September Newsletter 2021
The Latest events and Announcements for Jordan Valley School
Inside the September Issue:
- New Staff Bios
- School Start Up Success
- School Community council (school plans)
- PTA Corner
- School Swag
- Save the Dates
Upcoming Dates
6- No School
Every Friday- Chameleon of the week PBIS Celebrations
15 – Class Field Trips to the State Fair
22 & 23 – Parent Teacher Conferences
24 – No School
Curtis Sanderson -Music Therapist
Curtis graduated from Utah State University in music therapy. He completed his internship at Hartvigson School. Music and psychology have always been passions for curtis. When he discovered music therapy as a field, Curtis dove in, never looked back, and couldn’t be happier with his career choice. Curtis’ life at home is very full. Hae and his wife have 5 energetic kids who light up the world. Curtis is beyond delighted to come work at Jordan Valley! He is looking forward to getting to know everyone!
Carolyn West, Middle school Classroom Teacher
I am joining Jordan Valley’s amazing team of teachers this year and I could not be more excited!! Some of you may recognize my name as I have been a paraeducator at Jordan Valley for 9 years prior to COVID. This past December, while working in an online classroom, I graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor’s in Family, Community, and Human development. I also have a minor in Psychology. I will be returning to the U in the fall to pursue a 2cnd Bachelor’s degree in special education. I am a single mother with 4 children, 2 dogs, and 3 cats. I adore my little family at home and am so very excited to be rejoining my Jordan Valley family. I look forward to the year ahead, the opportunities to get to know those of you I don’t, and most of all the joy of being back in the classroom with the kids!!
New Staff Continued…
Eric Shiring – Beverly T. Sorensen Arts Teacher
Eric recently moved to Salt Lake from London, U.K. where he graduated with his Master of Fine Arts in Choreography with distinctions. He has been teaching and professionally performing for over sixteen years. He specializes in dance composition, ballet, jazz, modern, improvisation, and musical theater. He also teaches at Gravity Dance Studio as one of their ballet directors and instructors. I have worked for Disney, Universal Studios, short film productions, live performance, several dance companies, and music videos.I have spent some time doing musical theater, commercials, and working with improvisational groups. He’s very excited to get to know the students and how he can support their programing.
Brittany Dalgleish – Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant
Brittany attended Utah State University where she discovered her passion for occupational therapy. She graduated from Salt Lake Community College accredited OTA Program in 2020. She is ecstatic to join the team here at Jordan Valley and to begin building relationships and working one on one with the students to reach their OT/ educational goals. In her free time, she enjoys playing the cello, playing with her nieces and nephews, playing pickleball and frisbee. Her life motto is, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Megan Okumura – Paraeducator in Deven Perry’s class
Megan is currently an online student at Utah State University majoring Special Education with an emphasis in Severe Disabilities. She loves to go hiking, backpack, camp, and river rafting. Her favorite thing to do is paint and play board games with her family. She has a cute dog named Kylo Ren. She loves to take him for walks and play with him.
Kortnee Spencer – Paraprofessional in Kelsie Wilson’s class
Kortnee is 25 years old and loves to make resin art, paint, cook, hike and camp with her family. She also loves attending concerts whenever she can and playing with her animals.
Volunteers
We love volunteers! There are many ways you can become one. You can connect with your students teacher and brainstorm how you can suport them from home or at school. You can join our School Community Council where we discuss safety and functional goals for the school to focus on. You can also join the Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) that helps staff and students throughout the year. Complete the district volunteer form at https://foundation.canyonsdistrict.org/volunteer/ so we can add you to our volunteer list
Spoofing Scam
I wanted to make you aware that a number of Canyons District Principals, PTA Members, and School Community members have recently been targeted by cyber criminals in spoofing scams. With spoofing or imposterschemes, scammers pretend to be someone you trust in order to convince you to send them money. They often purport to be a school principal, for example, who is seeking a gift card on support of a school cause. The good news is that none of the district’s computer systems have been compromised. Canyons district has robust tools in place to catch and prevent spoofing and phishing, but it is important to be vigilant. The reality is that spoofing scams are a growing problem worldwide, and the best defense is to know what to look for to protect yourself. Attached is a flyer with tips for identifying imposter fraud.
School Community Council
Would you like to be more involved at Jordan Valley? We are always looking for additional guardians to participate on the School community Council (SCC). This group meets once a month to review school data, safety plans, and discuss Land Trust and TSSP expenditures. We welcome all! Please fill out the attached SCC form to be added to our council. Our first meeting is scheduled for Friday, September 10th at 3;30pm at Jordan Valley School.
Positively PTA
Hell Jordan Valley Families and Happy New School Year! We hope that your year is off to a great start! It was fun to see so many smiling faces at Back to School Night. We would love to invite you to join the Jordan Valley PTA, so that we can keep you up to date on everything that we are doing for our school. Volunteer hours are not required, but we would love to have you if you have the time. You can join our PTA at https://jordanvalley.memberhub.com/store or you can come into the school. There is an envelope in the front office.
You are always welcome to call or text with any questions or concerns.
We hope to see you soon!
Becca Stradling
Jordan Valley PTA President
602-930-0464
Successful Startup
Student and staff had a successful return to Jordan Valley last month! We have 94 students enrolled this year in 11 different classrooms. The pool is back and running, allowing our student to practice safety habits in and around the pool. It is also helping relax and stretch muscles. We are so thankful our students can be in the pool again.
Our very first fire drill was practiced and students demonstrated their ability to listen and follow directions. We are thankful to have such caring staff that know how to support the students in an emergency.
School Swag
New to Jordan Valley? Ready to add more school spirit to your closet? This is your chance!
School Store apparel will be open September 22 – 30. The link to access the school apparel will be sent in a Skyalert just before it opens. The store will be open for one week, so mark your calendar!
