January 2019 – Park City School District Newsroom

PC Bands Presents Annual Sweetheart Gala Feb. 8

Tickets are still available for the PC Bands’ annual Sweetheart Gala planned for Friday, Feb. 8. The gala is an adult dinner and dance party featuring live music by the award-winning Park City High School Varsity Jazz Ensemble.

The dinner/dance is from 6-11 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church Grand Hall, 1505 White Pine Canyon Road. Premium seats (next to the door floor) are $70 per person, and standard seats are $60 per person.

The Sweetheart Gala begins with a catered three-course dinner and cash bar, following by live Big Band music by the Varsity Jazz Ensemble directed by Chris Taylor. The evening also features an online silent auction.

The event is sponsored by the Park City Education Foundation and all proceeds go to the PC Bands and their continued efforts to bring world-class music education to the students of Park City High School.

Tickets can be purchase online here.

2019 Mr. Miner Pageant set for Valentine’s Day

Park City High School’s annual Mr. Miner Pageant is set for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Eccles Center. This year’s mock pageant will follow the theme of “Men of Romance.”

The young men compete is several categories including character modeling, talent, GQ modeling and response to an interview question. This year’s contestants are Ben Agnew, Isaac Foote, Charlie Lowsma, Cris Mora, Liam Occon, Carl Prior, Judd Ricks, Christian Stockwell, and Marco Zanetti.

“The Mr. Miner Pageant is known for being a funny, light-hearted event,” says Ashley Mott, Dance Company director. “This year’s theme is ‘Men of Romance,’ because it’s being held on Valentine’s Day.”

This year’s talent portion will include singing, playing live music, and dancing. The pageant is judged by Park City High faculty and administrators, as well as community volunteers.

The pageant is organized and coordinated by Dance Company, Dance Company 2, and the stage crew class.

Audience members will have the opportunity to buy ballots, for $1 a piece, and cast them in the lobby to vote for their favorite contestant.

Tickets are $10 if purchased in advance (from a dance company member or Mr. Miner candidate), or $12 at the door. The Mr. Miner Pageant is the primary fundraiser for Park City High’s dance program.

Girls Swim Team Wins Another Region XI Championship

Park City High Swim Team Co-Ed — The PCHS Girls Swim Team won a consecutive Region XI Championship this weekend.

Park City High has added another regional championship to its list of accomplishments. The Girls Swim Team won the 2019 Region XI Swimming Championship for a consecutive year and the Boys Swim Team finished second.

The Miners hosted the meet his past weekend at the Park City Aquatic Center and competed against Juan Diego, Bonneville, Ben Lomond, Ogden, Tooele and Stansbury High Schools.

“Park City had a great swim meet with many swimmers posting their season best times and locking in crucial places/times to qualify for state,” said Head Coach Mike Werner. “Individual swimmers that placed first and second earned automatic invitations to the 4A state championships.”

The Miners will compete Feb. 8-9 at the 2019 Utah 4A HS State Championships at Brigham Young University.

Board Meeting Summary | Jan. 22, 2019

Board Member Appointed

The Board of Education appointed Wendy Crossland to fill the District 3 vacancy left by Petra Butler. Crossland is a middle school humanities teacher and Advancement Associate for Community Outreach for the Park City Day School. She will take the Oath of Office on Feb. 26. See full press release here.

Superintendent Report

Superintendent Jill Gildea expressed appreciation to board members for attending the Utah School Boards Association meetings in December and the USBA state conference earlier this month. She also recognized the board for receiving USBA’s designation as a Master Board.

Park City High ELA Program Proposal

Park City High Principal Roger Arbabi and faculty members presented an English Language Arts program that rearranges course offerings instead of creating new ones. Beginning next year, once sophomore students have completed a semester of the required Sophomore Academy, they will have the option of taking semester ELA classes of their choice. This program will maximize student choice and allow students to choose the classes that are of interested to them. ELA classes will fall into three categories: Academic Literacy, Literacy of Citizenship, and Literacy of Enrichment. The State Office of Education has reviewed the program and commended the high school for its plan.

