony Godfrey:
What would you say to parents who are thinking about encouraging their daughters to be part of this or whose daughters have asked to be part of it?

Coach:
Just come try a practice, right? Let them roll around on the mat, see how they like it. See if it's something that they'd be interested in. It's been really interesting to watch the different kinds of girls that are coming out. Like they said earlier, they'd come from all walks of life, different sports, dancers and everything. I would encourage any girl that wants to even try it to just to come try it, roll around on the mat. We're welcomed. They're welcome at Copper Hills at any time. We'll take anybody just to show them. We want to build a sport statewide.

Coach:
Of course, up until this year, my oldest daughter, who's a senior on the team. She wrestled on the boys team and was competitive, did a really good job wrestling on the boys team. But  with that being sanctioned, they gave them a whole new opportunity to share their love for a sport with a bunch of girls that weren't used to it yet. So that's been fun. Let's start running fireman's, so hit that lead leg, right? Heavy hand as you're coming in on that, and let's start running four or five fireman's in a row and then switched back over. And I don't care if we're dumping it or launching it, but I want to go fireman after fireman, after fireman and we'll come around and help you guys out as well as we're running through those.

Anthony Godfrey:
Will you describe a fireman now as you've told them to do that?

Coach:

Yes, they run in and grab them. So traditionally, if you think about a fireman and there's a fire, that poor fireman has to put your listless body over his back and carry you down a couple flights of stairs and save you from that burning building. And so essentially that's what it is. You get a good tie up, and we shoot the opposite hand underneath, grab those legs, pull down on the other side, just like you're carrying them. But as opposed to pick them up and running around, you throw them to their back. The reason we're working this focused on today is girls actually in college and in the Olympics wrestle was called freestyle, a slightly different version of what's wrestled in high school, which is called folk style. And so we're actually now going into our freestyle season. There are a handful of girls here that have had some opportunities and offers from colleges to go wrestle. And and so as we're going into freestyle season, we want to focus on moves like this in folk style. If you hit this move, it's worth two points. If we do this in freestyle, because you take them from their feet to their back, it's worth four points.

Coach:
Go for the hip. Yeah, no, it's fine here. Right? We've captured the arm here on this other side. We always want to make sure we keep that arm and never let that go.

Student:
Fireman's my least favorite moves.

And why is, Fireman's your least favorite?

Student:
Love fireman. Love them, but I don't like putting people over my shoulders.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So yeah, I could see that at first it's a little uncomfortable, but then you - I just don't even know how I would start to do that. That's impressive that you guys can even do that. Tell me your name. I

Student:
I'm TT.

Anthony:
And you are Kara. How have you enjoyed wrestling? Did you just start or how long have you been wrestling?

Student:
My first year, so it's all new to me. I think it's pretty fun. It's amazing.

Student:
This is my first year too. I joined because I thought I needed to do a high school sport. Can't get into high school, not doing anything. And I love it so much. It's just phenomenal, such a fun year.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's fun to be involved. And you've got to find something to connect with school. I've heard that there's a real family feel and that happens really fast. Tell me about that.

Student:
I love to talk, but I don't get like sister close with people. But when I met these girls, the first day I walked in, our coach's youngest daughter was like, mom, and she starts whispering to Mrs. Pace. And then Mrs. Bass comes over. She's like, your hair looks one of our Barbies. And that moment I was like, this is family. Like, I love you girls so much. They're all funny. They're all protective. You know, they'll make good choices. They're great girls.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. Have you guys had a good support from the school? From the student body?

Student:
Oh yeah. All those things. I think most everybody knows who we are.

Anthony Godfrey:
It is Women's History Month and you ladies have made history. How does that feel?

Student:
Every day I walk into the high school, well, every other day, and I look at the trophy case and I'm picking out which trophy case should be ours because we, this is our first year and we've done so much. Like it's the practices, it's the new varsity jackets that are going to be passed down forever and ever. It's going to tournaments and walking out First Place. It's standing up to other people who are like, oh, girls wrestling is weird. And you know, it's big, it's a lot of pressure on our shoulders. And I think we've made a lot. We've made too much history, like too much for us to handle. So we need more girls to come. So they can help us blaze the trail.

Anthony Godfrey:
You are blazing a trail. There's no doubt about it.

Coach:
However, if we have one more circle on that, that angle is going to be there. And what that hand up with, pull on, pull that right. Create that angle. Half the body, attack the weak side. Let's go High C and then let's leave it in that low leg lace. And if you want to walk them through what we're doing out here and we'll get after it. That's what's unique and different about it is in folk style. There's a lot of stalling. You're staying in that position. Nothing's happening. There's no scoring. It kind of comes a little bit slower.

Anthony:
I've observed that.

Coach:
Whereas in freestyle, there's a lot more action. It's a lot more consistent. And that's why we only wrestled folk style down in the United States.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Coach:
Everything in the Olympics has Greco or freestyle. And free style really benefits those that are being aggressive and that's what's made Copper Hills actually really unique this year is all of our girls learned from the moment they walked in the door is we're going to attack. And everything that we are going to do is going to be through the whole idea of attacking you. Look at some of their wrestling gear. We put attack on everything because we're going to be aggressive. We're going to dictate the match. And we want our opponent responding to us. Someone's got to react to someone who's reacting to who? We want to make sure the word dictates that action.

Anthony Godfrey:
So with certain athletes, some muscle groups may be better developed than others. And with wrestling, you pretty much have to have it all working for you, don't you?

Coach:
Absolutely. And I can attest that my daughter's on the team and she's a competitive volleyball player and she also does track. And after about the first week of wrestling, she said dad I am using muscles I didn't even know I had.

Anthony Godfrey:
So among many other good reasons for being a part of the wrestling program, it prepares you well conditioning and and toughness and all of that  for any other competition you might be involved in.

Coach:
Oh, absolutely. And I'll be honest with you, and this is going to sound funny, but girls are more willing to learn. I think boys come in with, Hey, we already know what we're doing. And these girls have been like sponges. I mean, you teach them or show them things and they literally just soak it right up. They've actually been easier to teach and coach than the boys now, they don't have that pride side, right? There's a mental difference, right? When we're guys, you teach a move.

Yeah. Coach, I'm doing that, you go over to the corner and try to just fake it. Whereas girls ask questions that, they are different. Why, what angle? And at first, when we first started coaching girls, years ago it was, are they stalling? Why are you asking all these questions make jokes? You know? And then I started realizing they really want to know the exact points to what really makes that move unique.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a genuine desire to know, not just what to do, but why am I doing it? And how can I do it?

Coach:
Exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back with the team, find out how wrestling is having a positive impact outside of the sport for the successful.

Break:
If you're ready to start your child on the path to personalized learning, we are ready to help. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is coming to Jordan School District in the 2021-22 school year. Three new schools will be opening as part of the Academy. Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School and Kings Peak High School. Each school will have their own principal and teachers and each will give students a choice in their own learning. The schools will offer synchronous learning, which is teachers providing real time, live online instruction and asynchronous learning where teachers provide videotaped instruction for learning on a student's schedule to your student. In the Jordan Virtual Learning Academy, visit http://connect.jordandistrict.org.

Students:
I'm Brooklyn Face. I'm Emma Williams. I'm Anya Hat, I'm Meridian Grand Prix, Bradley Graham, PT Onsot, I'm Karen LLloyd, Kimberly Flours. I'm Alyssa Pace.

Anthony Godfrey:
I am so impressed with what I've seen and I just think it's awesome. And maybe people picture girls wrestling and they wonder what that's like. Well, I can tell you is it's a lot of toughness and a lot of learning and man, a lot of hard work and you guys are doing great. Let me ask you this right off. Have you had some injuries this year? Tell me about some of the injuries you've had right here.

Student:
I started off the season kind of with an injured hip and throughout the year it kinda got worse. And then there was this one move that Brooklyn really, really likes and it messed up my shoulder. So that was fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. That's good. Tell me about competing in State. The first year that girls wrestling was sanctioned at the high school level. I know this isn't the first year wrestling for all of you, but tell me how that felt, being part of that.

