Some call it a miracle--Riverton High School calls it a Silver Rush

The air was charged with excitement at Riverton High School on Dec. 23 as students entered the gym for their Silver Rush closing assembly.
Riverton High’s Silver Rush began 12 years ago as a sub-4-Santa charity drive and has grown in leaps and bounds since. Each year, for three weeks in December, the student body officers decide on a charity and then the entire school and community work to raise money for that charity.
This year’s Silver Rush kicked off on Dec. 1 with a special assembly and a community meeting that evening. Since then, the students had been working hard, along with the community, to raise money for the Christmas Box House. Now the students were waiting anxiously to see if their hard work had paid off.
When the banner with the total amount of money raised was unfurled, there was a collective gasp.
Raising a total of $107,167.12, the students had set an all-time Silver Rush record. Including this year’s amount, Riverton High has earned over $717,000 over the past12 years for various charities.
It’s a staggering number, but students and faculty at the school are always quick to point out their motto: “It’s not about the dollar; it’s about the change.”
As soon as the amount earned was revealed, the students flooded onto the gym floor where one of the student body officers led them in an impromptu singing of the Riverton High fight song. Emotions were high, and the tears and hugging continued long after school was dismissed.
For the the three-week long Silver Rush, students did lunchtime activities, concerts and performances, door-to-door odd jobs for donations, a food drive, a toy drive, a camp out, and much more to help children at the Christmas Box House. Some students worked temporary jobs and donated their earnings. All around the school, students woreT-shirts and sweaters bearing a quote from Gandhi: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
Richard Paul Evans, author of the book “The Christmas Box” and one of the founders of the organization, in his speech to the school, quoted one of the student body officers as saying: “I’m so tired, but what will I do now?”
Evans began his speech by describing a 7-year-old girl who had won a watch that she had really wanted through a contest on Evans’ website. The girl was excited to win the watch, but when she discovered that one of the other participants in the contest was a boy with spina bifida, she contacted Evans and requested that the watch be given to the boy instead.
“How do you get that into a kid?” Evans asked the audience. He then commended Riverton High by saying that that was the kind of people in their school.
“What makes the difference? What makes you different from other schools? You get the concept of respect,” Evans said.
He commended the administration, teachers, parents, and families of the students for teaching these students to have respect for themselves and others.
“Every dime will be used to help as many kids as much as possible,” Evans said.
During the assembly, the winner of the Battle of the Bands contest that was held during Silver Rush, Lampton View, performed a song that they had written for Silver Rush.
Colton Gibson, along with the other band members, Zach Swan, Jordan Higgins, Carlin Smart, and Cory Gunn, wrote the song in an effort to inspire people to donate. The words of the song seemed to capture the feelings of the student body: “It’s a silver rush of charity/This is where I really want to be/A rush of kindness/This is where I really want to be.”
At least 17 local businesses contributed to their efforts. Artic Circle sold a Silver Rush shake and donated a portion from the shakes sold. A spokesperson from Artic Circle told the students at the assembly that the restaurant definitely wants to do it again next year.
Riverton High students really focused on involving the community in their efforts this year. Drew Hunt, a student body officer, described seeing how the school and community had come together as “humbling” and “amazing.”
“Silver Rush has become something that is part of our community, and we’re just trying to hold onto the reins,” Principal Brad Sorensen said.
Sorensen also told the students that Silver Rush isn’t something that ends when they graduate.
“You’ll always be a Silver Wolf. Your contributions and efforts don’t stop just because you graduate,” he said.
Student Body President George Alexander echoed these sentiments when he addressed the student body. “Silver Rush makes us who we are. Continue to be the change—we can change the world.”
Lisa McDonald, a representative for the Christmas Box House, thanked the students for their efforts.
“It goes beyond the funds. You have engaged us. The staff, the kids, the teenagers ... all month long we were aware of what Riverton High School was doing for us ... Because of you guys, these kids will have somewhere to be. They will have a childhood,” she said.

