South Hills Middle School Tiger Squad students are doing all they can to spread the message about suicide prevention awareness. Recently, they joined members of the community participating in the “Out of the Darkness Walk” sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

This was the second year for the Tiger Squad to be involved in the “Out of the Darkness Walk,” and students say they were amazed at the amount of community support they witnessed.

The Tiger Squad is made up of 26 students who are nominated for their ability to reach out, befriend, and help students at South Hills Middle. The school relies on these amazing ambassadors to help look for students who are struggling and then refer them to the counseling center or a trusted adult for support.

Keep up the important work, Tiger Squad. We are proud of the difference you make in young lives.

It was a real-life lesson about the history of the American Flag and what to do when the flag is worn and no longer a fitting emblem for display. Westvale Elementary School students gathered on Wednesday with West Jordan Police officers, some members of the military and community for a solemn and dignified flag retirement ceremony. Students, faculty, staff and those in attendance recited the Pledge of Allegiance and students sang a patriotic song while waving small flags. Once the old flag was retired, a new flag was raised to fly at Westvale Elementary.

Thanks, Westvale Elementary for a beautiful ceremony and showing great respect to the American flag.

Claire Burnham has a pretty amazing story to tell, one Claire and her family won’t soon forget. The Bingham High School sophomore was one of only 10 students in the nation selected to be a National Youth Storyteller at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival this past weekend. To make her story even more incredible, Claire was the opening act for professional storytellers, including the King of storytelling, Master Storyteller Donald Davis. Mr. Davis was the headliner at this year’s festival.

Claire first met Donald Davis seven years ago when he spoke to her third-grade class at Jordan Ridge Elementary School as part of a storytelling project the students were working on. That’s when Claire became fascinated with storytelling and the opportunities to perform what she was writing on stage. According to her mother, Claire was hooked and she has been writing and performing ever since. She has been a storyteller at a number of local events, including the Story Crossroads Festival in Murray and the Renaissance Festival at Thanksgiving Point.

Congratulations, Claire on your storytelling success. We can’t wait to see what the next chapter brings!