Student:
Pretty weird going from knowing every single girl wrestler in the entire State of Utah to showing up to State and just seeing so many like new girls, so many girls I'd never seen before. It was just as big as the boys tournament. And it was awesome. I was so excited to be there.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you were surprised to see so many from around the State participating, right?

Student:
It was a lot different than it had been in the other years. So it was different, but I wasn't surprised. I love wrestling so much. So why wouldn't every other girl love it so much?

Anthony Godfrey:
How many years have you been wrestling?

Student:
Six, I think. I don't know, a long time.

Anthony Godfrey:
You all seem to be having a great time at this. Tell me, what you love most about wrestling.

Student:
Honestly, it's the confidence boost. I walked in here and I thought I was pretty confident. And then you start doing the practices and learning new things and you're like, oh, this is really hard. But then you get the hang of it and you start getting in the mentality, I can do hard things and it just completely changes how you see yourself, I guess.

Student:
I really liked making friends with season. I talk a lot. And so when we got to go meet other teams. I was like, okay, well we'll have two options. Be rude or go make friends. And I made a lot of friends this season. I know there was probably a girl on every team laughing. That's a really good thing that when we were on like a big family, we're like cousins, even though we're all different teams and we all like our competition, but we're all playing for the same goal.

Student:
Before there weren't as many girl wrestlers, until this year, and so they put a little side tournament of three or four girls wrestling. And so this year it's really fun to see lots more girls joining the sport. There's just more people to wrestle and so it's really fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you think it will continue to grow?

Student:
Yeah, for sure. I think this year was a good jumpstart and it was a little tricky with COVID and some parents were like, Oh, I don't know what are girls wrestling?  What's that? But now that it's kind of a real thing. I think next year everyone will be like, Oh yeah, girls wrestling is a thing. That's awesome. I want my girls to be a part of that. So I think it will just keep jumping and growing as it goes on.

Anthony Godfrey:
Can I ask you if that's a wrestling black eye?

It is. It happened last weekend at my tournament.

Anthony Godfrey:
That looks like it was a little bit gruesome. Tell me what happened at your tournament.

Student:
So I went up to Logan for Showcase Qualifiers Tournament and I got the take down and it was freestyle. So I was working for the gut. The girl tried to defend it and hit her head up super hard and right into my eyebrow. And it like instantly blew up. I won the match though.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I'm just going to say, you kind of had an Incredible Hulk kind of thing happen after that. And she got to the mat pretty quickly, I'll bet.

Students:
I didn't get the points that I wanted to, I was a little flustered, but I did end up winning, like 16 to 6.

Anthony Godfrey:
Watching the practice that does not surprise me. Tell me, what do you love about wrestling?

Student:
The competition and the confidence boost I got. It really helps with softball and wrestling.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So you play softball as well?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's harder?

Student:
Wrestling.

Anthony Godfrey:
What else are you involved in?

Student:
So my last two years of high school, I'm a senior this year, my last two years I was on Dance Company so I did studio dance. I was on dance club and then this year I just quit dance and I was like, well, I gotta do something else. So then on the side I do dance and then wrestling is my main thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
And this is kind of improvised, full contact dancing, right? What other sports have you guys played?

Student:
Volleyball.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what's tougher, wrestling?

Student:
Wrestling, the toughest stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does wrestling prepare you for track and volleyball?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. How about you?

Student:
Like Emma, I grew up dancing. I danced for 13 years. And I'm actually still doing it at the same time I was doing wrestling. So I would miss one practice a week just to go dance.

Anthony Godfrey:
What kind of dance do you study?

Student:
I do everything. Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary Tap, anything you can think of.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does your brain ever switched to the wrong sport and you do a take down instead of a pada beret and now suddenly you're in real trouble?

Student:
There's been a couple of times. I mean, let me say splits really do help in wrestling.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Fair enough. I could see that maybe balance as well? Besides sanctioned high school wrestling, there's also a lot of other wrestling, even preparing for scholarships. And it's a different type of wrestling as we've talked about with your coaches. How many of you are talking to colleges or preparing for wrestling in college perhaps?

Student:
Yeah, I've had a few different offers and I've been talking to a couple of different colleges, just trying to figure out where I want to go. I love the sport and so I want to continue wrestling in college for five years and then coach and just keep it a part of my life.

Anthony Godfrey:
Congratulations on having scholarship offers. The black eye can't hurt with that.

Student:
Yeah, for sure.

Student:
We have Women's Nationals coming up in a week and a half. So we've just been working hard for that to prepare. They didn't do Women's Nationals in 2020 because of COVID. So this is going to be really big. And then if you do make it onto the World Team, you wrestle all around the world. Not only do you wrestle with Olympians, you get to travel and represent America through freestyle wrestling.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are a lot of opportunities and I don't think everyone would realize that necessarily. That's new to girls wrestling, so that's really exciting. What would you say to girls who are thinking about participating or have wondered about doing it now that COVID is not going to be an obstacle next year?

Student:
For the wrestling, I've done karate and boxing  and a lot of theater. And I saw this and I thought, I'm not doing this. When you don't know what it is and you don't understand it, it looks weird. It looks like, why are they wearing Tyson Gluts? Why are they doing that? And you're just like, okay, maybe not. But I think a lot of girls like, okay, well this may seem really rude. Everybody is so nice. On the mat, we're very mean, but that's because on the mat, we don't see faces. It's just competition. You want to win because there's only one person coming off of that mat a winner. Right. And so I think for a lot of girls, think about it. Come look at our pictures, come look at our videos. They're pretty cool. And not just our team, but every other team, you know? So just do it. Like you were kind of saying earlier, you have this image of your mind image in your mind of wrestling, where it's like spitting and super buff kids. You don't have to be the super buff kid. You could be the 108 who's as big as a pinkie and still take State. You could be a 124 who is really 120 and you somehow manage to not only surpass your goals, but everyone's ideas of you. So you could take a look at me and you go, Oh, I could see that she dances, but you wouldn't picture me as a wrestler.

Coach:
When the season was starting and I convinced you guys to come in the door and try and practice one time. How many of you girls were a little bit embarrassed to tell your friends and family that you were wrestlers?

Anthony Godfrey:
A few of you? Yeah. How's it feel now? Yeah.

Coach:
How many of you girls are still embarrassed about it? I think she's going to do a few more firemen now.

Coach:
I think that shows, you know, kind of that difference in that confidence, and that perception and how the sport was at first, even this year. It being sanctioned almost looked at are they really doing this or, yeah, I'm a girl wrestler. Right? And now, from what they've accomplished, from the family that we've built within this room, everyone's proud of it. And they've accomplished great things. These girls are very unique. They've worked incredibly hard. They've given their heart and soul to it, as you can see. And through that confidence, through that attack and through the efforts that these guys have put in. They've been very, very successful. We won almost every tournament we went to, as they get off the bus and walk into the gym, all the other girls take notice. And we're be able to do that with these girls, being that family, taking care of one another and truly caring and loving and helping one another out. And so it is something that they're proud of now and they're excited about, and they want to represent the sport and they've absolutely done it in the right way.

Student:
I wear my varsity jacket every day to school. And I go to a charter school, which means that's not dress code and I should not be wearing that. But I wear it every day to school because it's not only just like a confidence boost for me, but I love it. There's big boys that I go to school with, you know, football players. And I look at them and I'll go, I'll wrestle you. And they're like, I'm a 190 and I'll go, I'll wrestle you. I'm a 145.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're learning how far skills can get you.

Student:
Exactly. And like coach was saying, talking is such a big thing. Not only like wrestling, I do that, but in my entire life now. I'd work hard and go and get what I want now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Love that. Don't get what you want. Go get what you want.

Student:
Depending on what you have, you can use it. If you're stronger, you can use your strength. If you're longer, you can use your length. Wrestling is literally for everybody. And I think it's such an important skill to have to know that you don't have to adapt to the social norms or you don't have to adapt to an ideal body. You just have to use what you have and succeed with it.