Riverton High students offer hope

Riverton High School’s Hope Squad held its annual Hope Week Jan. 23-27.
During the 2005-2006 school year, two students at Riverton High School took their own lives. At the beginning of the next school year, another student committed suicide. In answer to this, the school developed the Hope Squad.
The Hope Squad held daily lunch activities during Hope Week to encourage a positive atmosphere in the school. They also had a special assembly where songwriter and motivational speaker, Michael McLean, performed.
McLean told the students that he wanted to share the background music of his life and some of his experiences.
 “My whole life I have struggled. I have been clinically depressed for 40 years. It would have helped me to have a Hope Squad,” he said.
Through music and word, McLean encouraged the students to hold on through hard times and to not be afraid to seek help.
“When you’re in the middle of it, it’s hard to see when it’s time to reach out. It’s okay to get help...You never know when things are going to get better,” he said.
Hope Week culminated on a Saturday morning, Jan. 28, with the annual Hope Walk, a walk from Riverton High School to City Hall.
“This is a walk where we remember, when we keep hope alive in our hearts,” Janeen McMillan, school counselor, said to the group of about 75 dedicated students gathered for the walk.
“We always do [the walk] in January because it tends to be a dark month for people. We put on some color and give people hope,” McMillan said.
The Riverton Parks and Recreation Department works with the Hope Squad each year to help with Hope Week and the Hope Walk. Last year, they donated yellow scarves; this year, yellow gloves for all those participating. They also provided donuts and hot chocolate at the end of the walk.
The Unified Police Department also participated and helped to keep participants safe.
“This is a wonderful, wonderful event. This is a bunch of good kids doing something wonderful for each other,” Chief Rod Norton said.
“It warms my heart. It’s not just the Hope Squad; it’s a community effort,” McMillan said.
Mayor Bill Applegarth spoke to the group at the end of their walk.
“The desire these students have to help each other is commendable. On a very cold Saturday morning, to see this many students walk in a commitment to their fellow students, is tremendous,” he said.
“It has been super amazing. We walk for those who have passed away at our school and for their families. We walk with a purpose,” Summer Bailes, a member of the Hope Squad, said.
The Hope Squad is a student-based program adapted from a similar program in the Provo School District. With the Hope Squad, students are actively involved in helping their peers find hope amidst struggles and to see positive alternatives to destructive personal behavior.
Each year, students, teachers and counselors at Riverton High have the opportunity to nominate cheerful and upbeat individuals who they would feel comfortable turning to in time of need. Applications are distributed and members are chosen from this list of students.
Each Hope Squad member is required to take a pledge and complete a training session directed by the school psychologist and school counselors. The program currently has 80 members.
Parker Young, a member of the Hope Squad and a class officer, described an experience he had while doing door-to-door odd jobs as part of the Silver Rush.
“At this one house, this lady was so excited to see us. The first thing she asked us was if any of us were on the Hope Squad. Then she broke down and thanked us. She had lost a daughter eight years ago, but the Hope Squad helped to save her son,” Parker said.
“I feel like we really are saving lives,” another member of the Hope Squad, Sierra Samowitz, said.

