School Board meets at SRJH

By COREY BLUEMEL Staff Writer

San Rafael Junior High Principal Garth Johnson welcomed the Emery County School District Board meeting to the school recently. He began by explaining that the students in the school’s computer classes have been working on a school website. The website is now up and running at www.srjh.emery.k12.ut.us. Slide shows, photos of athletic events and happenings at the school, and information are available at the website.
Johnson also informed the board that the three new teachers at the school, Eldon Carbine, Kirk Robinson and Brandi Yates are all working out very well. They have settled into their routines and have brought a great amount of energy to the faculty.
The new computers have been installed into the media center at San Rafael. Creig Cox, shop teacher, built the tables and Johnson stated that he did an excellent job. Johnson also stated his appreciation for the 24 new Dell computers.
With the Christmas season approaching, the student council has planned a secret Santa project. The advisory class will play secret Santa to a classroom, and then in turn that class will play secret Santa to another class until all the classes have been completed. Johnson added that the student council at the school is very active and helpful and they work very efficiently.
Another project planned by the student council is an Angel Tree. All the students are encouraged to put change into three separate jars. One jar is marked for each grade. Pennies count as the most points in that class’s jar. If a student puts in bigger coins such as quarters and dimes, these coins take away points from a class’s score. So, many students donate bigger coins into another class jar and those coins count against that class. Johnson said that this same fund raiser was done last year and the money was donated to a family in Elmo that had lost their home in a fire. He said the students had a lot of fun trying to take points away from another class.
Dianne Butler is the advisor to the advisory class. She has 20 students and their focus is on reading. These students read books aloud to each other and the number of books completed counts for their readers club totals. Readers club has 70 members and parties are given monthly for students who have read the required number of books.
Johnson expressed his appreciation to the district office, school board, the maintenance department, and especially the staff at San Rafael for the cooperation and excellent work that make the school run efficiently. He then displayed some of the work the art classes are doing. One item he showed the board was a quilt the art department is making. The students first made their drawings on the fabric block, then they painted them with acrylic paints. The blocks were then sewed together and the quilt is ready to tie.
School Board President Laurel Johansen commended Johnson for the Reality Fair the school recently presented. Johnson explained that this was the first year for the Reality Fair and the students, faculty and the sterling scholars who participated, all enjoyed and learned from the fair.
The Reality Fair was set up in the gymnasium. It was a virtual town called Reality Town where the students were given roles to play. Each had a job, received pay checks and was required to pay the bills associated with his role in the town. Some students were assigned large families with big day care bills, while others were business owners. Each of the students learned the details involved in daily living.
Business Manager Ross Huntington gave the details of the recent water sprinkler break at Ferron Elementary. The school lost four computers, three laptops, a TV, a VCR, a boom box and a sound system, along with 800 yards of carpeting. Inspectors have been to investigate and the reason for the break was undetermined. The repair work and replacement of the lost items will begin soon. The insurance adjusters have been in and inventoried the lost items.
District maintenance worker LeRoy Maxfield gave an update of the projects being done at Book Cliff Elementary, Green River High School and Emery High School. All projects are completed, nearing completion or awaiting parts. The concrete repairs have been postponed until Spring when concrete can again be poured. The renovation project at Book Cliff is 99 percent complete, Green River High is 75 percent complete and Emery High is 98 percent complete.
Superintendent Kirk Sitterud read a letter of resignation from Cassie Jensen, education assistant at Cleveland Elementary. He also explained the district’s proposed Do Not Resuscitate policy. He explained that the district has very few licensed medical persons and that the biggest percentage of the students in the district are under 18 years old, Do Not Resuscitate requests are not to be honored by the district’s personnel. The board approved the policy.
Superintendent Sitterud also explained that the program recently entered into with Southern Utah University to enable teachers to work toward their masters degrees or a reading endorsement, has been overwhelmingly accepted. At the present time, there are 20 teachers wishing to pursue a masters degree and 10 who want a reading endorsement. This is a big commitment by the educators in the district and will make a positive difference for the students in Emery County.
The 2005 meeting scheduled was accepted by the board. It is: January 5, 1 p.m. at the Castle Valley Center; February 2, 7 p.m. at Canyon View Junior High; March 2 at 7 p.m. at Cottonwood Elementary; April 6 at 7 p.m. at Huntington Elementary; May 4 at 7 p.m. at Cleveland Elementary; June 21, July 20 and August 10, each at 7 p.m. at the district office; September 7 at 7 p.m. at Castle Dale Elementary; Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. at Emery High School; November 2 at 5 p.m. at Book Cliff Elementary; and December 7 at 7 p.m. at Ferron Elementary.