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Show A-6 The Park Record Wed/Thurs/Fri, May 2-4, 2018 Youth find true selves in book Excellent teachers honored The story helps children discover their strengths Eric Janes earns award for being inspirational CAROLYN WEBBER CAROLYN WEBBER For Fatima Doman, recognizing and exercising ones’ strengths are the keys to success. And she believes that there is no age too young to start doing so. Doman, a speaker and coach and the author of the book “Authentic Strengths,” plans to release the children’s version of her book on May 8. “True You: Authentic Strengths for Kids” uses positive psychology methods to feature all 24 character strengths that she highlights in the adult version and provides examples of how an individual can exercise those strengths. Doman decided to write the book after elementary school teachers in the Park City School District told her that her first book’s material was a little too advanced for their students. She started working with teachers in the district nearly two years ago, following the death of two students from Treasure Mountain Junior High due to opioid drugs. She said the district reached out to her because they needed “resilience tools,” or a way to help teachers teach students to confront problems in a healthy way. Doman coached 27 counselors, teachers and administrators in resilience training and certified them with Authentic Strengths Advantage, a program that Doman founded. Some of the elementary school teachers enjoyed the training, but wanted it to be more accessible to young children. “It was at that point that I decided that we really needed something for the younger kids,” Doman said. She said that it was a challenge to present the information in a way that was easy to understand, but that it has been rewarding to hear the reactions from families who read the Teachers listened in anticipation as the announcer paused before reading the name. When he glanced up and said, “Lana Youngberg” into the microphone, teachers jumped up and down, cheered and started to cry from joy. Youngberg, a beloved kindergarten teacher at Parley’s Park Elementary School, is retiring at the end of the school year, but not before she was presented with a Doilney Excellent Educator Award in front of the whole school. She was one of several teachers in the Park City School District who were recognized on April 27 during the annual Park City Education Foundation Doilney Excellent Educator Express, which is put on by the PCEF and Doilney Family and sponsored by Deer Valley Resort. Jim Doilney created the awards in 1996 to honor his parents, Sarah and Stephen Doilney. Along with the celebration and their name on a plaque, the teachers also receive a monetary award. The Park Record The Park Record COURTESY OF NEXT CENTURY PUBLISHING Fatima Doman is the author of “True You: Authentic Strengths for Kids.” The children’s book teaches kids how to identify and develop their strengths. book. She included a teaching section in the book so parents and educators can start conversations or guide thoughts for their kids before, during and after reading the book. For example, parents can learn to intentionally point out their child’s strengths days after finishing the book. Doman considers it a success when she learns of kids who ask their parents to read “True You” over and over or students who point out their own traits, like being a good team player, while reading. Doman said that she plans to get the children’s books into classrooms in the Park City School District soon. She is scheduled to do resilience training for another round of teachers in the district this summer. She said that helping everyone, but especially youth, understand their strengths can be very beneficial to one’s development and emotional well-being. “One of the deepest needs of the human psyche is to be understood and to be recognized for your good traits,” she said. She considers this book and its teaching as a prevention tool for bullying, addiction and suicide. If students have strong internal fortitude, they will have the ability to cope with difficult situations in life. “We are really equipping our kids for their challenging times ahead,” she said. TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Kindergarten teacher Lana Youngberg, right, reacts to being awarded Parley’s Park Elementary School’s Excellent Educator of the Year honor on April 27. Tracy Bowers, left, has worked with Youngberg since Bowers began teaching. She was happy to celebrate Youngberg’s honor with her. Continued from A-5 AT WA L D O R F ASTO R I A PA R K C I T Y T WO - FO R- O N E E N T R É E S B R E A K FAST & LU N C H | A P R I L 2 1 –J U N E 1 5, 2 0 1 8 N O T VA L I D F O R S U N D AY B R U N C H Finalists selected for role tee are Bob Edmiston, principal of McPolin Elementary School; Carolyn Synan, principal of Trailside Elementary School; Shannon Hase, a teacher at Park City Learning Academy and parent of secondary students; Mark Parker, an English teacher at Treasure Mountain Junior High and parent of elementary students; Abby McNulty, executive director of the Park City Education Foundation and parent of elementary students; and Lorie Pearce, executive assistant to the superintendent. The six community members are Fritz Edelstein, Kevin Efrusy, Christine Grenney, Meg Leaf, Brenda Moss and Pablo Rojas. They have varied backgrounds from technology to education policy to finance. Continued from A-5 Students excel at event 2 1 0 0 F ROST WO O D D R I V E , PA R K C I T Y, U T 8 4 0 9 8 WA L D O R FASTO R I A PA R KC I T Y.CO M | 4 35.6 47. 55 6 6 * Reservations appreciated. Please present advertisement to receive promotion. Valid for breakfast and lunch menu entrées of equal or lesser value, for dine-in only at Powder Restaurant. Not concurrent with other discounts and offers. 