Silver Summit Academy -

THRIVE registration is open! THRIVE is a well-being initiative developed by WeBeWell in partnership with the Live Like Sam Foundation. The free, online program empowers students and youth to thrive. It's for Summit County & Wasatch County youth grades 6-12. Youth participants will receive $80 after completing the Thrive program and its requirements. On average, recent Thrive participants have experienced a 55% decrease in anxiety and a 28% decrease in symptoms of depression while recognizing a 7% increase in quality of life after participating in a 6-week Thrive program. Register here: https://wlev.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7NwAKpNKrwzwb4O Get more info here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ztjan8iurr1wm5c0SKx3DJ7VTHObMoA1_oDLQYb-bLc/edit

Students can and do make a difference in their schools. This year Coy and Isabella changed the dress code after taking it to the school board. They are this year's student school board members. Last year's student board members, Adam and Emma, started the dress code conversation and Coy and Isabella were able to solidify the changes this year. You have the power to make changes like this too. Sign up to be a student board member today! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flexo4QeFVQ #WeAreSouthSummit #StudentSchoolBoardMember #SSHSWildcats #SSAUtah #SSSDBoardOfEd

South Summit Middle School presents Footloose the Musical, youth edition! Don't miss it, April 26th and 27th in the High School auditorium at 6:30 p.m. #WeAreSouthSummit #SouthSummitMiddle #LetsDance

An avid outdoorsman who has a way with connecting with youth, Mr. Dahl has been counseling students for nearly two decades. After teaching Spanish for 10 years he decided to make the switch to counseling and it stuck. He jokes that he works well with youth because he never fully matured himself, but whatever the reason, we're glad to have him here. When Dan isn't guiding students to success, he is most-likely outside doing something. He likes to hike, camp, fly-fish, backpack, and build boats. Sometimes his wife, and now grown kids will join him. He also has a granddaughter that he loves to spend time with. #WeAreSouthSummit #SSHSWildcats #StaffShoutout

Save the date! On May 8th we have Jeff Gregson joining us to present Anxiety Answers. Jeff is a Mental Health Counselor who is certified in the Teaching-Family Model (parenting model used by many youth programs), and trained in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (method of therapy that promotes rapid change for many issues). He's worked in international therapeutic boarding schools, an adolescent psychiatric hospital, and worked with families in their homes from LA to New York. He's also been featured on KSL radio, completed aftercare counseling for the TV program Hoarders, and worked with various high profile clients from London to Singapore. Despite all of that, he says his passion lies in helping his neighbors.

DeAnn Woolstenhulme is working her dream job as secretary of South Summit School District. She loves being with the kids all day and working in an office setting. #WeAreSouthSummit #SSElemWildcats #StaffShoutout

SSSD is conducting a school climate survey. All responses are anonymous. Parents should have already received information from each school. There is a survey for students, parents and staff. Parents can opt-out if they don't want their kids to take it. Check with your child's school if you have any questions.

After Caryl's two daughters got into school, she became a school crossing guard and later a para educator. It was really important to her that she be home for her girls, so that schedule worked out great. It also worked out great in that she loved the job. Mrs. Miles has spent many years with South Summit School District, most recently at Silver Summit Elementary nurturing countless students along the way. South Summit has a friendly atmosphere, top notch staff who give their all to make learning a top priority. That's her favorite part of the district. "Going to work at Silver Summit Elementary has been a total joy for me. I enjoy the staff and the Kindergarten and 1st Grade students that I work with. Mrs. Willoughby has been an outstanding principal. I thank her for making me a member of her team," she says. She has some talents and accomplishments outside of work too. In addition to her daughters, she has eight grandkids and seven great grandkids. She loves to spend time with all of them. She's an avid reader and also does cool appliqué on wool quilt blocks. #WeAreSouthSummit #StaffShoutout #SilverSummitElem

We LOVE our para educators! Our schools couldn't function without them. Thank you, paras! #WeAreSouthSummit #WeLoveOurParaEducators

Jerri Sue is a South Summit alumna and is a true librarian. She loves to read murder mysteries and always tries to solve the secret before the end. She currently works at South Summit Middle School as a Media Specialist. With over 24 years working in education, she's seen quite a few changes within South Summit. That's part of why she cherishes it. Even with the turnover she's seen through the years, she always loves the staff and the Middle School is still the place to be. Kamas Valley is also the place to be. After a while living in Wyoming after they got married, Jerri Sue and her husband moved back to the Kamas area and have been here since. Growing up in Kamas, Jerri Sue learned to love sports. She played softball, volleyball, basketball and ran track. She especially loves watching football, namely the Dallas Cowboys. She also enjoyes putting puzzles together and crocheting baby blankets, dresses, booties, hats and more. #WeAreSouthSummit #SouthSummitMiddle #StaffShoutout

Save the date! On May 8th we have Jeff Gregson joining us to present Anxiety Answers. Jeff is a Mental Health Counselor who is certified in the Teaching-Family Model (parenting model used by many youth programs), and trained in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (method of therapy that promotes rapid change for many issues). He's worked in international therapeutic boarding schools, an adolescent psychiatric hospital, and worked with families in their homes from LA to New York. He's also been featured on KSL radio, completed aftercare counseling for the TV program Hoarders, and worked with various high profile clients from London to Singapore. Despite all of that, he says his passion lies in helping his neighbors.