Student:
Yeah. Kind of to go with Brooklyn. Wrestling is such an individual sport.  There's a high crotch, but there's a million different ways to do a high crotch, depending on your length, your strengths. However you wrestle, you can turn a simple high crotch into your move and make it your your top dog, your exact perfect move for you. You don't even have to be an athlete to wrestle because you'll become an athlete and you'll gain those strengths.

Anthony Godfrey:
Skills. I love that I don't have to be an athlete. You'll become an athlete. That's right, right. You guys are super impressive. I can't tell you how excited I am to see your enthusiasm and to see what a positive thing this has been for you. So thanks for letting me spend time with you. I'm going to keep watching this sport and I know great things are ahead for you guys. So congratulations.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the Supercast. Remember education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey.  Students in Julie Feyereisen's third grade classroom are growing in a very healthy way this school year. It's thanks in part to something called the tower garden in the classroom. The tower garden is a six foot pillar which this aeroponic technology to grow plants indoors using water and no soil. On this episode of the Supercast, we head inside Ms. Feyereisen's classroom to see the tower garden. There we celebrate a successful harvest and taste some of the healthy produce students planted as part of their lesson on sustainable garden. Let's start by visiting with some students.

Teacher:
So would you like some carrots by themselves?

Anthony Godfrey:
What is your name?

Student:
Hattie

Anthony Godfrey:
So you've got your high. You're next at the table here. Do you know what you want to put on your salad?

Student:
Olives.

Anthony Godfrey:
I put olives on my pizza. You put it on your salad. What do you like on your pizza? Cheese? We're talking about salad, not pizza, so I shouldn't go down that road. All right. Did you grow some of these?

Student:
Lettuce.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are Apple bits. Do you normally put apples on your salad? What do you have your eye?

Students:
The tomatoes.

Anthony Godfrey:
They look good.

Student:
I brought them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you? ?o were you each assigned to different salad ingredients?

Student:
No, you could just bring whatever you wanted.

Anthony Godrey:
Oh, I see.

Student:
Or you didn't have to bring anything if you didn't want to.

Teacher:
What else would you like?

Anthony Godfrey:
You got some sugar snap peas there. Three varieties of carrots, several varieties of carrots It looks like.

Teacher:
Okay, there you go.

Anthony Godfrey:
So were the kids assigned to bring something?

Teacher:
They just brought their favorite salad topping.

Anthony Godfrey:
Favorite salad topping.

Teacher:
It's always interesting to see what they brought.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Teacher:
Like, oh yes, I tried this, the Asian Sesame and some brought dressing. They just kind of brought a variety of things and it worked out.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is your name?

Student:
Hayley.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see from your shirt that you believe in unicorns. Do you also believe in salads? You eat salads at home?

Student:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me what you've decided to put on your salad.

Student:
I decided to put some carrots, cucumbers and apples.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. And what type of lettuce has this? Did you grow this yourself?

Student:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does make it look better to you to eat since you grew it?

Student:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you normally grow vegetables at your house?

Student:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you got to do something in class you've never done before.

Student:
I did.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see that you have chosen to eat your olives.

Student:
Yeah. I chose that because I like olives.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So I saw you put your salad together. Put the olives on top, came to your desk and went right for the olives. And now the rest of the salads on its own. I saw you like croutons too. I was talking to a classmate of yours and they're not a big fan. You like them though.

Student:
I like to eat plan just straight out of the bag, because then they feel taste fresh.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a good idea. Do you put any dressing into the bag or just straight up?

Student:
Just straight out.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you grow the lettuce?

Student:
I grew the kale.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, you drew the kale. And you told me your sister's name is Kale?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is she named after the vegetable or is the vegetable named after her?

Student:
The vegetable was named after her.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that's a nice honor for her. Is it good? Is it kind of bitter or did it taste yummy?

Student:
Yummy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. I'm going to try the kale. I don't eat a lot of kale, but you've convinced me. That looks like quite a salad. Does it tastes pretty good? You look like someone who's eaten a salad before.

Student:
Yeah, I have.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you love salad? What type of a dressing do you normally prefer?

Student:
Italian, but there wasn't any.

Anthony Godfrey:
So did you go with the Ranch, it looks like?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Have you ever tried green goddess?

Student:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
The go for it. If only for the name you should try it. Green Goddess dressing if you're a salad fan. Okay. So talk me through your salad here. What have you got on here?

Student:
I have apples, lettuce, peas, tomatoes, carrots, croutons, avocado, and um.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's so much it's hard to keep track of. You really put together a nice salad.

Student:
And then cucumbers.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a very good variety for someone your age. I know lots of kids in third grade who would eat fewer vegetables rather than more, so that's really good work.

Student:
Now, if we had any pickles, I'd go for the pickles.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I love pickles. Do you put pickles on a salad?

Student:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
Just on the side.

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love a good pickle. Do you eat like a big whole pickle or slices or what?

Student:
Well, my dad normally makes pickles.

Anthony Godfrey:
He makes them? Oh, wow. No wonder you like them. Homemade pickles.

Student:
Well, we have like, I don't know how much in each jar, but maybe like 20 in each jar.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow, that's awesome.

Student:
We have circle ones. We have like slice ones. We have a lot of them. And then we have a lot of salsa. We have a lot of jam.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it sounds like you guys grow alot.

Student:
Oh yeah. We have a big yard. We grow a lot of fruits and vegetables.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's very impressive. Well, when you grow them, you tend to appreciate them and like eating them,I guess.

Student:
My brother is in class with me.  He is my twin. He's right here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, your brother is in class with you? Your twin? Oh, and you know what, he's not back at his desk yet. He's probably piling his plate high with a wide variety of vegetables, just like you did. That is impressive work I have to say. That's really awesome. And I keep interrupting your salad so you don't even have a chance to eat it. Oh, and you've got some good croutons. Do you guys grow croutons at home?

Student:
No, but we make them.

Anthony Godfrey:
You do make them, really? Wow. Do you make the bread that they come from or do you buy the bread?

Student:
My mom makes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh my gosh. You make the bread and then you make the croutons to put on all the stuff you've grown. Megan, you are quite impressive as is your family. It's very nice talking with you. Did you grow this lettuce here?

Student:
Well I did get this. I think this is my lettuce. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's the light green light. Where is it on the tower there? I'd like to try some Megan lettuce.

Student:
On the back.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. I'll give it a try. I'll let you get back to your salad.

Student:
Okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you, Megan. Okay. I'm going to try my salad here. This is as fresh as a salad gets. I picked it right off of the tower. Oh my goodness. It is very tender. Crisp. It tastes great.

Teacher:
Good!

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. Stay with us. When we come back, Ms. Feyereisen talks about how she has incorporated the tower garden into all her lessons and why students love it.

Break:
It is one of the most prestigious academic achievement programs available for high school students. And we're proud to say it's coming back to Jordan School District. We're talking about the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, which will be located at West Jordan High School. The IB Program supports personal and academic achievement for students at the very highest level. IB diploma courses take place during a student's junior and senior year in high school. All sophomores are invited to consider the IB program for next year. There are no pre-requisites for IB and interested middle school students can start preparing now. Students with the IB diploma have a better at getting into some of the most prestigious universities in the world. For more information, or to find out if your teen is a good candidate for IB, visit http://ib.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm here with Julie Feyereisen third grade teacher at Monte Vista Elementary, who has had kids growing the elements of a salad on a tower garden, and it is really stunning when you walk in. It's obvious learning is happening constantly in this classroom and this is just one element of learning. And it's a delicious element. I'm eating a salad that was prepared by the kids. A salad picked right off of the tower that they grew. It's fantastic. Tell me about this project and what made you want to start this and what it's been like for the kids?

Teacher:
Oh, good question. By the way. Thank you for coming.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you. My pleasure.

Teacher:
I am a firm believer in active learning and also in the mind-body connection and that what we feed our bodies affects how we learn and what we just move forward in our daily lives. So when the kids see things growing, they see green things growing, where things are actually how they're supposed to look and the color that is living. And it just makes such a difference when they can actually see it happening and then put it into their bodies and see the correlation between the mind and the body and knowing that that's what makes such a difference. Like we move a lot in my classroom, we do a lot of active learning, but it's also like what goes into help them, their minds really take in all of their learning

Anthony Godfrey:
When they grow something that they have probably just expected to have placed on their table previously, Do you think it changes their perspective about the world around them and where food comes from, and how hard people have to work to provide everything that they have?