20% gratuity included on original bill (prior to discount). Teachers who earned the honor were shocked, overjoyed and speechless during the event, which involves an entourage of officials and the Park City High School band traveling to each school to deliver the awards. Paula Baltzan, a social studies teacher at Park City High School, repeated the words, “What is this?” as members of the school’s band entered her room playing a tune. She thought one of her students was being asked to a dance or receiving an award until she saw her significant other. Molly Doilney Crosswhite presented Baltzan with the honor and read comments from other teachers from the high school who had nominated her. Some said Baltzan was reflective and empathetic, others that “her commitment to teach life-long learners is inspiring.” Teachers in each school nominate winners for the award. “It is very touching to know that my peers feel that way about me,” Baltzan said. “It’s amazing. It’s a wonderful, wonderful feeling.” The other recipients of Excellent Educator awards were Sheryl McDonald, a music teacher at Jeremy Ranch Elementary School; Vanessa Jobe, a special education teacher at Trailside Elementary School; Amy Vanover, a counselor at McPolin Elementary School; Ginny Etheridge, did not realize how fluent they were in Spanish until they arrived and started to overhear other students talking. “It gave me a gauge of how good our program is here,” said Kate Rooney, one of the students who won an event. The majority of the students have been speaking Spanish during the school day since first grade. Most have been in classes together during that time, and for the past two years, they have had Patricia Muñoz as their teacher. This is the first year Muñoz an instructional coach at Ecker Hill Middle School; and Megan McKenna, a science teacher at Treasure Mountain Junior High. Eric Janes, a math teacher at Park City High School, was awarded the Sarah and Stephen Doilney Award. The senior class votes for a teacher who was the most influential. It can be given to any teacher in the district. Students said in their comments that he made AP Calculus enjoyable and boosted their confidence in math. After receiving the award, Janes said that he was surprised because he knows who the best teachers are in the school, and even coming close to them is an honor. Youngberg had a similar reaction. She has seen teachers receive the award every year since she started teaching at Parley’s Park 20 years ago. She said that the former recipients were great examples to her, and she hopes to be the same to her peers. Tracy Bowers, another kindergarten teacher at Parley’s Park, said that Youngberg already is an example to her. “She is gentle, kind and patient to the very end, trying her best to make sure her students learn,” she said. “She always gives 110 percent.” Bowers, who had tears in her eyes after the ceremony, said that she has worked side by side with Youngberg since Bowers started teaching at the school in 2003. Youngberg also had an old fan come to celebrate her achievement with her. Andrew Cier, who was in her first kindergarten class, said he still remembers how kind and soft-spoken she was. “All that I needed to learn to succeed in life I learned in kindergarten,” he said. Youngberg was grateful for the support of Cier and many others. At each of the schools, students congratulated their teachers. Elementary students waited in line to hug Vanover at McPolin Elementary and students stood up to cheer and high-five McKenna at Treasure Mountain Junior High as she stepped to the front of the crowd to receive her award. As the presenters announced the winners, almost everyone was happy to, “recognize educators who go above and beyond to ensure that our students in the school district are poised for a very successful future.” Grenney, an associate broker at Summit Sotheby’s International Realty, said that the Board did a good job selecting people with diverse experience. She decided to apply for a spot on the committee because she hopes to see more organized communication within the district and to parents. She has two daughters who attend Parley’s Park Elementary School. She also said that she has a good grasp on the community, which she said can be relaxed but also has high expectations. “Moving forward, it is important to have someone at the district level who is willing to listen to that parent community, because they do want to be involved,” she said. “That requires some finesse and an ability to be open, or receptive, to ideas.” Caplan said that the Board learned from focus group meetings and other feedback that people in the community have different views on what characteristics are important for a superintendent, which is why the Board opted to create the committee. “We wanted to try to get as many different opinions in the room as possible,” he said. But he also said that there is a general consensus that the superintendent should be a strong leader who “has good interpersonal skills and can build teams.” “(Someone) to take us from good to great, that is what we are all looking for,” he said. District employees were put on the committee because the individual that is hired will impact their work. The six finalists for the superintendent position are all from outside of Utah, Caplan said. There are five men and one woman. Four of the candidates have been superintendents in other communities and two have not, but Caplan said that they have “relevant lateral experience.” A discussion between the Board and the committee will follow interviews , and the Board will review the feedback and either invite some candidates back for further discussion or make a selection. Caplan said that it will make a final decision no later than the third week in May, but it could decide as soon as next week. brought students to the event. “I felt really lucky to have such a good program,” said seventh-grader Dave Georger. “Since fifth grade, we’ve all improved so much, especially with Ms. Muñoz. She has pushed us and pushed us so hard. I feel like I have learned so much in the last two years.” Student winner Max Yatkeman said that they would not be where they are without her as a teacher. The students said they were happy to receive their individual awards and thrilled to be named as the overall winners in front of a full ballroom, especially since they were some of the youngest students at the competition. “It was honestly pretty insane,” Georger said. “To think that we took first place in front of all those people, it really sets a good reputation for us.” Muñoz said that she was proud of her students’ achievements. They were competing against students who were much older. She was not expecting them to take home numerous first places. “I think it was really good for the kids to know where they are and feel confident about what they are doing,” she said. “I think it’s powerful for them.” Between the competitions, the students were able to walk around “Españolandia,” where they purchased souvenirs, completed activities in Spanish and stood through a long customs line. All participants had to speak Spanish. If not, they were put in “jail” and had to complete a task to get out, such as sing “Feliz Cumpleaños,” or “Happy Birthday,” in Spanish. Students from Ecker Hill’s French classes also attended the French version of the event. They walked away with several awards too, including first place in the culture bowl, or trivia, event. |