Riverton High Math Teacher Melissa Brown Receives Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching

Melissa BrownIt is one of the highest honors in the nation that educators teaching math, science, technology, and engineering can receive. Please join us in congratulating Riverton High School math teacher Melissa Brown for being awarded the “Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.” This award recognizes Ms. Brown and her outstanding teaching abilities, as being among the best in the United States.

Presidential Awardees receive a certificate signed by the President of the United States, a trip to Washington D.C. to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities, and a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.

Melissa Brown is a National Board Certified mathematics teacher and instructional coach with  more than two decades in education, dedicated to transforming the way students experience mathematics. With a deep-rooted belief that every student has the potential to grasp and love mathematics, Melissa focuses on cultivating positive and empowering relationships in her classroom.

Congratulations, Melissa Brown! Keep up the great work.

Bingham High School Cheer Claims Title of 6A All-Girls State Champions

A big congratulations to the Bingham High School girls cheer team led by coach Amber Thomas! The incredibly talented team earned a first-place spot, taking home the 6A All-Girls State Championship title during the recent State competition at UVU.

The Miners won two of three individual categories (Sideline/Timeout Cheer and Show,) which helped them win the 6A all-girls state championship.

Congratulations also go out to Riverton High School cheer for bringing home 2nd place in the 6A Co-Ed competition and to Mountain Ridge High School cheer for taking 5th place in the 6A All-Girls competition.

This is the third year the UHSAA has sanctioned competitive cheer and handed out state championship trophies.

Students and Community Come Together for Big Chinese New Year Celebration

It was a night of culture and tradition as hundreds of students, teachers, staff, and members of the community all came together for the 2025 Chinese New Year Celebration hosted by Mountain Creek Middle School. This is the ‘Year of the Snake,’ which symbolizes wisdom, transformation, and growth in the 12-year lunar cycle calendar.

Students from Eastlake Elementary School, Herriman High School, and Bingham High School were all featured at the Chinese New Year Celebration. They took the stage in cultural performances, with dragon and lion dances, music, and much more. There were traditional crafts and games along with fabulous food for everyone to experience.

Congratulations to everyone for sharing such rich culture and lots of fun at a fabulous event!

West Hills Middle School Awards Good Behavior with a Fun Auction

It is a fun way to recognize and reward students throughout the semester at West Hills Middle School and it has become a big hit. During all three lunches, Assistant Principal Tim Brooks acts as auctioneer and holds an end of semester auction in the lunchroom. Students line up with their good behavior cards and purchase all kinds of fun items, even vinyl records, with the “positive paws” they have earned. The “positive paws” are used like money to bid on items students want at the auction and everyone, including the auctioneer, Mr. Brooks, has a great time celebrating students and their good behavior.

Keep up the great work West Hills Middle for finding ways to celebrate great students at your school!

Foothills Elementary “Milky Way Math” Story Brings Home an Emmy for KSL-TV

It was a sweet story that KSL TV reporter Alex Cabrero and photographer John Wilson covered to perfection. So much so, they won a regional Rocky Mountain Emmy award.

Alex and John made a visit to Foothills Elementary School to see how 6th grade teacher Dhylan Meyer was making math fun for students in his classroom. You see, Mr. Meyer decided to challenge students to determine how many Milky Way bars students had donated to Principal Abe Yospe after Halloween. Mr. Yospe asked for any leftovers, because it is his favorite candy bar. A mountain of Milky Ways were soon piled high on a table in the principal’s office, but no one knew exactly how many.

So, using a little geometry and some rather complicated math calculations, Mr. Meyer’s students went to work and the number they arrived at was 3,173 Milky Way bars in the principal’s office. The student math was just five candy bars off the mark. There were actually 3,178 candy bars.

Congratulations to KSL TV for winning an Emmy! And way to go Foothills for making math fun.