How many of us are brave enough to follow our dreams even when they take us out of our home country, away from our family, language, culture and into the unknown? Ms. Curdy did just that. She grew up between Chili's countryside and its capital, Santiago. She claims her life is simple but full of passion. That passion includes reading and learning new things like languages and cultures. She's also into yoga and meditation and has been accused of being a hippie. Rocio loves animals and nature and spends much of her free time hiking. She also loves to cook delicious food and travel and visits her family back in Chili when she can. She loves living here in the Valley by the mountains because it reminds her of her home there. She can't think of a more beautiful and peaceful place to live with her furry friend, Bleu, who is a Russian Blue kitty. "My favorite thing about South Summit is the community, I love my work environment. We got each other, and that makes my vocation as a teacher, a place I enjoy being. These wonderful people can really impact other people's lives," she says. #WeAreSouthSummit #SSAUtah #StaffShoutout

Deadline extended until March 31st! Nominate an educator who is making a difference, it only takes a minute. Submit yours today! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G2NBRWZ #EducatorOfTheYear23 #SSEF #SSEdFoundation

These 5th graders got to learn how to make salt clay sculptures with land forms or natural objects. How cool is that? Thanks to Mrs. Cummings and the Kimball Art Center for an amazing experience. #WeAreSouthSummit #SouthSummitMiddle #KimballArtCenter

No school for Silver Summit schools today, March 24th. Enjoy your day off students! #SSAUtah

Raise your hand if you played school as a little girl. Raise your hand if you took notes in your elementary school classes on things your teachers did that you liked so you could do those same things when you became a teacher as an adult? Mrs. Metcalf did! She took playing school seriously and she knew from a young age what she wanted to be when she grew up. She taught in Alpine for seven years, and became passionate about helping students learn to read when she saw them struggling. She went back to school to get her master's degree with an emphasis in Reading. She loves to read and learn so she devoured everything she could about teaching kids to read. Now she's a Literacy Coach at South Summit Elementary School and she loves working with the paras and teachers and students there. She credits the community, teachers and coaches for all having a positive influence on her family. "My favorite thing about South Summit is how close this community is and how we all take care of each other. I am so grateful to work here and give back to the community that has been so welcoming and kind to our family," she says. Melissa, her husband and four kids, have loved living in the Kamas Valley for seven years. When she's not working, Mrs. Metcalf is usually spending time with her family, reading, quilting or cheering on the Denver Broncos. #WeAreSouthSummit #StaffShoutout #SSElemWildcats

Attention Parents! Schools will be administering a School Climate Survey on April 11th to all students. You have the ability to opt your student out of taking the survey if you choose. Survey questions will be available to preview at the District Office (285 E. 400 S. in Kamas) on March 28th and March 29th from 8:00-5:00. Opt out forms will also be available at that time. Additionally, principals will send opt-out forms to parents prior to April 11th.

Tomorrow is the last day to submit nominations! It's that time of year again... Nominations are now open for educator of the year. Nominate an educator who is making a difference, it only takes a minute. Nominations close on March 22, submit yours today! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G2NBRWZ #EducatorOfTheYear23 #SSEF #SSEdFoundation

Painting with 7th and 8th graders! Mrs. Cummings' classes got to learn how to make their own watercolor paint. Have you ever wanted to invent your own color? These students got to play around with various colors as they made their own, like people did back in the primitive times--with plants. Once they got the colors they wanted, they painted pictures in their nature journals using their new paints. #WeAreSouthSummit #SouthSummitMiddle #YouthArtMonth

Ms. Moss has been teaching at Silver Summit Academy for three years and she loves it. She commutes from Salt Lake every day. "I love this district, I feel like I am seen as a valuable employee, and respected as an educator, that is why it is worth the commute," she says. After working in a lockdown treatment center for teenagers, loving the work, and knowing it was so important, she decided to return to school for a master's in education and become a teacher. She wanted to make a difference in the lives of more kids than just the few she would see temporarily at the treatment center. "I ended up teaching math because I fell in love with problem-solving based math instruction, and found I could help kids recover from prior bad experiences with math. Pre-algebra (7th grade) was the only class I ever failed throughout my schooling. I just did not understand how to solve equations. After some tutoring, it finally clicked for me, and I was able to get through the rest of math without incident, she says. "I wouldn't say I was one of those kids who math was easy for, but I have practiced enough now that I am pretty good at it, and I am always trying to learn more." Practice and a growth mindset are critical components in her classroom because she wants her students to know that they can do difficult things with enough effort and dedication. She loves teaching a subject that many kids dislike or have a bad history with in a fun, accessible, and interactive way. She describes it as the ultimate teaching challenge! #WeAreSouthSummit #MathRocks #SSAUtah #StaffShoutout