Winter Recess Schedule
      The Board of Education and District Administration extend holiday greetings and best wishes for a happy new year to all employees and their families. During Winter Recess, the District Office is open Dec. 27-29, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The office is closed Dec. 25, 26 and Jan. 1. There will be no Current Dec. 26 or Jan. 2. The next issue of Current will be sent by e-mail and available online Jan. 9. Please submit items for this issue by Jan. 5.

Center to Relocate
      The Jordan Family Education Center is relocating for winter and spring quarters (Jan. 2, 2007, to August 2007) while Copperview Elementary is remodeled. During this period, the center will be located at Union Middle School, 615 E. 8000 South, Sandy. The phone number will remain the same, (801) 565-7442.

Published Author
      Bill Beck, choral and English teacher at Joel P. Jensen Middle (West Jordan) had his poem “Teaching–A Sport?” published in the poetry publication Timeless Voices. This is Beck’s first published work.

Science Grant
      Sixth-grade teacher Dana Lamb, Hayden Peak Elementary (West Jordan), received a 100% for Kids grant of more than $4,200. She is using the funds to buy science equipment and books for her units on microorganisms.

World Record Attempt
      Students from several area schools, including Jordan Hills Elementary (West Jordan) and Oakcrest Elementary (West Jordan) may have earned a world record. The students were part of a worldwide effort to set a record for the most people reading aloud simultaneously in multiple locations. An estimated 500,000 students read Charlotte’s Web throughout the U.S. and in 28 countries to make the attempt. Each site now has until January to submit reports from witnesses to confirm the record.

• Holiday Giving (continued from last week)

• Students at Oakcrest Elementary filled 92 shoe boxes with items for disadvantaged children in other countries.

  Students at Copperview Elementary (Midvale) collected more than 2,000 items of food for the Utah Food Bank during the annual student council food drive. The 11 student council members then donated time to help sort food at the Food Bank.
• Students at East Midvale Elementary collected 30 boxes of food and toys and seven large bags of clothes for the nursery program at the Midvale Family Support Center. The project was conducted under the direction of Jen Viehweg and her second-grade class.
• Several classes at Foothills Elementary (Riverton) are participating in charitable events. Mary Brown’s fourth-grade students are making blankets for Primary Children’s Medical Center. Terri Smith’s fourth-grade students are making hats, scarves and fleece blankets for the Ronald McDonald House. All the fifth-grade classes are making fleece blankets for newborns at the U of U Medical Center. As a school, Foothills is conducting a food drive for the Utah Food Bank that so far has collected more than 10,000 food items.
• The student council at Granite Elementary (Sandy) raised $1,497 for Quarters for Christmas, a school record. The money will be presented live on KSL radio today at 4:50 p.m.
• Hayden Peak Elementary (West Jordan) students collected more food and clothing this year than in any other year. The items will be donated to the Jordan Student Intervention Team. Also, instead of exchanging gifts with each other, Hayden Peak teachers and staff are collecting books to be donated to the homeless.
• The FCCLA chapter at Jordan High (Sandy) donated a tree to the Festival of Trees. The Jordan High Creative Foods and Culinary Arts classes also donated more than 200 bags of snack mix and 100 snowmen cookies for the Festival.
• The student council at Midvalley Elementary (Midvale) asked all students and staff to bring in one can of food to help the Utah Food Bank. The school more than doubled its goal by collecting 1,200 cans of food.
• The Jordan Chapter of the School Nutrition Association held a Sub-for-Santa fundraiser for the children of individuals who work in the Nutrition Services Department. The chapter raised $1,200 and donated it to seven families in need.
• Students at Oakcrest Elementary (West Jordan) gathered personal hygiene items, toys, school supplies and other needed materials as part of its annual shoe box project. The items are collected in shoe boxes and delivered to disadvantaged children in third-world countries.
  

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December Payroll Notice
      Payday is Dec. 21. Since traditional schools will be out for Winter Recess, all earning statements for traditional schools will be mailed. Year-round schools and District administration locations will pick up earning statements as usual. Direct deposit is mandatory for employment in Jordan School District.

Physics Teacher of the Year
      Nathan Justis, physics and astronomy teacher at Riverton High, was named Physics Teacher of the Year by the Utah Science Teachers Association. The award was presented Dec. 8 at the National Science Teacher Association Conference, held this year in Salt Lake City.

German Teaching Officers Elected
      Two recently elected officers for the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) are from Jordan District. Jo Carmiol, German teacher at Alta High (Sandy), was elected president-elect and Heather Christopher, German/Spanish teacher at Bingham High (South Jordan), was elected secretary to the Utah AATG chapter.