High school senior shows you’re never too young to beat cancer

There’s a less than 0.01percent probability of getting breast cancer as a teenager. In fact, most breast cancer statistics don’t even show ages younger than 20 because the numbers are almost non-existent. But Morgan Watson, a senior at Herriman High School, knows what it’s like to go against the odds.
In August 2010, when she was 15 years old, she discovered a lump the size of a quarter on one of her breasts. Her mom immediately took her to a doctor. Usually a lump in a teenage girl’s breast is something minor, such as a swollen gland or a cyst. But for Morgan, it was the beginning of a very long and difficult battle.
Morgan was diagnosed with Stage III Triple Negative Medullary Breast Cancer, a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Over the next year, she had to squeeze in normal teenage events such as driver’s education and prom between chemotherapy, doctors’ appointments, surgeries and radiation.
Morgan began her first round of chemotherapy two days before her 16th birthday. She then went through six rounds of chemo, three weeks apart. After the chemotherapy, Morgan opted to have a double mastectomy, because she had been diagnosed with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, a condition that affects the body’s cancer-fighting genes.
With Li-Fraumeni, only one copy of the cancer-fighting genes is working, so there is a small chance of Morgan getting cancer again in a different place.
On Jan. 17, 2011, three days after the surgery, Morgan received the news that she was now cancer-free. It was a huge victory for Morgan, but she still had a way to go.
After the mastectomy, she began radiation treatments, doing five weeks of treatments, every day Monday through Friday. Three months later, Morgan had reconstructive surgery.
Throughout it all, Morgan has been strengthened by the support of her family and friends. Cards, gifts, phone calls, texts, notes and meals poured in during the hard times. Neighbors decorated Morgan’s yard and the neighborhood with pink ribbons and planted pink tulips in their yards to show support.
During her junior year, Morgan was attending Riverton High School and would often be greeted when she came to school by posters showing support for her. One time, the entire football team and their coach came to her first period class and sang the school’s fight song to her. On the days when she had to start her chemotherapy, the students at her school would wear pink to show their support.
After finishing her radiation treatments, Morgan’s family took a much-needed vacation in Mexico. Mom Jana Pendleton remembered looking at her daughter sitting by the pool, along with other teenage girls, and thinking, “You would never know just looking at her, all that she has been through. She looks like a normal teenage girl.”
But ‘normal’ isn’t really the best word to describe Morgan. ‘Spunky’, ‘brave’ and ‘strong’ are the words her friends and family use to describe her. Health-wise, Morgan will never be the same. There will probably always be some scars and leftover pain, and she will always need to be vigilant in taking care of herself. But more than the physical changes, Morgan is a different person. She is a stronger, better person.
“If I could go back, I would still choose to go through it. I am a stronger person. Life has more meaning. I can touch so many more lives now. It has been such a blessing,” she said.
“Everyone has a mom, a sister, a friend...someone who has faced cancer,” Jana Pendleton said. Morgan and her mom hope that they can use their experiences to help people through these experiences and to encourage breast cancer awareness for all ages.
Morgan is currently working with the Susan G. Komen foundation to increase breast cancer awareness among her peers. She hopes to take her message to local high schools.
As she wrote in a letter sent to all the high schools in Utah, “Breast cancer is known as an ‘old woman's’ disease. I want to send this message with the great people of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to alert and notify the public that it is far from it. This disease can affect anyone; daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmas, even men. I hold myself personally responsible to spread breast cancer awareness among young people and educate them about checking themselves.”
And while it is very rare to face breast cancer as a teenager, Morgan hopes to encourage other teenagers in whatever trial they may be facing.
“The teen years are hard, but don’t give up on things. Value your experiences—they make you who you are,” she said.

Bingham High prom king and his court stand together with big hearts

When Hayden Nickel was announced as prom king at Bingham High School’s prom this year, it was a crowning moment, not only for Hayden, but for the entire school.

The minute Hayden’s name was announced the entire crowd erupted in cheers for everyone’s friend, a classmate with Down Syndrome.

“It was a really cool experience seeing Hayden up there with his excited face. Everyone was so excited...Hayden has the most school spirit. He’s the best prom king we could have ever picked,” Kayla Huff, a fellow Miner, said.

“Hayden won by a landslide. It wasn’t a sympathy vote. People really wanted him to win because of who he is,” Jayson Isbell, one of the school’s special needs aides, said.

As it is for many juniors, it was a night to remember for Hayden. He and his date Courtney Baggett, met with other special needs students and their dates at the school and traveled together to Madeline’s for dinner and then to the Capitol for the prom.

Some of Hayden’s favorite moments were when everyone was chanting his name, being carried around the Capitol on his classmates’ shoulders, and, of course, dancing with his really good friend and prom queen, Mattie Watts.

Christy Nickel, Hayden’s mom, said that Hayden’s older sister and brother, who graduated from Bingham High in 2006 and 2008, predicted this would happen.

“They knew this or something like this would happen for Hayden because Bingham High is such a wonderful school,” she said.

 “Last year when Hayden was a sophomore, there were student body officers and cheerleaders that took him under their wing and led the way for everybody to be Hayden’s friends. It has just snowballed, and everybody has followed each other’s good examples,” Nickel said.

At Bingham High, students have the opportunity to participate in an elective class called peer tutoring in which they get to work with special needs students.