Teacher:
Absolutely. Yes, it does create a different perspective. I've had students who do not eat salads, do not eat green things, actually eat things off of the tower garden because they have been in that process. They've partnered with that process of growing something and knowing that they're eating that they grew. So yes. And yes, seeing what it does do have a difference of where they actually get their food. I mean, they just grew something and they just ate it and it makes me so happy to see so many kids eating a salad.

Anthony Godfrey:
I talked to a number of kids in line waiting for their salad. They don't normally eat salad, but they were piling their plate high. And not only that, but it gives them the sense efficacy. I put in effort, I'm patient. I do what I know works, and I feel the sense of accomplishment. There's a connection between my effort and results.

Teacher:
And they'll eat it. I've had parents actually thank me saying now my child eats more vegetables because they have had experience with it. So they have experienced growing their own vegetables and eating them straight from the tower, just fresh.

Anthony Godfrey:
Describe that tower for those who are listening. It's a white tower. There are spots where you can grow plants from. And is it aeroponic, is that right?

Teacher:
It is. It's aeroponic. It's a tower garden that does not need soil, it doesn't need need ground. It just needs a vertical space. And so it's an aeroponic vertical growing garden. And so the students. about five weeks ago, that's the cool thing about five weeks ago, they planted, and now that that's what they have. And there are different slots where you can put everything. Se grew basil. We grew thyme and we grew three different types of lettuces. We grew kale, we grew chard. And I even saw some students had kale and chard on their plate.

Anthony Godfrey:
I did see kids with that. Having kale on your plate in third grade is an accomplishment all its own.

Teacher:
Yeah, I know it was. Oh, it just makes me happy. I love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm sorry to be eating and talking at the same time, but I cannot resist this tender, crisp lettuce. It really is delicious. So it's also lit up their lights. Those lights stay on 24/7?

Teacher:
No, they stay on for about 14 hours a day. They're on a timer and their water is also on a timer. So there's a base for the tower garden that you fill up with water and you put the tower tonic in for the nutrients for the plants. So there's a pump at the bottom of the base for the water and it actually just pulled the water up and then rains the water down on the roots. So if we were to pull some of those plants out, we just pull for a long time and see these roots, just come out of this tower garden, because they've been, they've been growing for so long and it's really neat to see how, how they've grown and that's how it works.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the things that kids learn from this experiment?

Teacher:
We do math and of course it's science. And we also do a lot of writing with it. So they have been tracking their plant and measuring their plant. It was planted as a seedling and then they've also been writing about it. And it's just neat for them to see this transformation that has happened using all of that curriculum, all of those different pieces, bringing it into one thing and also help of course, with their bodies and their minds. So it's really an all-inclusive experience or for them. And it's been fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are so many layers to it, so much to learn and great connections that you're able to make through this activity. I can't tell you how impressed I was that these kids. obviously. are super engaged. They're loving it. And it was a great salad on top of that. So keep up the great work. I love the experience you're giving these kids. I'm sure that they're going to say many years from now, remember Ms. Feyereisen and how we grew lettuce and salads. And that's why I'm here at the Sizzler Salad Bar today.

Teacher:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you so much for your time. It's really been nice getting to know you and your class and enjoy the rest of the year.

Teacher:
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. What a treat for you to come. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us. On another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing that you will do today. We'll see out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. He rose to the top of his game as a 6'6" forward in basketball for the West Jordan High School Jaguars and was named 2012 5A Player of the Year leading the state in scoring and rebounding. Jordan Loveridge, better known as "J-Love" to some, also made a name for himself in the basketball program at the University of Utah, where he became one of the top scorers in school history. Today at the age of 27, the West Jordan High grad is still making a name for himself playing professional basketball overseas. On this episode of the Supercast, we catch up with Jordan Loveridge who is currently playing pro ball in Finland. Find out how his time at West Jordan High helped him reach his goals and how his life has changed with his superstar status abroad.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are with former Jordan School District student Jordan Loveridge. Jordan, thanks for joining us.

Jordan:
Yeah, thanks for having me all the way from Finland.

Anthony Godfrey:
What time is it there in Finland right now?

Jordan:
It's about 6:30 at night.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's been dark for about four hours now, right?

Jordan:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm really excited to talk with you. I watched you play when you were here at West Jordan High School. When did you graduate?

Jordan:
I graduated in 2012.

Anthony Godfrey:
2012, the time flies. It was really fun to watch you. I was just talking with a couple of colleagues telling them that I had the chance to interview you and they were pretty excited about that. They have a lot of respect for how you held yourself off the court in addition to your game play. They just reminded me how fun you are to watch play basketball and what a great, humble, approachable person you've always been, even through all of your success.

Jordan:
I appreciate that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us, what are your memories of playing at West Jordan High School? We are going to talk about all the places you've been and the great career that you have, but tell me about your memories of West Jordan. What stands out to you?

Jordan:
Just a great group of guys I got to play with and, you know, the coaching staff, Scott Briggs, and then Damron, it was just great atmosphere. It really prepared me for going in play in Utah. They really knew basketball and I was a young, naive guy coming in and thought I knew everything, but they taught me a lot. And it just was fun to play with those teammates. I still have good connections with the coaches and my teammates from high school. So it was a great experience all around.

Anthony Godfrey:
When did you first realize, hey, I'm kind of better than everybody else? When you were a kid, when did you realize that you had a gift for playing basketball?

Jordan:
I think when my dad actually let me play with his friends. I used to go to the gym with him and they would just let me shoot on the side. I always wanted to get in their games, but he never would let me play. And then eventually, when I got a little stronger, he let me play and I started beating them and dominating in those games. So I figured, if I can do these things versus strong men, I might have it to enter the high school level.

Anthony Godfrey:
Beating your dad's friends at basketball must have been its own kind of satisfaction.

Jordan:
Yeah, for sure. I mean, those guys to me were like the NBA. Oh, I can wait to play against these guys. You know, I knew these guys. They've got all those stats and what they were doing things like that. So it was fun to get to jump in those games.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Sure. And then after West Jordan, you played at the U. You may not know this, but I have a poster signed by you. I can't remember from which year I got that through your mom, and I'm actually a huge fan of your mom as well. It comprehends, she's always so nice. She always ask before I can ask how are you doing. You always asks how I'm doing and checking in on me. So she's a great support, but tell us about being at the U.

Jordan:
Definitely grown up and got to be away from home, you know. Had a great coaching staff up there as well, which helped me and helps me be prepared to play professionally. And you know, we did some great things. Went to the Sweet 16, had some great players come through there, got to play with some great players on my team. It was just a fun experience to get to be there four years, get to graduate and just get to play at the highest level.

Anthony Godfrey:
Who were some of the people that you remember playing against when you were at the U?

Jordan:
I think just in the PAC 12, there's so many great players. For me, it was more of the places we got to play. You know, you get to play at UCLA, USC with the schools, people in the basketball world and even just in the college world. People dream to go to those schools or play at those schools. So I got to go play in front of UCLA, Arizona, Oregon, got to be at those places and got to play for some of those top ranked guys that play that either in a queue or you just have seen play on TV. So I think just experience of getting to go and play high level players every single night.

Anthony Godfrey:
And playing in the Sweet 16. I mean, that's really something special.

Jordan:
Yeah, for sure. I mean, growing up, I always would fill out brackets for March madness. I tried to watch during school and stuff and never was able to because a lot of the early games started when I was in class. But I always was checking scores just to see. But then to make it to be a part of it was, you know, it's amazing.

Anthony Godfrey:
And now you're a professional basketball player. How many years have you been playing professional basketball?

Jordan Loveridge:
This is my fifth year. Yeah,

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, yeah. And you're with the Cobra. Is that right? How do I say that? The Cobras. Is that right?

