September 2016

One of our amazing MNJHS students, Janey Jacklin, received a Payson Mayor Youth Recognition Award at the Payson City Council meeting last night!  Janey was recognized and honored for her positive contributions to her community and school.  Janey was nominated by the faculty and staff of Mt Nebo Jr High for demonstrating responsibility, excellence and kindness.  Congratulations Janey!

“Janey is an amazing young woman involved in many extracurricular activities.  She helps teach younger children at a local dance studio, and she is a member the SHHS cheer squad.  The biggest reason why I am giving you her name is because she is an advocate for this school.  On her cheer-leading squad she is often asked why she doesn’t transfer to Salem Jr., and her response is that she thinks this school is great”  according to one of Janey’s teachers.

Other teachers stated that “Janey is respectful and kind to those around her. She contributes thoughtful insights in class and group discussions. She is always positive and has a smile on her face.  Janey is a joy to have in class.”   “Janey is a natural leader. She surrounds herself with people who appreciate her fun sense of humor. She is diligent about her school work and works hard to keep up with her classwork. She maintains good grades and does quality work in class.” 

Another teacher wrote:  “Janey is one of those young ladies that has a heart of gold, a true friend.  She is a great role model for other students.  Janey is respectful to teachers and students.  She comes to class with a smile on her face, works hard, and never gives up!”

Janey is very responsible and organized.  She is brave and talented and not afraid to try new things.  She is a great athlete and excels in running, dance, tumbling, and cheer.  Janey is a 4.0 student, and has a love for learning.  She also loves to spend time with her friends…and likes adventures?  She is an outdoor enthusiast…and enjoys riding horses, four-wheelers, fishing and spending time at the family cabin.

One final teacher at Mt. Nebo Jr. wrote this about Janey.  “Janey is a great student that everyone would want in their class.  She is so respectful, hard-working, and the type of person that other kids want to be around because of her friendly disposition.  I think the best compliment that I gave her and could ever give her was, ‘I hope my daughters grow up to be like you.’ “

Janey is not only loved by her family, but also by anyone she comes in to contact with. 

Janey is one of the outstanding students walking the halls of Mt. Nebo Junior High School, and we believe that she is very deserving of this award.  Congratulations Janey, You make us Panther Proud!!

Congratulations to our very own Mr. Wright! Kirk Wright was recognized for earning the 2016 Utah Earth Science Teacher Of The Year Award from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). 

A little about Mr. Wright:

I am married with four children and one grandchild.  My wife Jolynn and I are both teachers and have dedicated our lives to the education of children.  She has taught for almost nineteen years and I am starting into my twelfth year and am as excited as I have ever been with some new changes at our school that involve the incorporation of a ¨discovery¨ class and hands on, project based learning that we will be trying out for the first time school wide.  I am involved in science fair, underwater robotics and chess club at my school and we have been blessed to have students who have won awards in all three of these activities over the years.  We hope to start participating in the science olympiad this year as part of the discovery class model we are introducing at our school.  My philosophy of teaching involves connecting to our students passions that each have in their life.  I believe when a teacher can connect to that unique, burning passion that all individuals have, that learning takes on a life of its own.  To this end I believe it is my responsibility to develop a depth and breadth of knowledge in not only science, but in as many subjects as possible to be able to spark that passion within a student or connect with that passion that is already there. I have completed degrees at BYU and Mississippi State and have continued taking classes at UVU in pursuit of broadening my knowledge base.  In addition I believe that helping a student build up and value their imagination while realizing the importance of structure and boundaries found in life, are also key to helping them realize their passions.  In the end I believe in giving our students as many opportunities to connect their individual passions to concrete projects and activities that can produce tangible results that build their self esteem and self confidence.  To this end we had two students last year take a project all the way to ISWEEP in Houston, Texas and win a bronze medal (Dallas Jensen and Hayden Heaton).  It was amazing to witness their creativity, brilliance, and hard work and to realize that all of our students can do hard things and realize their awesome potentials if given an opportunity.  I am grateful for the wonderful opportunity to be a teacher and would choose nothing else.  I am eternally grateful for the opportunities education have given to me and hope to spend the remainder of my life helping others to value education and see the how it truly can change ones life and others for the better.  

http://nagt.org/nagt/awards/oest/2016.html (Scroll down towards the bottom to find him!)