National Horticulture Awards
      The horticulture department at the Jordan Applied Technology Center, Sandy Campus, sent two first-place, state-winning FFA teams to the National FFA Career Development Event competition with teacher/adviser Mitzi Overstreet. The nursery and landscaping team earned a silver award as 16th in the nation. The floriculture team earned a gold award as 14th in the nation.

Mini-Grants Awarded
      Jordan Education Foundation Mini-Grant awards totaling $2,816 were presented by Dennis Wilson, Jordan Education Foundation treasurer, to Copper Canyon Elementary Principal Diena Riddle on behalf of teachers at the West Jordan school. The grants were awarded to enhance learning through manipulatives, increase student-based learning, improve the science literacy library, and engage students in other learning activities. The following teachers received the awards: Kendra Dean, third grade; Shannon Forsyth, fourth grade; Sarah Mittelstaedt, third grade; Esther Russell, first grade; Nadine Sorenson, fourth grade; and Gina Vondwingelo, third grade.
      More than $1,400 in Mini-Grant awards were also presented to teachers at Quail Hollow Elementary (Sandy) for guided reading books and reading manipulatives. The awards were presented to Sandy Ewell, resource teacher; Shauna Rawlins, second-grade teacher; and Jodi Roberts, literacy specialist.

• Holiday Giving

• Students at Union Middle created a pirate tree for the Festival of Trees.

  In a project spearheaded by the student council, students at Silver Mesa Elementary (Sandy) collected nearly 800 cans and items of food. The food will be donated to the Road Home Shelter in Midvale.
• Students in the floral design and greenhouse management courses at Jordan Applied Technology Center, Sandy Campus, decorated and donated a tree for this year’s Festival of Trees as a service-learning project. The students grew and sold a pansy crop to raise money for the tree. The tree was called “Zoom-Zoom” and was decorated in the “Cars” movie theme with toy cars, racing flags, a race track spiraling down the tree and a Lightning McQueen television showing the movie. On opening night after a line of bidders competed, it raised $4,500 for Primary Children’s Medical Center. 
• Students at Draper Elementary collected more than 3,000 pounds of food for the Utah Food Bank. The project was part of the school’s annual student council service project.
• District Office staff collected 164 hats, gloves, scarves and socks for the Road Home shelter in Midvale. The project was sponsored by DOSS.
• Several classes at Edgemont Elementary (Sandy) collected money and materials to make fleece blankets to donate to area homeless shelters. By the end of this service project students will have provided hundreds of blankets for those in need.
• Eighth- and ninth-grade students in Camie Lloyd’s 3D design class at Union Middle (Sandy), collaborated with faculty, staff, students and community to plan and create a tree for the Festival of Trees. The tree’s theme was “Dead Men Tell No Tales.” It contained everything a pirate could need from the decorative treasure chest, a “how to” books for pirates, and a skeleton captain and his first mate—all made by Union Middle students. The tree sold for $550.
• The students and staff at South Jordan Middle are filling stockings in their classrooms with money to help families in need within the school boundaries. The administration will buy gift certificates with the donations and allow the parents of the recipients to decide how best to use the gift during the holiday season. A similar project last year raised more than $5,000.

Rivalry Nets Food Donations
      The U of U vs. BYU football game fostered a rivalry at Bluffdale Elementary that brought in food for the Utah Food Bank. BYU fans collected 3,011 cans and U of U fans collected 3,401. The Jiffy Lube in Riverton matched the donation, meaning the school donated 12,824 cans.

Middle School Book Club
      Students and teachers meet together monthly at Crescent View Middle (Sandy) to discuss an adolescent novel as part of the school’s Brown Bag Book Club. Books discussed so far include Surviving the Applewhites, The Schwa Was Here and Uglies. About 40 students participate with several teachers during lunch periods. Jolene Jenkins, reading specialist, spearheaded the activity with support from media specialists Timothy Rausch and Maggie Welliver.

Reality Town
      Eighth-grade students at Joel P. Jensen Middle recently received a dose of reality during the schools Reality Town. Nearly 100 parent and community volunteers participated in two separate sessions.

Updated T4 Web Site
      Teachers: Do you need help integrating technology into your teaching? The new T4 Web site is an excellent resource for your educational technology questions. Maintained by the Jordan District Curriculum Technology Specialists, the T4 site has recently received a face-lift. Visit http://t4.jordandistrict.org for a huge selection of technology resources.

