
Welcome, everyone, to the next episode of Provo City School District's What's Up With The Sup podcast. I am Superintendent Wendy Dau, and we have a great episode for you this week. We recently sat down with seniors at all three of our high schools to talk about teachers that have made an impact on their education, and in some cases, their lives.
But before we hear from our students, let's go over our updates.
Next week is Thanksgiving break. There is no school on Wednesday, November 22nd, through Friday, November 24th. We hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the extended break.
As we enter the fall and winter seasons, we need to be prepared for inclement weather, and we would like to ensure that all parents are able to receive phone calls, texts, and And emails from the district during the week of November 13th through 17th, parents should have received emails announcing a test phone call, which was sent at two o'clock p.m. on Friday, November 17th. If you did not receive the test phone call or any of the preceding emails. Please contact your school. We hope that this test provides parents an opportunity to address any issues that may prevent them from receiving important communications from the district and will allow the district to better communicate with our families.
Prepare to spread holiday cheer with Timpview High School's Sub for Santa program. Starting after Thanksgiving break. On November 27th, 2023 and continuing through winter break until January 3rd, Timpview is teaming up with the United way and the food and care coalition to support families in our district. Whether you want to donate new gifts, contribute cash, or find more ways to join in, visit timpviewsubforsanta.weebly.com and make this season extra special for those in need.
A reminder that the contest for students to design a Find Your Swing pin is officially here. Students can submit their best artwork representing the Find Your Swing theme from the book The Boys in the Boat for a chance to have their design become the pin. Artwork can be turned into their school's main office by Wednesday, December 13, 2023. The individual whose design is chosen will receive $100 from the Superintendent.
The next school board meeting will be a study session and business meeting on Tuesday, November 28th. Study sessions are held in board room one at the district office, and business meetings take place in the professional development center. Both meetings are open to the public and public comment is welcomed At the business meeting. Please check our website for the start times for both meetings.
Look for the weekly video cast from me every Friday in the short video. I provide important information and updates about work happening throughout the district.
This week's episode is a little different. We visited each of our three high schools, Timpview High School, Provo High School, and Independence High School, and sat down with some seniors to talk about teachers that made an impact in Provo City School District. We heard about a wide range of teachers from elementary school all the way through high school.
These teachers were positively impacting a student's education, and we also heard stories of teachers forever changing students' lives and how they view themselves. As you listen to these students, take a moment to reflect on a teacher that had a positive impact on your life. We likely all have one. Now, let's go hear from our students.
Student 1: I'm Ashley Garcia. I'm in 12th grade, and I'm a student here at Provo High. I'm a senior, and I've been in the Provo City School District for literally forever because I went to Spring Creek Elementary, and then I went to Dixon Middle School. I would like to share my appreciation for some teachers. The first being Mrs. Hoffman. I've had her for AVID since freshman year, and she has always pushed me to do my best, motivated me, and believed in me. She's like a school mom to me. The next is Mr.
Nov 16, 2023
34 min

Welcome to this week's episode of Provo City School District's What's Up With the Sup podcast. I am Superintendent Wendy Dau, and I am very excited for the podcast this week. I am going to be joined by Michael Bradley, a World Language and Social Studies teacher at Provo High. Mr. Bradley is also a veteran of the United States Army, and we will be talking about his service in honor of Veterans Day.
And now for our updates.
Prepare to spread holiday cheer with Timpview High School's Sub for Santa program starting after Thanksgiving break November 27th, 2023 and continuing through winter break until January 3rd, 2024. Timpview is teaming up with the United Way and the Food and Care Coalition to support families in our district.Whether you want to donate new gifts, contribute cash, or find more ways to join in, please visit timpviewsubforsanta.weebly.com and make this season extra special for those in need.
A reminder that the contest for students to design a Find Your Swing pin is officially here. Students can submit their best artwork representing the Find Your Swing theme for a chance to have their design become the pin. Artwork can be turned into their school's main office by Wednesday, December 13, 2023. And the superintendent will also be providing a $100 gift card to the winner.
The next school board meeting will be a study session and business meeting on Tuesday, November 14th. Study sessions are held in boardroom one at the district office and business meetings take place in the professional development center, also at the district office. Both meetings are open to the public and public comment is welcome at the business meeting. Please check our website for the start times for both meetings.
Look for the weekly videocast from me every Friday. In this short video, I provide important information and updates about work happening throughout the district.
Our guest today is Michael Bradley, a World Language and Social Studies teacher at Provo High School. He is also a veteran of the United States Army. We're excited to have him on our program today in honor of Veterans Day.