“As a mom, it touches my heart to see how everyone accepts Hayden for who he is. When we moved here about nine years ago, we were told how great the peer-tutoring program is. To see these kids work so close and become Hayden’s friends, real friends, is amazing. I wish all schools had this program and could learn from it,” Nickel said.

“Hayden teaches people to see each other for who they are. He doesn’t see religion, ethnicity or differences. Hayden sees people, and he teaches others to do the same. Hayden has united our student body,” Jared Denslow, Hayden’s teacher, said.

Hayden not only has many good friends at school, he is a good friend to everyone around him.

“He’s just a good friend. We all try to befriend him, but he’s the one who reaches out. He comes to support us in whatever we’re doing,” said one classmate, Anthony VanDongen.

Kayla Huff recounted how after a performance of the school play in which she had a leading role, Hayden rushed onto the stage to present her with flowers. His mom said it was all Hayden’s idea.

It isn’t uncommon to see Hayden at high school events cheering on his classmates. Last year, Hayden joined the swim team and has been there at every meet.

“He’s always wanting to know when our next meet is. And when we’re swimming, he’s always on deck yelling and screaming for all of the swimmers,” Shane Callihan, fellow classmate and top backstroke swimmer, said.

“He’s hung out with us so long, he’s just one of the guys. He’s touched my life. You come to school, and he’ll scream your name and make you feel good no matter what,” Tyler Winkelkotter, a senior, said.

“Hayden is Bingham’s number one fan. Whenever I see Hayden, it just makes my day,” Garrett Kordsiemon, a member of the soccer team, said.

Mike Nickel, Hayden’s dad, wishes he had enough money to take the school to dinner or do something to express his gratitude to the students at Bingham High School for all that they do for his son. From the football team buying all of special needs students Bingham hoodies last year to the friends who always just drop by to hang out with Hayden to Hayden’s being crowned prom king, Nickel feels that everyone benefits, especially Hayden.

“For me, it’s all about the students who include Hayden in everything; how they treat the whole special needs class. I just want to give a big thank you to all of the students at Bingham High,” he said.

The Herriman hero

Lynn Allred says anyone would have done the same, but his recent actions saved a woman’s life.

On Feb. 6, Allred, a vice-principal at Herriman High School, had just left work and was heading to the local credit union to turn over a Dodge Durango to its new owner.When he came to the intersection of 13000 South and 5500 West, he noticed the Honda Accord in front of him appeared to be stalled.

“I was getting ready to jump out and go help push the car,” Allred said, but then he noticed the driver was moving around in a strange way.

Allred realized that something was wrong with the driver, and then the other driver hit the gas. “She was driving through construction cones and barricades, so I hurried and punched the gas to pull up alongside her.”

When Allred looked inside the car, he could see that the woman driving the car was having some sort of medical episode. He also noticed that her car was heading straight toward a tractor with a digging bucket that was at the same level as the car’s windshield. The car was going about 25 to 30 mph at this point.

“I didn’t really have time to think about it. I just knew that if she hit that bucket, it would probably kill her,” Allred said.

Allred took action. He pulled in front of the car and hit his brakes to allow the car to bump into the back of his Durango a few times to slow it down. Allred then swerved out of the way at the last minute to avoid hitting the bucket himself. The car slowed down and rolled into the backside of the tractor at about 5 mph.

Allred immediately jumped out of his vehicle and tried to get into the other car to help the driver. The other driver, 25-year-old Shareena Knight, was conscious but unaware of what happened or was happening. An ambulance soon arrived and emergency crews were able to break into Knight’s car and take her to the hospital.

Knight had a massive stroke two years ago and had to relearn basic skills many of us take for granted. She was doing well prior to the accident.

Two days after the accident, Knight’s mother, EvaSue Taylor, sent Allred an email thanking him for his actions. Allred said that the email was wonderful and really touched his heart.

A week later, Knight came to Herriman High School with her husband and 3--year-old daughter to thank Allred. Unfortunately, Allred didn’t get to meet her at that time.

Knight left a gift basket and a card thanking him “for helping [her] be around to be a mother on earth a little longer.

“I’ve been hoping to see her again ever since the accident just to know she’s okay,” Allred said.

Allred is quick to point out how good the school and community have been to him following the accident.

