By Julie Johansen
The Emery School Board meeting on Wednesday evening opened with Green River High School requesting permission to travel out of state for sport competitions. With the Utah High School Athletic Association (UHSAA) realignment of the districts and classes of the high schools in the state, Green River High will have to travel significant distances for competition. They would like to be able to go the shorter distance to Fruita and Grand Junction, Colo. for tournaments, it was explained. The request was granted unanimously by the board.
Also during the meeting, a new auditing firm was selected for the district. Gilbert and Stewart were chosen because their bid was the lowest and they also had the most experience of the three firms that applied.
Principal Garth Johnson of Huntington Elementary asked for a Land Trust Amendment in a STEM-related field. The school would like to use some of its trust fund money to build circuits out of clay, Johnson explained. This would make it possible for the younger grades to experience this field of discovery. This amendment was approved by the board.
Four new employees for the district were approved: Cali Moon as teaching assistant at Huntington Elementary, Steven Taylor as custodian at Canyon View Middle School, Alicia Whitesel as a swim coach for Emery High and Karl Jensen as the new assistant basketball coach at Emery High.
Castle Dale Elementary Principal Melinda Durrant reported that they are continuing their “Warm and Fuzzy” reward system in both social and academic areas of the school. She also presented their theme for the year, “BRAVE,” and how they use it in school-wide participation. Each letter is represented by three words, B – believe, bold, big hearted; R – respectful, resilient, responsible; A – active, accepting, appreciative; V – visionary, versatile, valiant; E- encouraging, enthusiastic, empathetic. The focus is one word each week and students who display this quality are recognized.
Durrant also said that Porter Stilson was the school’s geography bee winner and had taken the state qualifying test and was successful in passing it. He will now be competing on the state level. She thanked everyone for their participation in the pizza fundraiser, noting it was very successful. Principal Durrant concluded by noting activities coming to the school in the near future, including the Utah Opera and Story Telling Festival.
Superintendent Larry Davis paid tribute to June Shurtleff, who drove bus for the district for many years. He then read a letter from Robert C. Cuff, UHSAA, addressed to coach Lynn Tuttle, congratulating him on the Utah 3A Girls’ Basketball 2019 State Championship as well as the sportsmanship and citizenship of the team. Another letter shared was from Jennifer Thomas, district social worker, who reported the success of the Emery Caring for Kids program. There are 28 bags that go home each weekend and most of it is contributed by members of the community. They are distributed by Ashley Jensen and Thomas.
The superintendent also reported on the PLC program of the district. The request had been for more time to implement the program by educators. Considerations have been given and adjustments made, but no additional school time was added. The program will continue to move forward with other changes.