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With the spirit of gratitude and giving that accompanies the holiday season, an abundance of food, clothing, and gifts are being gathered and given by students, families, and local organizations across Canyons School District.

The heartfelt donations and deliveries recall a Brian Tracy recommendation: “Always give without remembering and always receive without forgetting.”

Seventy percent of CSD schools are participating in organized charitable efforts to help families in need, Make-A-Wish children, victims of abuse, and more. Participation in philanthropic events District-wide is up more than 10 percent from 2020.

The Draper Park Middle School “Latinos in Action” club is one of many great examples. They recently planned and promoted a clothing drive to benefit people assisted by The Road Home, and, wow, did the Vikings’ efforts pay off in a big way.

After gathering oodles of donations at school, the students loaded dozens of bags into Principal Chip Watts’ truck for the special and large delivery. The truck’s big 8-foot-long bed and backseat were bursting at the seams with clothing, shoes, and other items.

“We didn’t think it was actually going to be this successful,” DPMS student/Latinos in Action club president Alex Robichaux said. “We thought we were going to get a few boxes and that would be good enough, but having a truckload is really cool.”

In addition to students’ charitable efforts, Vivint, Midvale’s Rotary Club (“Operation Santa”), Saint James Episcopal, and Hope Church are among local organizations that are providing gifts and meals in the community.

We extend our thanks to the following schools and all other thoughtful people for their philanthropy:

Altara: Accepting donations of new clothing — including new coats, socks, gloves, scarves, and beanies — through Dec. 17.

Alta View: A Holiday Support donation drive to assist families in need.

Bell View: Staff will provide supplies for a Thanksgiving meal for a few families.

Brookwood: Faculty and staff are pooling resources to provide a local family with Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, giving Walmart gift cards for Christmas shopping for five children, and collecting much-needed household items and bedroom decor to help them at home in their temporary living situation.

Butler: Annual Giving Hearts campaign takes place in February.

Crescent: Staff purchased an item a child needs — to be wrapped and presented to parents — as part of their Holiday Assistance program.

East Sandy: Doing a food drive for the Utah Food Bank.

Granite: Student Council organized a food drive for the Utah Food Bank (from Nov. 30-Dec. 15).

Lone Peak: Planning a PTA charitable drive for spring. Earlier this year, they did a PTA food drive to benefit the community.

Oakdale: Hosting a food drive for the Utah Food Bank.

Park Lane: Collecting items to help The Road Home, with a focus on obtaining gift cards for teens.

Silver Mesa: Combined Hats on Friday with a can food drive, a program that allows students to wear a hat if they donate a can of food. This will go all school year. The school has already filled up 2.5 barrels of cans.

Sprucewood: Participating in a Sub for Santa event.

Sunrise: Students’ families participated in a Utah Food Bank food drive, sending cans and non-perishable food and/or monetary donations directly to the food bank. Also doing a Sub for Santa drive.

Willow Canyon: Working on winter kits for refugees. Students are donating socks, hats, and gloves for the kits.

Albion Middle: Recently concluded the Jonah Glenn Memorial Coat Drive. The school will also do its annual cereal drive.

Butler Middle: Teaming up with the National Junior Honor Society to gather items for hygiene kits. Each grade is collecting specific items. Drive begins after the Thanksgiving recess.

Draper Park Middle: Latinos in Action club just wrapped up a clothing drive for The Road Home. In addition, the National Junior Honor Society will sponsor a cereal drive.

Eastmont Middle: Conducting a food drive through the end of November.

Indian Hills Middle: Recently held a food drive and will work to assist Make-A-Wish in February.

Mount Jordan Middle: Collecting donations — food and money — for charity from Nov. 8-Dec. 13. The school is stacking items in big windows on the southwest corner, with hopes of filling the space with food.

Union Middle: Providing some Thanksgiving meals.

Alta High: Make-A-Wish fundraiser, collecting Hawk Stash donations, holding a HOSA blood drive, and doing the We Help Two sock donation drive.

Brighton High: Participating in a Make-A-Wish fundraiser.

Corner Canyon High: Campaign to assist Primary Children’s Hospital runs until Dec. 17.

Hillcrest High: Running a campaign to benefit the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), which helps survivors of sexual violence.

Jordan High: Donations to help the Mascot Miracles Foundation brighten the lives of kids — and their families — who are dealing with serious challenges.

Jordan Valley School: Providing Holiday Assistance aid to the community.

Did you know that Canyons District has some of the most extensive language immersion offerings in Utah? Twenty-one elementary and secondary schools offer dual-language immersion programs in Spanish, French, or Chinese — and it’s nearly time to apply to enroll for the 2022-2023 school year.

The start of October signals the opening of the window to apply for CSD’s popular Dual Language Immersion Programs. Parents and guardians can apply online anytime from Monday, Oct. 4, 2021 to Nov. 23, 2021.

In addition, families interested in learning about these programs are invited to attend an informational meeting for parents. The meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021 from 6-8 p.m. in the Canyons Center at the Canyons District Office, 9361 S. 300 East in Sandy.

Please note: Students with siblings who are currently enrolled in one of CSD’s DLI  schools must still submit applications by the Nov. 23, 2021 deadline. A lottery will be held to determine entrance into the programs if the number of applicants exceeds the 56 seats available per entering class.

On the application, parents will be asked to list their top three choices for placement. Parents will be notified of their children’s offer for placement into a program or placement on a waitlist by Jan. 7, 2022. All, but the program offered at Midvale Elementary, are for students entering first grade in 2022-2023.

The program at Midvale Elementary starts in kindergarten. Due to the fact that enrollment at Midvale Elementary is at-capacity, that school’s program is only open to students who live within the school’s boundaries.  Applications for Midvale’s Dual Language Immersion program will be handled through the school.

Spanish is offered at Alta View, Altara, Midvalley and Silver Mesa. French is offered at Butler Elementary and Oak Hollow. The schools offering Mandarin are Draper Elementary, Lone Peak, and Ridgecrest.

Immersion programs, a model of bilingual education dating back to the 1960s,  are surfacing in classrooms around the globe as an efficient path to proficiency in a world language. Elementary students in dual language immersion programs spend half the day learning core subjects in English and the other half learning in a target language.

CSD’s first immersion classes opened in 2009, the same year that the District was founded. More than 10 percent of CSD’s 34,000 students are now learning a world language through the program, which extends through high school. Students who pass an Advanced Placement exam in the 9th or 10th grades can start taking college-level courses for early college credit.

Questions? Call the Instructional Supports Department at 801-826-5026.

School psychologists, as most people probably assume, work directly with students, but they also consult and collaborate with teachers and parents.

They evaluate students for special education services, but also for mental health supports and referrals. They help build positive school climates where all students feel safe and welcome. They ease the minds of worried parents, calm anxious students, and work with teachers to find creative ways to keep students interested in learning.

Every day is different, which means they have to expect the unexpected and recalibrate their day at a moment’s notice. In other words, there is no such thing as a typical day for a school psychologist.

Join us for National School Psychology Week, Nov. 8-12 as we tip our hats to these consummate professionals in recognition of the many hats they wear and the support they offer families and schools.