Jordan:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very nice. Tell me, let's first talk about all the places that you've played. It's quite a list. You played in Switzerland, Austria, I think. Tell us about your journey there, first of all. How did you get to start playing in Europe?

Jordan:
So I signed with an agent out of college and he just had some great connections. I started my career off in Hungary in a little village called Carmen. It was definitely different from college to Carmen, a little small town by myself. But I had basketball to focus on, which was great. And then from there I went to Switzerland to a lot bigger city, which was nice and Switzerland's a beautiful country. And then the next year I went to Germany. The German league is one of the top basketball leagues in Europe. So that was a great experience. And then I went to Austria. And then now this year in Finland.

Anthony Godfrey:
The European leagues, how does that work? I know in soccer, based on how well a team does, they may be moved up or down, out of a league. And I know the team that you played for plays in the highest European league right now. So how does all of that work?

Jordan:
So usually each country has their own league. They have top league and then it goes, the second league, third league, or how many other leagues they have. And so everyone's trying to play in the top league in whatever country they're in. And then there's also European competitions where you get to go and travel and play. For example, if my team was in one of those, we would go play in France or in Germany for some of their top teams. And that's a whole different tournament. But for the most part, teams are trying to make it in the top league in their country.

Anthony Godfrey:
Because the top league mean that you're going to end up playing in other countries more frequently.

Jordan:
Yeah. I mean, you definitely have a better chance to be seen and sign a better contract in a country that you want to go, or that wants you to come and play for their team.

Anthony Godfrey:
What does your current team look like in terms of where the players are from?

Jordan:
We have a guy that played on North Carolina. His name is Justin Pierce. A guy from Fresno State, Nate Grimes, he's a rookie. And then a guy that played in the Canadian League for three or four years that did really good. His name is Anthony Gangs. So we have four Americans and then the rest are Finnish guys.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so dude, all the Finnish guys speak English? Or are you now speaking French?

Jordan:
No. Everybody around the team usually speaks English. I haven't been to a concert where I had to learn the language too much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So how do you like Finland? What's Finland like?

Jordan:
I definitely dark and cold, but with my family here, it's been great. I get to see my son and my wife every day. It's tough being away from family back home, but we have FaceTime, things like that. And they're very supportive of me playing and they want me to continue to play so it's not bad at all.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is there time in the summer when you can come home or when's the off season?

Jordan:
Yeah. So usually I get around four months at home and I try and make it back to Utah. I spend a lot of time with family and we try to do as much stuff as we can within that four months. It's tough, but still we try to fit in trips and, make sure we're always eating dinner at either my wife's parents or my parents.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really great. And your family watch these games? Are they streamed so they can follow your career from here?

Jordan:
They've been able to watch pretty much all of my games anywhere I've played. Each country usually has some type of TV deal, as we do at home, where the NBA is on ESPN or TNC, but over here they have their own streaming service so it's been pretty easy for them to watch off the gangs.

Anthony Godfrey:
You mentioned your family. How old is your son now?

Jordan:
18 months.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, congratulations. That's exciting. What's his name?

Jordan:
Kingston.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very cool. And how did you meet your wife? When did you get married?

Jordan:
So I got married three years ago. I met my wife were just out in downtown Salt Lake. One of my friends actually went to school to Southern Utah with her. She was a volleyball player in Southern Utah. He's a football player and he actually went to West High School and he introduced me to her. From there we just kept talking and hanging out and the rest is history.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. Tell me about your parents. Like I said, I'm a huge fan of your mom. It's odd. It's obvious that she's one of the people in this district that really stands out to me as someone who takes care of other people, looks out for them. Tell me about the lessons that your parents taught you and the way they provided opportunities for you to get you to where you are now.

Jordan:
They're just very selfless people. They just want to do everything for everyone else.  I tease them sometimes that they need to look out for themselves once in a while, just because they are always running around doing things for other people. They didn't want to help from people either. But if it's moving, if  you need this, you need us to coach, you know you can come to our house. They always are very selfless. So just seeing that, I try to strive to be like them and try to help everyone be friends with everyone. Especially traveling and meeting new people in different cultures and try to see what their culture is about. Talking to new people, you know, I try to be just like them. Just be selfless and be friendly with pretty much everyone.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well that those lessons serve you well as you play on various teams and in various countries. We're going to take a quick break and when we come back, find out what's next for Jordan Loveridge and what advice he has for other young athletes.

Break:
If you're ready to start your child on the path to personalized learning, we are ready to help. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is coming to Jordan School District in the 2021-22 school year. Three new schools will be opening as part of the Academy, Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School, and Kings Peak High School. Each school will have their own principal and teachers and each will give students a choice in their own learning. The schools will offer synchronous learning, which is teachers providing real time, live online instruction and asynchronous learning where teachers provide videotaped instruction for learning on a student's schedule. To register your student in the Jordan Virtual Learning Academy, visit http://connect.jordandistrict.org.

Jordan:
Jordan, do you ever get the chance to go in and talk with students about basketball or do some school programs where you teach them some drills or anything like that?

Jordan:
So there's usually a school program that we do and I've done it almost every country. We go and talk with the kids, teach them some drills, teach them some stuff that they can do at home that if they do like basketball or if they just want to stay active. We'll go to schools and a couple of times a month and teach a basketball class and then just talk with them a little bit. They get to ask questions and see where we're from and get to learn a little bit from us. So we definitely get to do that and that's always fun to go to the different schools.

Anthony Godfrey:
How has living around the world in these different countries under these different circumstances changed?

Jordan:
It's opened my eyes to different ways of living, different ways to do things. Just traveling and living in smaller places, some bigger places, different cultures, just learning day to day what other people go through and do. It's really helped me grow and helped me realize how fortunate we are for the things that we have. Just simple things like dishwashers or dryers or things like that, you know, that we all have. We take them for granted sometimes, and not everyone has those here and they live just fine and happy. And you know, it's really just opened my eyes to things like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the food like in Finland? Do you like to fish? I think probably.

Jordan:
Yeah, for sure. A lot of fish. They actually have reindeer here, which I never ate before I came here. So I tried reindeer for the first time. It was pretty good. They have a lot of they eat, a lot of moose here.

Anthony Godfrey:
So can you drive through McDonald's and you can get like a moose combo. I'll have the number two reindeer burger and a large fry.

Jordan:
But you can t=go to pizza places and things like that. You can order a reindeer on pizza. You can order moose on pizza and things like that. You can have pasta with moose or reindeer, which is a little different, but you know.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'll have the Blitzen number three, I guess, is what you can order. Well, that's really interesting. That's fascinating. Tell me, what advice would you give to students who aspire to a career in professional sports?

Jordan:
I think just making sure you work hard every day. I mean, it sounds so simple, but you know, not a lot of guys go to the gym every day and stay really consistent. As long as you're consistent and it's something that you love to do. You shouldn't be forced to do it if you don't love it. Maybe there's something else out for you. But if you really do love the play and it's something that you wanted to, there's thousands of leagues in the world that guys are playing professionals. So it's not easy, but if you put in the work, you'll definitely be able to get something out of it.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great advice. Obviously your love for basketball has not diminished. Who are some of the basketball players that you look up to?

Jordan:
First it was probably just my dad. You know, that's why I wanted to play. He actually was going to play overseas and then my parents were about to have me, so he made the decision to actually stay home and get a job and kind of go away from that dream. And so I felt like I always owed it to him a little bit to pursue basketball. And then I fell in love with it and kind of ran with it. I would probably say after him, Kobe Bryant was a big one for me growing up. Just the way he approached the game and how he just always wanted to compete in every game and every aspect of life. Really, that's how he was. So those two probably were really big for me.

Anthony Godfrey:
When you mentioned Koby, I think about the Black Mamba. Do you have any nicknames?

Jordan Loveridge:
No, mine kind of just stuck from high school. People shortened my name to "J-Love". So that one kind of stuck all the way through college. And then some of my teammates will, if they search me or if they hear stuff or see people post stuff overseas sometimes use that same nickname.

Anthony Godfrey:
J-Love, =that is a good nickname. That really good.

Jordan Loveridge:
It's kind of stuck.

