Father of nine Mike Ika was watching his third-grade son, Bobby, demonstrate how to properly wash his hands. Bobby’s fifth-grade sister, Lanei, also had reviewed the technique.

“I like being here with my kids; there’s always something for them to pick up and learn to improve themselves,” Ika said. “This is our first year at Aspen, so tonight is a good way to get acclimated to the school and supporting school programs is important.”

They were at one of about 40 stations at Aspen Elementary’s third annual community night.

Jordan School District nurse Wendy Murrill said learning how to wash hands is a good lesson for all students.

“We are going over hand washing because especially during flu and COVID season kids, and sometimes the adults, can forget to thoroughly wash our hands,” she said. “It serves as a reminder and for some of our littler kids, we teach them the proper method.”

The nursing staff also conducted vision screens, “trying to catch any kids who might have missed or siblings who are just coming in.” They provided additional information in both English and Spanish.

That’s because they’re wanting to serve Aspen’s diverse enrollment.

“We are enrolling students from all over the world who aren’t familiar with the services in the community and in our district,” Aspen Principal Suzie Williams said. “We have community and district people here to provide information and resources for our families.”

She said that in one room, she noticed families from India, Portugal, the Netherlands, Latin America and South America.

“We had 14 new kids come to Aspen this week alone,” she said.

Enrollment at the school has increased by 350 students in the three years Aspen has been open.

“A lot of our families come with nothing, so this gives them a chance to meet people and learn about resources available to them,” Williams said. 

Those providing resources ranged from local first responders to Salt Lake County librarians.

District digital learning teacher specialist Kiera Beddes was providing information in English and Spanish about the resources available.

“We have digital tools that are available for students like Canva and Adobe,” she said. “We’re here to share with parents that their students have access to these and to show how they can reinforce what they’re learning in the classroom by doing fun projects at home as well.”

Jordan Education Foundation had supplies of kitchen utensils, non-perishable food, footwear, towels and other items available for the students and their families.

“I love this community night because the whole school comes out,” Mayor Dawn Ramsey said, who also served as Foundation president preceding the current president. “It’s a great opportunity for families to be part of the school. There are so many services offered in one easy location to make it so easy for families to connect with each other and with any of the services that they may need. We see everyone come together to support each other.”

Gabriela Rondon and her son, Max, had just spun a wheel at a booth where the third grader had won a snack.

“It’s my first year here; I like learning a lot of math, fractions,” he said.

They came from Venezuela eight months ago and Rondon said they found some medical information at the community night.

“I really like the information they provided me,” she said in Spanish. “All the people are kind.”

Fifth-grade teacher Mikayla Miller said that was the hope when the first community night was created and continues to be its purpose this year.

“Every year, we want to help our community make connections,” she said. “Our school is extremely diverse. About 30% of our students are multi-language learners and come from other countries, so having one night where all parents can access them is so beneficial. We’re getting together as a community to help provide the resources for the students and also, providing a night for us to embrace our community.”

She said the community night is held in the middle of the school year to help parents access resources who may not have used them yet and to help those who have moved into the school after the beginning of the year.

“We had 200 to 300 people last year; we have 600 to 700 people this year. More people are learning about these resources and learning what’s going on in our school,” Miller said, who relies upon the 32-member student council’s help with the event. “I love to hear the ideas of our student council members; they have been so helpful with set-up and planning. They wanted to include things kids love, like games and prizes, as well as information for parents. Right now, they are giving out some math games.”

Gil Gaertner IV is a fifth grader on student council who, along with his peers, set up tables with tablecloths, made decorations and prepared snacks.

“This is important to me; I wanted to bring the community all together and have a fun night,” he said. 

Gil applied to be on student council and, along with those selected, attended a leadership conference at the beginning of the year.

“We learned how to bring people together, like tonight. We had meetings, gave our ideas and thoughts on what tonight should look like. Everything was straightforward,” he said. “I wanted to be part of student council because I knew it’d be fun. I wanted to help my school by being a good example.”

In addition to helping plan the community night, the student council collected more than 1,200 jackets, hoodies, hats, gloves and other clothing items to provide for those students who didn’t have them.

“We’re planning to do more service, have a spirit week and at the end of the year maybe have a talent show,” Gil said.

Jordan Board of Education President Tracy Miller, who also is a Jordan Education Foundation board member, was impressed by the event.

“This community is amazing; I cannot believe the turnout here tonight,” she said. “It’s great to see people involved in their school and it’s great to see the school and the district welcoming the community with open arms and helping them understand all the resources that are available to them.”  λ