Wendy: Welcome, Michael! Alright, Michael, tell us a little bit about your background and in what branch of the military did you or do you serve?I don't want to make an assumption that you're no longer serving. How many years, um, just anything you want to share about that.
Michael: Well, I served in the Army. I was actually born and raised in Germany. So my mother married an American soldier that was stationed in Germany and he adopted me. We traveled back and forth, and then when I was out on my own, married to my own wife, we were ready to have our own child, our first son. And times were rough, so we talked and we decided to join the military because they would give us medical and housing and provide necessary things for us. And speaking German, I wanted to do something with languages. So I went to the Air Force and I said, Hey, I'm a native born German speaker. Can you guarantee me a job with the language that I know?
And they said, no, you have to take a placement test and we put you, whatever you test that. I said, okay, I'll think about it. Thank you. Went next door to the Army, said the same thing. Hey, I'm a native born German. Can you guarantee me a job? Yeah, yeah, it's sign right here.
Wendy: Excellent.
Michael: So I signed. I served for the U.S. Army. Of course, I was a naturalized citizen years before that.
Wendy: Right.
Michael: And then I worked for the military as a linguist. And, uh, I guess they figured since I already spoke German it wouldn't be that hard for me to learn Russian. So they sent me to Monterey, California for a whole year. That was beautiful. It was like a vacation….for my wife.
Wendy: Not so much for you.
Michael: No, I had early morning formations and PT tests and had to learn Russian, which is a pretty tough language to learn. And then I served in the military for almost 10 years. Uh, differen
Nov 10, 2023
32 min

Welcome to our next episode of Provo City School District's What's Up With the Sup podcast. I am Superintendent Wendy Dau, and I am very excited for our podcast this week. We are talking to elementary school kids about what they are grateful for at school, and their answers are sure to brighten your day.
But first, our updates.
This week marked the beginning of American Indian Heritage Month, which is celebrated all through the month of November.
The school year calendar priority survey for the 2025 2026 school year is coming to an end. Please check your email for the link to complete the survey. This survey provides parents, students, and employees the opportunity to let the district know which details of a school calendar are most important to them. The survey will be closing at midnight this coming Sunday. November 5th. The results of the survey will be shared with the public and used to construct two options for the 2025 2026 school year calendar to be voted on by the public, students, and employees.
November is also National Gratitude Month, so this is why all of our podcasts for this month, or several of them anyway, are going to be focusing on what we are grateful for.
Prepare to spread holiday cheer with Timpview High School's Sub for Santa program. Starting after Thanksgiving break, November 27th, 2023, and continuing through winter break until January 3rd, 2024 Timpview is teaming up with United Way and the Food and Care Coalition to support families in our district. Whether you want to donate new gifts, contribute cash, or find more ways to join in, visit timpviewsubforsanta.weebly.com and make this season extra special for those in need.
A reminder that the contest for students to design a Find Your Swing pin is officially here. Students can submit their best artwork representing the Find Your Swing theme from the “Boys in the Boat” book for a chance to have their design become the pin. Artwork can be turned into their school's main office by Wednesday, December 13, 2023, and the winner will receive a $100 gift card from the superintendent.
The next school board meeting will be a study session and business meeting on Tuesday, November 14th. Study sessions are held in Boardroom 1 at the District Office and business meetings take place in the Professional Development Center, also at the District Office. Both meetings are open to the public and public comment is welcomed at the business meeting. Please check our website for the start times for both meetings.
Look for the weekly video cast from me every Friday in this short video. I provide important information and updates about work happening throughout the district.
And don't forget that this weekend is the end of daylight savings time. So we hope you all enjoy that extra hour of sleep.
And now for this week's podcast. This month's theme is gratitude. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, this is a great time of year to reflect on what we are grateful for. For this podcast, I spent some time in elementary schools asking students what they were grateful for.
Their answers reminded me of my own gratitude for teachers, librarians, school friends, and of course recess. But most of all, it reminded me of how grateful I am for that fundamental right we all share to receive a public education. The richness and breadth of a public education is remarkable. From advanced classes where students receive college credits, to the many programs supporting sports, language learning, fine arts, career and technical education.
Students are free to become who they want to be. Not to mention all of the fun activities that are happening at elementary schools. And as you just watch kids as they learn to read and do math, it's an incredible experience all around. As educators, we aim to provide our students these diverse opportunities that spark their imaginations.
And guide them towards igniting lifelong passions, encouraging exploration and fostering creativ
Nov 3, 2023
21 min