“I wasn’t asking for anything, I’m just grateful she’s okay, but a lot of great things have happened since,” he said.

On March 13, Jordan School District Superintendent Patrice Johnson came to the school and presented Allred with a certificate recognizing his heroic actions. The teachers gave him a standing ovation.

Students like to call him ‘The Herriman Hero’ and keep telling him things like, “I can’t believe you did something like that.”

Also, Superior Auto Parts in Riverton fixed the Durango, and when they heard that Allred’s insurance wouldn’t pay for a rental car, they even covered the cost.

After the accident, the original buyer was no longer interested in the Durango, but a teacher at the high school ended up buying the vehicle.

“Herriman is a great area. Everyone has been so kind to me,” Allred said. “It’s great to see all the good things people do.”

“Anybody would have done the same,” Allred said, speaking of his actions that Feb. afternoon, but he also acknowledges, “I was there for a reason.”

The mighty journalist

About nine months ago, I adventured out and got a job as a journalist for a local newspaper called the South Valley Journal. The South Valley Journal covers four cities and is delivered to every home for free each month. In case you're wondering, as I was, they pay for publication through advertising.

I have covered the education beat for the newspaper. I have really enjoyed writing for the newspaper. I have to admit, that while I love to write and although I taught journalism for a couple of years, I really had no idea what I was doing at first. It took a big learning curve for me, and I'm really grateful for a patient editor. I realize that I've always been more into creative writing. I love telling stories. Writing in the newspaper genre is completely different than what I'm used to. If I were to go back to teaching journalism again, I would do a lot of things differently, now that I've had some real experience in the field. But I do feel like I improved over the months. I'm proud to say that I started our writing three to four articles a month and now average six to seven articles each month. And I have had so many priceless learning experiences and have had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people. It was wonderful for me to still have a connection to the education world, and it was my job to really spotlight the amazing things going on in the education world. And believe me, there are some AMAZING things going on! I have been touched and inspired many times by what the children and teachers are doing in our schools.

Here are some of the things I've learned from this experience:
1. I can do hard things. It was very intimidating to me at first to write in a different way and to go out to schools and be assertive. So often I want to fall back into my shy shell, but this job has really pushed me and taught me to talk to people. I've realized that I really can do challenging things if I set my mind to it.
2. I've learned that there really are wonderful things going on in this world, we just have to keep our eyes open for the good in life and not always get bogged down by the bad.
3. I am still a procrastinator. It seems I receive my best inspiration when my articles are due in two hours! =) When I was teaching, I remember getting frustrated with students who waited until the last minute to get their assignments done, but I'm realizing that, sometimes, that's okay. We just need to be patient with people and realize that we all have our own way of doing things. And while I might be a procrastinator, I'm still dependable. Sometimes the kids would be running around in just their diapers, eating cereal out of a box and watching reruns of Barney as I hurriedly wrote my articles last minute, but I really worked hard to get my articles done by deadline. I also have learned that deadlines are my kryptonite!
4. I love being involved. I like the idea of making a difference. And I truly believe that the written word can make a difference. I also believe that the media has a greater responsibility to promote good in the world than it realizes.
5. I really, really do love writing. It has been so good for me to be forced to write more often. I definitely need to make goals to write every day. Life is just better when I'm writing!
6. My husband is a very talented headline writer. For some reason, I really struggled with writing headlines. Nic probably doesn't want me to announce this to the world, but he's got a way with words and many of the really good headlines were written by him!

So, as I'm approaching a new chapter in my life--having three kids under the age of three--which I've entitled 'Insanity'. I've decided that I just won't be able to write for the newspaper anymore. This is my last month. In fact, tomorrow is my last deadline, and of course, I have four of my six articles to write still. I'm sad to not being doing this anymore but happy for the experience. I feel like I've really grown from this experience. I have a lot more confidence in myself and am excited to try new things like this through out my life.  In honor of my journalism 'retirement' I'm just going to post a few of my favorite articles in the next few posts. Please take note, that these aren't my favorite articles because of the amazing writing skill demonstrated (often it's quite the opposite!), but because of the inspiring people I met in writing the articles and the good changes they brought to my life.

