STUDENT NEWSLETTER

UTVA Success Story

UTVA Success Story

We love a good success story!  The following was submitted by one of our UTVA parents.  We are so happy that UTVA was such a positive solution for this student!

 

“When my son attended traditional brick and mortar school through the district, he was encouraged to remain enrolled in school and seek a certificate of completion instead of graduating on time with his peers. Although this was a nice thought because it allowed us to access additional services for longer, I was surprised by our experience and options that opened as a result of our decision to enroll him in Utah Virtual Academy. Through Utah Virtual Academy, he received wonderful care and services throughout his entire program. He joined the ambassador program available through UTVA and really began to feel like he belonged. Instead of being different and unique, he was accepted. He was able to qualify for the honor societies as well. Instead of just surviving school, he began to thrive in school. Everyone at UTVA made him feel important and cared for. His teachers, administration, friends, special education department, and service providers. It has been a wonderful experience and one I am so glad we tried. It is with mixed and overwhelming emotions that we are discussing graduation. Not only did he graduate on time and with his class, he is able to graduate early allowing him an opportunity to seek more opportunities for gainful employment. The team at UTVA has helped us navigate not only the high school environment, but has graciously and efficiently prepared us to transition to gainful employment. This is a dream come true for a mother!!! Thank you so much for all you have done and continue to do. I am so grateful your program exists. It has been life changing for us. Thank you!!!”
CTE Students Visit M-Tech

CTE Students Visit M-Tech

CTE Students had the opportunity to visit Mountain Land Tech Center in Lehi.  The tour took students through their campus, labs, classroms, etc. to give students a feel for how their campus is set up and what they have to offer.  Makenzie DelleDonne said this about the tour, “The tour was a lot of fun, I had a lot of fun seeing what the camps had to offer and all the labs and classrooms. I liked learned about the things I wanted to see and learn about in the field I want to work in.I loved see the Nurse Assistant’s area of the tour since I want to work in that area, it was really cool to see what they work with, how they do everything and more. Learning about how their campus works and what they have to offer there, I might go there!

Mountain Land Tech Center has a beautiful new facility with over 50 programs to choose from:

Program areas include-

  • Apprenticeship
  • Culinary Arts
  • Computers
  • Cosmetology
  • Emergency Medical
  • Healthcare
  • Manufacturing
  • Transportation
  • Welding

 

High School Students can take classes FREE of tuition! If you are interested in getting started or finding a similar program close to you in your area- please reach out to Natalie Niederhauser- CTE Coordinator: naniederhauser@utahvirtual.org

UTVA Students visit KSL Studio

UTVA Students visit KSL Studio

UTVA Transition and CTE students had the opportunity to tour the KSL TV and Radio studio on January 22nd.

We walked around and saw everyone busy at their cubicles- writing stores, editing stories, and on the phone planning ahead. We were able to watch Grant Waymen, Andrew Wittenburg, and Lori Prichard record LIVE news sessions- both from the news room – where the cameras are operated via remote control access and slide across the floor- and then we also followed them into their kitchen where we learned everything in the kitchen is REAL- working sink, oven, etc.- the only thing that’s not real-  FUN FACT- the cabinets are all facades! They were making Raspberry blondie bars and they smelled DELICIOUS! Too bad they didn’t need us to help sample them.

We went upstairs to see where all the radio magic happens- The station the Arrow 103.5 had quite the collection of signed guitars-and we went inside the studio while FM 100 was recording and were TIRED just watching Rebecca Cressman work- You may not know her name but I bet you’d recognize her voice! She is a BUSY lady- live voice work, editing sound bites, playing songs, recording commercials and announcing contests and winners- all in two minutes. She said the hardest part of her job is telling contest callers they were ONE away from winning! BUT……only about 5% of listeners actually call in- so you have a GOOD chance if you at least TRY.

Everyone at KSL was gracious and answered our questions and said we were welcome back anytime. Thanks to all the students who were able to join us and to the teachers and parents who came as chaperones!

-Natalie Niderhauser – CTE

UTVA Students Tour Weber State University

UTVA Students Tour Weber State University

A small group of UTVA’s High School students toured the WSU campus in Ogden on December 14th.

Students learned about Weber’s many offerings for their academics and programs.  Weber offers more than 225 programs, multiple campuses, online and personal attention and an average class size of less than 30 students.  For many local Utah students, Weber State University is an easy answer with lots of flexibility. They offer programs ranging from Engineering to Behavioral Science, have a list of pre-professional majors like- dentistry, chiropractic, and veterinary medicine. You can find all the majors listed here: www.weber.edu/majors

Weber State is also committed to the mental and social health of their students. They offer students 6 free counseling sessions each semester- and even have a room full of puppies to ease anxiety during finals week. Check it out @ www.weber.edu/admissions

UTVA student Jenafer Hood said, “I loved the Weber state tour. Our tour guides were great at explaining the way that the school works. I learned a lot about the University itself and Weber has some great programs to help their students achieve the career they want to achieve. One of the main things I loved is that they pride themselves on making sure the students are okay, weather it’s mental health or physical, they always check in with the students. Overall it’s a great option to consider when someone is looking for a University to go to.”

Thank you to Weber State University for providing such a positive experience for our UTVA students!

 

 

UTVA Transitions Group Outing at  SeaQuest

UTVA Transitions Group Outing at SeaQuest

Our January outing took place at an interactive aquarium located in northern, Utah. This interactive aquarium allowed our students to experience the sounds of the rain forest as they fed various birds. They discovered what it is like in the depths of the ocean as they fed sharks and touched stingrays. A few of the students who were feeling more adventurous took a turn dipping their toes into water which held fish that nibbled at their skin. Mrs. Q (UTVA’s awesome science teacher/wiz) asked questions that were geared toward the digestive system and some were geared toward carnivores and herbivores. Through answering these science questions, the students were given tokens with which they were able to enjoy all of these activities and more!

This educational outing helped our students to create meaningful relationships with each other. It helped them to grow a connection with UTVA and to develop our school pride. We are so lucky to have so many teachers who are willing to help create these meaningful life experiences for our students.

Cheers to many more outings at UTVA!

Mrs. Peterson