Anthony Godfrey:
How tall are you Jordan?

Jordan:
Six foot six.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I would suspect you stand out a little bit as you walk around Finland.

Jordan Loveridge:
Yeah, for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do they recognize you as a basketball player in that league.

Jordan:
Yeah. I mean, at the stores people will come up and definitely want to shake my hand and just wanna talk, with me. And they definitely want to practice their English. I feel like sometimes they want to come and just say a few words or a few sentences just to have a conversation, because they don't see people from America too much, especially in the town I'm living in. It's a pretty small town. So, I think they love to have people from different cultures and different backgrounds. So it's been fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really exciting. Tell me about the town itself. How big is the town what's comparable here? Would you say?

Jordan:
I couldn't really compare it to anything back home. Maybe a small town like Delta or something like that would be a good comparison. But other than that, I couldn't really compare this because we're very fortunate at home to have a Walmart, every other corporate on every other street. But like here, there's two grocery stores, a couple of gas stations, one gym, there's just not as many things available here.

Anthony Godfrey:
I joked earlier about how much it is dark. How much daylight do you have this time of year?

Jordan:
It just varies. It's been a lot better the past couple of days, but before that, I don't know, it was probably I'd have to say four hours light maybe.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Well, I'm sure this is an unforgettable experience for you to be living in these different countries. Well, you've accomplished so much, Jordan. What's next? What are you looking for now?

Jordan:
For me, I think just winning a European championship would be the icing on the cake. It just would kind of validate, that I was working towards a goal and I want to make a team a champion. I want to be a champion. I've won championships at every level and have a chance to win a championship at the European level. So I think that would be the next great goal I could accomplish.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I wish you the very best in pursuit of that goal. Go Cobras.

Jordan:
Thank you. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thanks again for joining us. Like I said earlier, guys I work with are envious that I got to interview you today. Everyone who knows you just has such respect for you and not just the way you play, but who you are. And so I really appreciate your taking the time, all the way from Finland. When's your next game?

Jordan:
Tomorrow actually.

Anthony Godfrey:
Who do you play?

Jordan:
The team name is Fire-Ando.

Anthony Godfrey:
Luck against the Fire-Ando and take care of best of luck to you and your family.

Jordan:
Yeah, thanks.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see ya.

Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Valuable hands-on learning is leading to success for students at the South Valley School in West Jordan. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how middle and high school, Special Education students, as well as South Valley students are getting early work opportunities in a school-based shop, focused on engraving, everything from footballs and rolling pins and key chains. It's also a place where students provide framing work for the public. Let's start by heading into the shop with a student intern where I get a little help framing my own cherished pictures and mementos from the past. and get perhaps a little too close to the framing cutter.

Dallen Nelson:
My name is Dallen Nelson. I intern here at the engraving shop.

Anthony Godfrey:
And Dallen, you're not just an intern here. You're a student here as well, correct?

Dallen Nelson:
Correct. I am in the Program for Life Design.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me about Life Design.

Dallen Nelson:
It's a program where people like me can get a better chance out there in the world.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'd say you have a great chance after talking with you.

Dallen Nelson:
Thank you, sir.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what does interning at the engraving shop mean?

Dallen Nelson:
I help around with any orders that might come through, be it engraving, laser, cutting.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the machines that you work on? And tell me a little bit about some of the things that you do.

Dallen Nelson:
Over there we have have some of the laser machines. These two are the mainly the machines we work with, for the most part.  The rotary and the laser.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what types of material can you engrave on in here?

Dallen Nelson:
We can engrave on metal, plastic and glass.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's kryptonite work in the machine or no?

Dallen Nelson:
Sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Yeah, it probably could actually. It looks like a pretty sturdy machine. It looks like we have a whole cart full of footballs that you've been customizing. Tell me about that.

Dallen Nelson:
So these are the game balls that we engrave and give back to the players as they're reward, trophy pretty much.

Anthony Godfrey:
And who has ordered these?

Dallen Nelson:
Grantsville.

Anthony Godfrey:
So from how far away do you take orders? This is pretty exciting.

Dallen Nelson:
From my time here, we have taken a few orders from quite far over the area.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Grantsville, that's pretty impressive.

Dallen Nelson:
This is a result of both the laser and the rotary.

Anthony Godfrey:
So the laser, you did these are name tags? It looks like for some sergeants and detectives.

Dallen Nelson:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you said that you use the rotary and the engraver for this. What are those two machines?

Dallen:
This was used to etch the image that you see on the nameplates.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so the images are done separate from the letter?

Dallen:
Yes.

Anthony:
And is it the rotary that is not capable of doing pictures?

Dallen:
Yes:

Anthony Godfrey:
I see. So the rotary does the does the letters?

Dallen Nelson:
Yes. And the engraver does the photos.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the other projects you've been engraving?

Dallen:
Footballs, glass, plastic, wood. We have some rolling pins for Nutrition Services.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you can engrave just about anything.

Dallen Nelson:
Pretty much.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's impressive. So does it comes with a little holder too? Is that from South Valley?

Dallen Nelson:
Yes. These were machined here in the woodshop, just next door.

Anthony Godfrey:
And so does this take longer than doing plastic? Is wood more difficult to engrave?

Dallen Nelson:
Sometimes it can be.  Sometimes types of wood burn differently than others.

Anthony Godfrey:
How did you get the opportunity to be an intern here at South Valley?

Dallen Nelson:
One of my main goals is to be in graphic design later on, and this is a pretty big step, although I still may carry this work with me to the future.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you have to qualify to be in this position?

Dallen Nelson:
I did receive some qualifications for this in the past.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, great. Well, congratulations on getting the spot and based on what I see already with footballs and rolling pins and such, you've got a great future.

Dallen Nelson:
So this is what we use mainly to make some name tags. Some magnetics like traditional clips.

Anthony Godfrey:
I got to tell you, my mind is racing with all of the name tags I can have you make for me to set on my desk to see if people are paying attention.

So the cutter, tell me about the cutter.

Dallen Nelson:
This is used in conjunction with the vacuum.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's fire it up. All right. So there's the vacuum pull off, whatever you're cutting around? That's pretty loud. Okay. So what do you track along here?

Dallen Nelson:
We also use this to cut that stuff that would be engraved in the future.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are your plans? Do you like this type of work? Is this something that you can see yourself doing long term?

Dallen Nelson:
Definitely.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what do you enjoy about it?

Dallen Nelson:
I like to imagine the happy thoughts of the people receiving the awards. When the rest might just like light up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, great. Now thanks for giving me a tour. It's a thrill to meet you and congratulations on the great work you're doing here.

Dallen Nelson:
Thank you for having me on your show, sir.

Anthony Godfrey:
You bet. We're here with the South Valley School Principal, Rita Bouillion. Rita, thanks for taking time with us this afternoon.

Rita:
It was our pleasure.  We're glad to have you.

Anthony Godfrey:
For those who may not be familiar with South Valley, can you just describe what you're about and what goes on here?

Rita:
Yes, we have students from all over Jordan School District. They come from all of the high schools and our job is to help them transition into adulthood. So when they're finished with their high school, if they haven't received their diploma, they come to us. For some students, we help them achieve their diploma, but for all students, we help them achieve independence. And we connect them with the community through jobs, through community-based activities, where we go to the grocery stores in their area, or we go bowling in their area. So ways that they learn to access the community so that they'll continue to do that when they are completely finished with school.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know one of the classes is Life Design. Tell me about the Life Design class.

Rita:
So we have a unique cooperation with Jordan Applied Tech Center, the North campus. We have two classrooms there, and those are design classrooms. All of the students that are there are getting jobs, getting their diploma and working towards using UTA independently for their transportation. And for those students, it just feels more special to them because they're on a college campus. So they liked the fact that they're at SLCC. For some students, it's hard to transition from high school and then continue school here. But those students are really pleased to be able to say, we're at the SLCC campus. You know, we go to school at SLCC.

Anthony Godfrey:
One thing I love about South Valley School is just the resources that are brought together and the number of different plans that can be developed based on the student's individual needs.