Seeking Classroom Tables
     Oakcrest Elementary (West Jordan) is looking for 6’ x 3’ foot classroom tables. If you have some available that you would be willing to surplus, please call Paul Fisher, (801) 280-7243, paul.fisher@jordan.k12.ut.us.

Holiday Poinsettia Sales
      The greenhouse program at South Valley School (West Jordan) still has a limited quantity of florist-quality poinsettias in a variety of colors available. Plants are available at the greenhouse behind the school, 8400 S. Redwood Road, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday. The plants are $8 for 6” pots and $16 for 8” pots. Schools or groups ordering 25 or more receive free delivery. For more information, call (801) 565-7167 or go to http://web.jordan.k12.ut.us/svs/ (click on “Greenhouse”).

Retirement Open House
      Gayla Brinkerhoff, secretary at Southland Elementary (Riverton), is retiring after 11 years in Jordan District. An open house will be held in her honor Dec.15, 4-6 p.m., in the school’s media center.

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• New Board Members Elected
        Following certification of election results and a recount in one close race, two new members are set to join the Jordan Board of Education in January 2007—Kim Horiuchi and Tracy Scott Cowdell. The 2007 Board members are:
  
• Precinct 1: Peggy Jo Kennett
  
• Precinct 2: Ellen Wallace
  
• Precinct 3: Kim Horiuchi
  
• Precinct 4: Sherril Taylor
  
• Precinct 5: J. Dale Christensen
  
• Precinct 6: Tracy Scott Cowdell
  Precinct 7: Randy Brinkerhoff

Biology Teacher of the Year
      Dawn Monson, science teacher at Joel P. Jensen Middle, was named Biology Teacher of the Year by the Utah Science Teachers Association. The award will be presented Dec. 8 at the National Science Teacher Association Conference, held this year in Salt Lake City.

Reading Teacher of the Year
      Karen Kochevar, first-grade teacher at Columbia Elementary (West Jordan), received the Utah Reading Teacher of the Year award from the Utah Council of the International Reading Association (UCIRA). The award was presented during the UCIRA Annual Conference in Salt Lake City.

Educators of the Month
      The Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce and Jordan Credit Union honored Ric Thompson, construction teacher at Jordan Applied Technology Center, Sandy Campus, and Sheri Jensen, BYU Partnership facilitator at Sandy Elementary, as Educators of the Month for November. The awards were presented at a luncheon Dec. 1.

Custodian of the Month
      Paul Jolley, head custodian at South Hills Middle, was named Custodian of the Month for August. He has been with the District since 1985.

Winter Choir Performance
      More than 100 students sang holiday favorites during the Copper Canyon Elementary (West Jordan) Winter Choir performance Nov. 30. The choir was directed by parent volunteer Lisa Wilson and accompanied by Principal Diena Riddle. Students practiced for the performance since the beginning of school in July.

• Holiday Giving
        Jordan District students and staff are very generous in sponsoring charitable activities, particularly during the holiday season. If your school or department is conducting a fundraising or service project, please send details to Mike Kelley at michael.kelley@jordan.k12.ut.us. Following are a few received to date:
• The Transportation Department donated a tree to the Festival of Trees. The tree was decorated in school buses and dedicated to drivers who have passed away.
• Counselors at Valley High (Sandy) are coordinating with students in their peer leadership groups to participate in various service learning activities throughout the year. David Tangaro and Valorie Brandt’s peer leadership group conducted a food drive for the Utah Food Bank, collecting more than 600 items. Students in Raylene Glover’s group are currently working to raise money for blankets and scarves to donate to area homeless shelters.
• This year’s District Office Christmas tree is based on the theme “Season’s Readings.” Staff members have so far donated about 100 children’s books to hang on and place under the tree. Additional book donations are welcome. These books will be given to the Road Home shelter in Midvale to give to children as Christmas gifts. District Office staff will also volunteer to read to children at the shelter.

100% for Kids Grants
     Quail Hollow Elementary received two grants from the 100% For Kids Foundation. Paul Taysom, second-grade teacher, received $1,000 for a classroom projector. Sandy Ewell, resource teacher, and Jodi Roberts, literacy specialist, received $5,181 for a reading intervention program.

Seeking Health Textbooks
     Genesis Youth Center (Draper) is looking for 13-15 copies of Glencoe Health (for high school). If you have this book available to surplus (or possibly a different health textbook), please contact Janna Spears, (801) 576-6729, janna.spears@jordan.k12.ut.us.

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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.