Operation Bishopric

I realize that I have really been slacking on updating my blog. So much has happened and the boys are constantly doing cute things that I'm afraid might get forgotten because I haven't taken the time to write them down. I must do better! Currently, by some miracle, both boys have finally settled down to take a nap, so I had better take advantage of this time and catch up as much as I can.

Well, as noted by the title of this post, one of the biggest changes right now is that Nic was called into our ward's bishopric. For those not familiar with the LDS church, I would describe the bishop of a ward as the father of the ward. He is in charge of the spiritual and temporal welfare of all members of the ward. He has two counselors to support him in this calling, and  I see these counselors as kind of older brothers who help take care of the family. Nic is now the first counselor in the bishopric.

Two weeks ago, before church, Nic received a call from the stake presidency asking if we could come meet with them after church. We weren't really anticipating a calling into the bishopric at that time. Nic had been serving as Elder's Quorum president for over six years, so we were thinking maybe he was just being released. Then at church, the bishop announced at the end of sacrament meeting that the next week we would be having a homecoming and a farewell--we would be hearing a homecoming address from a sister who had just returned from serving a mission in Russia, and we would be hearing the farewell address from the bishopric because they were being released. Suddenly, Nic was starting to sweat bullets. Still, he thought maybe they were releasing him to fill a spot left empty by someone else being called into the bishopric.

After church, we loaded up the boys and headed over to the stake center to meet with the stake presidency. The stake president met with Nic for a couple of minutes and then we all met together, and they extended the calling. They offered us some wonderful counsel and told us that they were aware of our needs having a young family.

After that, we had to keep it all a secret until it would be announced the next Sunday. It didn't make it any easier that I think we ran into the entire ward randomly through out the week, and everyone was speculating who might be in the bishopric. We were able to tell our family, however, and invite them to church the next Sunday.

On July 15, Nic was officially called and set apart as a member of the bishopric. It was a wonderful, overwhelming day. Our old bishop, Bishop Spencer, and new bishop, Bishop Messmer, both spoke. The love that a bishop has for every member of his ward is just so amazing. Bishop Messmer had just retired from his employment a few days before he was called as bishop. He joked that while many friends were wondering what he was going to be doing with all of his free time now that he was retired and many were encouraging him to let his hair down and take a long vacation, his plans were now a little different and his first thing to do with his retirement was to attend young women's camp. He also expressed his love, his testimony, and commitment to serving the ward. His words really touched my heart, and I really felt the spirit that this man had been called of God to lead and direct us.

Every day since then, it has been slowly sinking in just what this is going to entail. Nic has had meetings or church responsibilities pretty much every day this week. I'm realizing that 1-I'm not going to see a whole lot of him now and 2-this is how it's going to be for quite some years.  I have been really touched by how many people have come to me and offered their help. We have quite the list of people ready and willing to sit by us at church and help me wrangle the boys. I'm going to need it! Sam used to be really good at church, but he's really taking this toddler thing seriously and is Mr. Wiggles these days. Actually, a more accurate description is that he's my little pin ball. He is often just bouncing off of the walls. He's still a good kid--just high energy! People have also offered to help me take care of the boys during the week as needed. Miss Lavon, who has taken care of the boys for me when I went to my newspaper staff meetings all year, has offered to be our 'Granny Nanny' and help in whatever we need. It has been good to be the recipient of such an outpouring of love and support.

When Nic was set apart, I felt the spirit strongly that this is exactly where the Lord needs him. I might be prejudice, but Nic is such a good man. His genuine love and acceptance of all people and his willingness to roll up his sleeves and work, are two of his best qualities that will really bless the lives of people. He's not perfect, but he has a great love for the Lord and an honest desire to do what is right. I cry as I write this because I'm realizing how truly blessed I am to be married to a man like Nic.

This is going to be a new adventure for our family with many ups and downs. But above all, I know that the Lord is aware of our family and will bless us abundantly through this new calling. And, hey, we've already had our first miracle: I had the boys loaded up by 8:30 a.m., and we made it to church by quarter to nine. Usually, if we make it by the sacrament, I'm feeling pretty good about things. My first Sunday of getting everyone ready on my own, and we made it ON TIME! Nothing short of a miracle! =)