Rita:
All of our students have an IEP. We individualize their educational plan just for them. So we include developing resumes, learning UTA, if it's possible. We also have students who are getting their Driver License. We have students who come for six months and just finalize their diploma. Or we have students that come for four or five years to get all of the things that they need in order to transition successfully into the community. When I first started here, the thing that struck me the most was after coming from a huge high school where they were just one little piece of that school community, they come here and everywhere they look, there's a friend, a potential friend. So the friendships and relationships that develop here between among the students is really something to experience.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it's only one of the things that makes South Valley such a great place. And you offer a lot of services to the public. We're going to talk about those in future Supercast episodes and can you outline some of those for me.

Rita:
We have a wood shop here. And the students that work in the wood shop are middle school and high school students from throughout the District that are also in Special Ed Programs. When they come here, they learn one important thing. They learn pre-employment skills. They learn to be on time for a job, how to dress appropriately, the safety things that are required for any job, how to respond to your boss, but they get to do it in a wood shop atmosphere. They get to take projects home. They take pride in building, for example, new tables for South Jordan Middle. And when they finished that project, our bus took the kids to South Jordan, Middle. The truck delivered the tables there and the students were able to take the things that they had just made into the school and set them up. It was awesome.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. That's a sense of accomplishment that many of us don't get in a normal workday.

Rita:
And then those kids who would go to school there, they get to go back and see that every day and can say, I helped build that. I made those table legs. You know, that's exciting.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the other services offered to the public?

Rita:
This year, because of COVID, we haven't been able to have our students go out into the community and to do job experiences as intensely as we have in the past. So some of our teachers have gotten creative about developing an enterprise here within the school. One of our classes makes pins. We sent you some that kind of helped you deal with wearing a mask, you know, so they will customize any size, shape, or design that you want. We're going to have a new administrator. Two are here in a few weeks and they're making administrator buttons for us to give to those new administrators.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very cool. Yes. This is one of the places we love to take new administrators to show it off, which gets me to why I'm here. Let's get some framing going, shall we?

Stay with us? When we come back, we'll hear more about the skills students are learning and find out how the public can access South Valley School's, engraving and framing services.

Break:
If you're ready to start your child on the path to personalized learning, we are ready to help. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is coming to Jordan School District in the 2021-22 school year. Three new schools will be opening as part of the Academy, Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School and Kings Peak High School. Each school will have their own principal and teachers and each will give students a choice in their own learning. The schools will offer synchronous learning, which is teachers providing real time, live online instruction and asynchronous learning, where teachers provide videotaped instruction for learning on a student's schedule. To register your student in the Jordan Virtual Learning Academy, visit http://connect.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're going to switch to framing and it's time to meet the framing team. Let's have them introduce themselves.

Vicky:
Vicky Thomas. And I've been back in this room since 2009.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what did you do before that?

Vicky:
I was in a classroom.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Peggy:
Peggy Beuchert. And I just help out when they need me down here.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Well, it's great to have both of you and your keen eye and talent helped me with this next framing job, but I thought I'd bring a couple of greatest things that Vicky and Peggy helped frame for me. We have them all wrapped in bubble wrap. I love that you guys framed them for me before. Let's take a look here. I want to remind you of some of your handiwork from years gone by. This one is actually from Comic-Con in San Diego, and this is years ago before they charged you to meet individual stars. I don't know if you remember this when you've done a lot of pieces since then. But this is my Lord of the Rings piece with the Lord of the Rings mini promo poster. And then there's a picture of me with Elijah Wood and another random hobbit, and then the autographs from Elijah Wood and another one of the hobbits and some pictures of me leaning in at the table where I wasn't supposed to get a photo with them, but snuck one in anyway at the autograph table. And you guys did such a nice job. This frame, the mat is really, it just ties in very nicely with the poster. And you put this border in there. What's that border called when you put something like that in there, fill it, makes it look kind of old worldly. And this other one, we'll cut this one open too. I'm quite proud of this Lord of the Rings thing.

I sat in the Convention Hall in San Diego for a long time to get their autographs. It was before you paid for individual autographs, you just had to want it worse than everyone else and be willing to wait long enough. And that was me. So it's really nice to have these memories preserved instead of in a shoe box.

I just love having them framed so nicely. And I'm doing this podcast out of enthusiasm, personally, and I hope people just realize what a great resource we have here. Their stuff can get framed and look better than if they took it anywhere else. All right. The one I'm I'm going to reveal now that we pop out is actually something I didn't buy yo have frame. I actually saved the box tops for them. I saved proofs of purchase from a now defunct cereal. I can't even remember what cereal it was, but there were always involved "o's". It was my free Rocky Balboa poster. Actually my Rocky II poster.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a little tattered, but so's Rocky. He's been through a little bit and you just mounted it so nicely. It kind of preserves the little curls and rips and tears. Preserved the oldness of it. It's absolutely beautiful.

You helped me pick out this weathered frame that goes with the weather dude on the weathered poster. I just love this. It was 1979. I was 10 years old, had this hanging on my wall and it's just a really fun way to preserve it. So it hangs up in our TV room and it's just another example of the great work that you guys do here framing.

So we have brought more for you and these are actually for my son. I framed for me first and then my son's second as well it should be.

Vicky:
That's right.

Anthony Godfrey:

So this is a picture of me and my sons with Mark Hamill, a Star Wars fan, Luke Skywalker. And when I posted it on social media, I said, Luke, I am their father.

Vicky:
That's too funny.

Anthony Godfrey:
So we have Luke and Yoda and just kind of a smaller poster size, and then an 8 x 10 photo of the four of us, my son with his lightsaber. And then this was an autograph that Mark Hamill actually just handed to my son as a bonus, out of his back pocket. So shall we take a look and see what frames and that's you guys recommend?

Vicky:
It was recommend for this one. Let's start with the mats. You got some blues in there and do you want a double matte or just single matte?

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you think?

Vicky:
Well, that other one, we did kind of the stand out with the fill it. So I think double matted would be nice.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, let's do a double. I think it should be double knotted.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Let's double that. So we just take a corner out now. When you pull these colors, what are you looking for?

Vicky:
Well, I don't know. We just tried to look for something that we think is going to go with the picture.

Anthony Godfrey:
You just kind of use The Force.

Vicky:
We do use The Force back here a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. The purple kind of looks cool, actually.

Vicky:
Yeah. That's what the dark blue matte where we could do a black matte under the purple. It evokes space. You know, I think that l with the black and I think it looks better than the dark blue.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. The black, and where does that fill, a lavender?

Vicky:
Let's see, that's what they call purple haze.

Anthony Godfrey:
Purple haze. I wondered why it was all in my brain.

Vicky:
So we'll do the black mat on the bottom, a quarter inch. And then the top matte would be the purple haze.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. There is some black in there.

Vicky:
And the black just makes everything stand out.

Anthony Godfrey:
I don't know how it, but you pull these colors and it's exactly the colors that need to be around that picture and this set of pictures. It works for every picture on there. That's why I keep coming back. I really want people to know about the services that are available at South Valley. So why don't you tell us the services you're responsible for and how everyone can access those?

Vicky:
I do the engraving part and we service people from districts from North San Pete County. We do Ogden, Logan, Canyons District, Jordan School District. I think we've done a name tags for every state in the United States. We've done Hawaii to California, to New York. Utah's probably the fewest we've done.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Well, the name South Valley has spread far and wide. And the framing, tell us about the framing services.

Vicky:
We do framing. Right now we have jobs from several people that are outside the District. We do a lot of in-district framing and probably on the framing part, we do as much outside the district that we do inside and we are better than anybody else in the valley. We have a great framing team.

Anthony Godfrey:
I can attest to that for sure. And the prices are the best part. So tell people how to get ahold of you.

Vicky:
Well, they can call the school or they can email vicky.thomas@jordandistrict.org, or they can call South Valley school and get our email through there and make an appointment. We're very flexible.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you don't know it yet, but I have a strange project coming your way. Next time I visit, I asked every school to send me one of their custom masks from the pandemic. So any school that had a custom mask, I've collected those, I have a whole drawer full of them. And what I really want to do is frame a huge display so that we can walk by it and either shutter for a while, while we think about everything we've been through, or also memorialize everything that we've been through, and we can see that down the line.

