JUNE 2006

• First-Year Teacher Awards
        The Jordan Board of Education will recognize the following teachers with First-Year Teacher Awards:
  
• Kevin Fallon, band teacher at Riverton High;
  
• Kimberly Curtis, Spanish and ESL teacher at Union Middle (Sandy);
  
• Megan Meier, second-grade teacher at Lone Peak Elementary (Sandy);
  
• Gretchen Kirkpatrick, special education teacher at Midvalley Elementary (Midvale).
  
•       Teachers were nominated by principals based on outstanding performance during their first year.

DOSS representatives Amanda Hansen (left) and Vicki Coon deliver teddy bears to Sandy Fire Department officials. The bears will be given to traumatized children.

Custodians of the Month
      Innocent Nenbee, head custodian at Oquirrh Hills Middle (Riverton), was named Custodian of the Month for May. He has been with the District since 2001. Hourimane Onechanh, head custodian at Bell View Elementary (Sandy), was Custodian of the Month for June. He has been with the District since 1980.

Bears for Children
      The District Office Support Staff (DOSS) spearheaded a service project that collected 50 new small teddy bears for the Sandy City Fire Department Station 31. Fire department personnel will deliver the bears in fire trucks to children who have been traumatized. Many individuals and departments in the District Office contributed.

Sixth-Grade Shakespeare
      Sixth-grade students at Daybreak Elementary (South Jordan) will be presenting a Shakespearean Festival as a culminating activity for the year. Morning and evening performances are scheduled June 19-22. Anyone is invited to attend. Please contact the school, (801) 302-0553, with any questions.

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Current on Hiatus
      Next week’s issue of Current, June 13, will be the final issue for the 2005-06 school year. Please submit items for this issue by June 9. Current will resume with an online/e-mail issue Aug. 1. The next printed Current will be delivered Sept. 25.

City Choice Awards
      Mindy Dummer, history teacher at Oquirrh Hills Middle, was awarded a Riverton City Choice Award for May. Sharon Gunn, fifth-grade teacher at Rose Creek Elementary, received the award for April.

Teacher Appreciation
      Jonathan Haag, math teacher at Oquirrh Hills Middle (Riverton), was honored by the Southwest Valley Chamber of Commerce during a Teacher Appreciation Luncheon May 11. The event was held at the new Riverton City Hall.

• District Bus Roadeo
        Each year, the Transportation Department sponsors a “Bus Road-eo” for drivers. Drivers are tested on parallel parking, smooth stopping within one inch of a stop line, driving 100 feet within a three-inch line and many other skills. Participants are also tested on general bus driving, pre-trip and mechanical condition knowledge. In addition, a Special Needs Team Road-eo is held the same day. This year’s winners were:
• Big Bus Competition
• Expert Division—
• First: Patty Laughter
• Second: Glen Higbee
• Third: Darryl Hunger
• Intermediate Division—
• First: Tom Myers and Mike Mansell
• Second: Doug Brown
• Novice Division—
• First: Fermin Choque-Escalante
• Second: Charles Francis
• Third: Jennifer Kelson
• Small Bus Competition
• First: Steffanie Orman
• Second: Bryan Burke
• Special Needs Team Competition
• First: Kelli Brown and Stacey Robson
• Second: Tammy Davis and Pauline Pistorius
•      District first-place Special Needs Team winners Kelli Brown and Stacey Robson won first place in the Utah State Road-eo competition.

Swarm Award
      The Utah PTA awarded the Crescent View Middle PTSA (Sandy) the Swarm Award at the state PTA Convention. The award is given for outstanding efforts in membership. Crescent View has the largest PTSA membership in the state with 1,580 members (including 731 students and 849 adults).

Students (unsuccessfully) attempt to float across the West Jordan Middle pool during the school’s annual Boat Float activity. Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News

Boat Float
     West Jordan Middle hosted its third annual cardboard-and-duct-tape Boat Float activity June 1. The cross-curricular activity involves three school subjects. Students choose and research a historical theme in history classes; write a newspaper based on the theme in English classes; and design and build a cardboard boat in science classes. The boat must be large enough to hold two students, and strong enough to paddle across the school’s pool.

Western Round-Up
      A Western Round-Up and Information Fair at Jordan Valley School (Midvale), complete with Dutch-oven dinner, games and prizes, not only provided information for families of disabled students, it also raised $4,000. The money will be used to add shade to the school’s playground area.

Programs Benefit Special Schools
      Three Jordan District schools are benefiting from the Opportunity Foundation of America’s two programs, “EagleEyes” and “Boosting Your Finances.” In 2005 and 2006, the Foundation gave Jordan Valley (Midvale) two EagleEyes communication systems, eye-controlled devises that enable communication and learning for individuals who have severe special needs and only have control of their eyes. Students at South Valley (West Jordan) and Jordan Resource Center (Midvale) are taking advantage of the foundation’s basic financial literacy program, “Boosting Your Finances.” The students learn how to read and understand a paycheck stub, budget their money and how to use credit wisely. Classes are taught by foundation volunteers.

Grants for Media Centers
      Jordan District’s 55 elementary school media centers received a $65,000 Library Services and Technology Act grant under the direction of the Utah State Library Division. Schools provided matching funds as required by the grant. The funding will provide each elementary media center with an LCD projector, a PC laptop, and an audio voice enhancement system for dedicated use in the media centers.

• Retirement Open Houses
• A retirement open house will be held June 9, 3-5 p.m., in the school’s media center to honor the following employees at Monte Vista Elementary (South Jordan):
  • Kathy Eastman, media center, 38 years
  • Rita Greenhalgh, second-grade teacher, 27 years
  • JoAnne Lamoreaux, sixth-grade teacher, 18 years
  • Sheila Powell, sixth-grade teacher, 28 years
  • Terrie Simmons, kindergarten teacher, 17 years
• A retirement open house will be held June 16, 3-5 p.m., in the school’s media center to honor the following employees at Riverside Elementary (West Jordan):
  • Denney Berrett, principal, 33 years
  • Pam Brown, secretary, 25 years
  • Veda Burgoyne, kindergarten teacher, 28 years
  • Kirk Denison, fifth-grade teacher, 31 years
  • Mary Williams, second-grade teacher, 23 years

Scholarship Opportunities for Teachers
      Utah teachers can further their professional development through scholarships available at Western Governors University. Teachers can earn a master’s degree online while continuing to teach. Western Governors University, a non-profit, fully accredited online university, is offering the scholarships to certificated K-12 Utah teachers who want to pursue a Master’s of Education degree in Management and Innovation, Learning and Technology or Measurement and Evaluation, a Master’s of Arts in Mathematics Education or Science Education or a Master’s of Arts in English Language Learning. More information is available at www.wgu.edu.

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Employment Opportunities
      See current job openings posted by the Human Resources Department at www.jordandistrict.org/hr

ARCHIVED NEWS

To submit an item for Current, send an e-mail to Michael Kelley at michael.kelley@jordan.k12.ut.us or contact him at (801) 567-8337.