Lacrosse to be Sanctioned UHSAA Sport

Boys and girls lacrosse will become a sanctioned sport next school year by the Utah High Activities Association. Athletic Director Jamie Sheetz estimates it will cost $105,000 to start the program started at Park City High (i.e., coaching stipends, equipment, officiating, travel, etc.). Lacrosse, which will be a Spring sport, will play 16 games with four playoff games.

PCEF Teacher Grants Report

The Park City Education Foundation awarded 31 grants to classroom teachers this year totaling $89,614. Grant requests included general themes of dual-language immersion, special education, Makerspaces, and capital expenditures, including flexible seating. The board expressed appreciation to donors and the Park City Education Foundation.

2019-20 Calendar Approved

The board approved the 2019-20 calendar. Classes begin two days earlier on Aug. 20, and end on June 2. The calendar includes one fewer day for Fall Recess, the semester ending prior to Winter Recess, and a full two-week Winter Recess. The district will plan the 2020-21 and 2021-22 calendars by the end of the school year. Moving forward the board will adopt calendars three years at a time.

Policies for Posting

– Policy 2005: Board of Education Power and Duties

– Policy 2015: Advisory Committees

– Policy 2025: Electronic Board Meetings

– Policy 2030: Board Policy Development

– Policy 2045: Board Member Compensation

– Policy 7061: Shared Leave

New Board Member Appointed for District 3

The Park City School District Board of Education has appointed Wendy Crossland as the new board member for District 3. She replaces Petra Butler who stepped down Dec. 31.

Crossland is a middle school humanities teacher at the Park City Day School and also serves as Advancement Associate for Community Outreach at the school. Proficient in Spanish, she lived in Bogotá, Colombia, for seven years where she taught English and social studies. Crossland is also co-founder and co-race director of TedDriven, an organization that raises money for cancer research.

She holds bachelor and a masters degrees, and earned a juris doctorate at Seattle University School of Law.

“It is such an honor to join the Park City School District Board,” says Crossland. “I look forward to supporting Dr. [Jill] Gildea and working with this dedicated Board committed to ensuring that all students receive a safe, equitable and inspired learning opportunity in Park City School District. I am excited and grateful to have the chance to work really hard on behalf of the critical and important mission of the district.”

Crossland will take the Oath of Office during the next Board of Education meeting on Feb. 26.

PCSD Selected for Utah’s First Cohort in Personalized, Digital Learning

Park City School District has been selected to participate in the state’s first cohort for Leadership in Personalized and Digital Learning (LPDL).

The cohort offers a team of district leaders an opportunity for job-embedded professional learning to prepare the LEA for personalized learning. District leaders will participate in the program that features face-to-face opportunities to work with trained facilitators and other state leaders from the Utah Education Network and the Utah State Board of Education.

“This is a perfect fit for our district,” said Traci Evans, interim Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning. “It is exciting to be on the forefront of personalized, computer-based education.

Nine districts and three charter schools are part of the first cohort. The first meeting is Jan. 14 in Salt Lake City.

The purpose of the cohort is to build a deeper understanding of personalized learning, to assist participating districts in creating their Digital Teaching and Learning Plan, and to learn about new collection tools to drive decisions for personalized learning.

‘Informance’ to Highlight Park City High’s DC2

Dance Company 2 Park City High’s Dance Company II (DC2) will present its annual “Informance,” an informal and informative performance that features their work of the past several months. Two shows are set for Jan. 15, at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., in the Eccles Center’s Black Box Theater.

This year’s Informance presents the six universal human emotions through dance: happiness, sadness, fear, contempt, surprise, and anger. The 19 dancers will present 10 pieces, all embodying one of these six emotions.

“DC2 has worked together to create, choreograph, and perform their Informance in order to share their knowledge and love of the art with friends, family, peers, and the community,” says Ashley Mott, DC2 and Dance Company director.

Mott said each student has been assigned a specific responsibility, from choreographing the dances, marketing the performance, creating videos to accompany their pieces, and establishing the show order.

“The dancers have worked tirelessly both inside and outside the classroom, finding time for a major production to their busy schedules,” she said.

There is no charge for the performance but donations will be accepted to help support the dance program.