Vicky:
Well, I think that sounds like a great fun job. Now it's still shutter, but in the future, we'll able to be more normal.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's right. That's the hope. And I'd like us to frame that into a big display so we can walk by and shutter for the first few years. And later on, reflect back on everything we accomplished and overcame.

A big thanks to everyone at the South Valley School who joined us on the Supercast today. And as always, thank you for tuning in. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. West Jordan Middle School students are using morning announcements to highlight a number of inspirational black history heroes during the month of February, which is Black History Month. Some Utah jazz players like Donovan Mitchell and Derrick Favors are doing the same in a three part YouTube series called "Black History Heroes." On today's episode of the Supercast we hear from some Utah Jazz players featured on the YouTube series. But first we head out to West Jordan Middle School where morning announcements are about to begin:

Dixie Garrison:
So the staff and students give me a heartbeat. Today is Thursday, February 25th, and it is an even day today. During Pride Time, we will be showing a video in the auditorium about the Utah Jazz players and their heroes. This video centers around Black History Month. You should have already signed up through efficiency under Mr. Hunter for Black History Month.

Student:
For Black History Month the Black and Proud Crew will be highlighting black Americans, drought history. If you're able to tell Ms. Monson or Ms. Gibbons all the names throughout the week, you will win.

Student:
Our spotlight for today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin was an African American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement in 1955 until his assassination in 1968.

Dixie Garrison:
And as always, we love you. We care about you. Learning is important. Being here is important. Let's have a fantastic Thursday. Okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm here at West Jordan Middle school talking with student members of the Black and Proud Crew on one of the days that they have been honoring Black History Month with announcements that honor black figures in history. And so I'm going to talk with Camden. Tell me a little bit about the highlights that have been happening this month.

Student:
You've been highlighting all these different African-Americans for example, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me your name.

Student:
Jerome Miles.

Anthony Godfrey;
Jerome, what is your favorite figure that's been highlighted this month?

Student:
Jesse Owens.

Anthony Godfrey:
Jesse Owens. Tell me about Jesse Owens.

Student:
Well, he was a track star and I liked sports. So that's mainly why, I picked him.  I like sports.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it took some courage on his part to compete in some of those events.

Student:
Yeah, I did.

Anthony Godfrey:
And Rosa Parks. Why is that?

Student:
Because she made a stand for what she believed in to sit on the bus and she was brave enough to sit there, knowing that she was going to get arrested.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me your name.

Student:
My name is Shoday.

Anthony Godfrey:
Shoday what figure stood out for you?

Student:
Ruby Ridges because she was the first black girl to go to a white school and it was crazy because back then it wasn't normal for black and white people to go to the same school. So since she was the first person that was a black of color to go to school, it was like crazy. She went through a bunch of stuff at such a young age and she put up with it too. She didn't complain because she knew that she went to a good school. So she went through all that stuff, knowing that grown people and little kids were being rude because of the color of her skin. And that has a big part in history. And now, today, everybody goes to the same school.

Anthony Godfrey:
We can kind of take it for granted now almost that that everyone goes to school together.

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me your name.

Student:
Hazel.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about your favorite to figure that's been highlighted this month.

Student:
Martin Luther King Jr. as well, just because there's so much to learn about him and so many different things that he did.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me more about what the Black and Proud Crew does. I see that you have a painting activity this Friday. Is that right? Tell me a little bit about that.

Student:
This Friday, people who signed up are going to meet here. We're having a paint night where we can learn how to paint a picture of the elephant that Jerome has picked for us. And it's everyone who signed up to join and it would just be a fun learning experience.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a really cool looking painting, and I would be very impressed with myself if I was ever to paint that. So I really wish I could come to your activity. What other things have been sponsored by the Black and Proud Crew?

Student:
Friday, it was the last two weeks ago, there were kids coming in and, it depends on how many kids came. So we did a King of the Court type of play. There'll be five people on the team. And so on each team, there's five kids and whoever won that would stay on the court and another group of five would come on and whoever won the whole thing got candy. Well, everybody got candy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, there's a good event. Everybody gets candy. That's a good start.

Student:
Everybody got candy. We just felt better.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. It sounds as if you've had a great variety of activities. Let's talk with Ms. Monson. You are the advisor for the Black and Proud Crew, is that correct?

Teacher:
Yes, it's me Christa Gibbons and Chelsea Chaco, who are the advisors for the students.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the other activities that the Black and Proud Crew has been involved in?

Teacher:
So we hosted NEMA a couple of weeks ago. And along with NEMA, they showed us one an art featuring black heritage and black history. And so he talks about the textile of the art. And then after they talked about the art piece, we watched Levered Community, which highlighted a lot of black Americans in Utah. We had like a black pastor and talked about how his life was growing up. And we had the first black teacher in Davis District and how she was able to actually reach one of her students in the third grade. And so then they became a teacher. And so it just talks about the different lives of people living in the State of Utah and how they were able to progress through their certain trials.

Anthony Godfrey:
And every day of Black History Month, there's been another historical figure featured?

Teacher:
Yeah. So in January we meet every Friday with the students. They came up with a PowerPoint and so they picked all the people. We had Beyonce, Jesse Owens, Barack Obama. So the kids came up with who they wanted to spotlight, they found pictures for it. They found the excerpts and they put it in the PowerPoint that we show and share with the rest of the school. So every day they're able to pick someone who they wanted to spotlight and highlight.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a great way to celebrate black history month. And it sounds like from talking with the students, they've learned a lot about black history that they weren't previously aware of.

Teacher:
That's our goal.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, we hear from Donovan Mitchell and Derrick Favors talking about their black history heroes.

Break:
If you're ready to start your child on the path to personalized learning, we are ready to help. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is coming to Jordan School District in the 2021-22 school year. Three new schools will be opening as part of the Academy: Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School and Kings Peak High School. Each school will have their own principal and teachers and each will give students a choice in their own learning. The schools will offer synchronous learning, which is teachers providing real time, live online instruction and asynchronous learning where teachers provide videotaped instruction for learning on a student's schedule to register your student in the Jordan Virtual Learning Academy, visit http://connectjordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome back. As we told you earlier, some Utah Jazz Players are featured in a new series talking about their black history heroes. Donovan Mitchell's hero is the late baseball great Jackie Robinson. Here's what Donovan had to say.

Donovan Mitchell:
"You know, for me, obviously growing up, being, from a baseball background, I've always looked at Jackie Robinson as one of those guys who is a pioneer in the game. You know, you look at what he had to go through, from racial injustice to the famous story of him getting cleated, you know, an ankle that you had to go through. So many different hurdles and walls and obstacles to become who he was as a player and as a person. And what he stood for, that always stands out to me. For myself coming up, just being able to see a guy who not only transcended the game with his play, but how he dealt with people off the field."

"You know, he went through so many vigorous things just to be able to play the game baseball that he loved. And for me, my parents, my coaches, everyone talked about Jackie Robinson as a hero because he was just that guy that who went out here and led his game. He did the talking, no matter how many threats, no matter how much stuff was going on in his personal life, being the first black player in the major leagues. But he just went out there and did his thing and did it with such grace and such honor. And didn't really let all the other noise affect that and transcended the game for us African-American men."

Anthony Godfrey:
Derrick Favors chose the late US Representative John Lewis, as his hero.

Derrick Favors:
"John Lewis, the reasons why I'm from Atlanta, and he's from Atlanta. He did a lot of great things. He recently passed away and that was sort of a big thing in the community for us. Just all the things he's done in his lifetime to make a positive impact in the African-American community and also in the country as well. But he did a lot of great things like from marching with Martin Luther King to winning numerous awards. He was just a great role model, a great person who thought about everybody else who thought about uplifting everyone. And you know, he was one of my heroes, so you're never too young or too old to make a difference, no matter what it is."

Anthony Godfrey:
And you can hear from more Utah Jazz players in their series, Black History Heroes on the Utah Jazz on YouTube channel. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Supercast. And remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.