The year before, school boundaries had been redrawn. All school permits were revoked and students had to apply again if they were going to a school outside of their boundary. That was us. Starting back with Landon, who had to permit to finish his 9th grade year at Elkridge after a boundary change in 2009. Elkridge HAD been the neighborhood school, but our area got switched to the Joel P boundary. After that first permit, we ended up permits for all the kids (Landon permitted to Herriman High, Cal&Keaton went on permit to West Hills and the Copper Hills, I switched Cooper and Colton from Columbia to Terra Linda, and from there to Elkridge ... Cooper got into Bingham High on permit). ANYWAY ... after playing the permit game, and discussing it with Colton, we decided to not even try for a permit to Elkridge again, but to just go to the boundary school. At this point, we were planning on West Jordan for his high school (after huge outcry, they ended up not changing the boundary much at CHHS and it is so overcrowded, I really had no hope of permitting Colton in) so it just made sense to make friends he'd stay with. He was reuniting with friends from Terra Linda, and even Columbia too. We were comfortable with our decision.
Then school registration rolled around ... and he was enrolled at Elkridge! Colton is an easy-going guy, so we figured it would be less work for everyone if we just went with it. I took him to the school and we found his locker and tried out the combination. We mapped out all his classes and did a walk-through, even though he was already familiar with the school from his 7th grade year.
A few days before school started I got a call ... now that the error was known, he did need to make the switch to Joel P. This had been our plan from the start, but after acclimating to the Elkridge idea, it was just a really frustrating situation. Joel P was great, and quickly got him registered and in classes. We got a map and made the rounds so he'd know where to go on his first day. It all turned out okay, but it was a stressful start to the school year.
I asked Colton to write up his memories ...
My eighth grade year started off quite confusing as I first thought that I would be going to Joel P. Jensen. I was on a permit for Elk Ridge during my seventh grade year because my brother was already going there. I had already decided that I wanted to go to JPJMS for my next year of middle school so I wouldn’t have to be on a permit and also because the friends I make there will be going to the same high school as me later on. However, about a week until the school year started, there had been a mixup and I was still registered at Elk Ridge. I had received my schedule there and we had gone to check out where my classes were. Although I was looking forward to going to JPJMS, I was fine with having to be at Elk Ridge for another year since I already had lots of friends there and knew my way around. With less than a week to go before the school year started, I had gotten notified that Elk Ridge had made a mistake and already revoked my permit earlier in the school year, meaning I would have to go to JPJMS instead. This really upset me since I had already thought that I would be going there before and my plans had already gotten changed.
Like the start of the year, the end of the year was also crazy. COVID-19 had swept over the globe and schools started to shut down, including Joel P. Jensen. Most teachers set up their classes on Canvas where students can do their work and turn it in. Students were able to do any class on their schedule at any time. This worked out really well for me because I didn’t have any time wasted unlike actually being at the school. Depending on the work assigned in the class, I could finish up the class in five to ten minutes, sometimes in only two or three if the work was easy enough. On the other hand, if I got the same work that I could do in two minutes online in actual school, the class period would still last 45 minutes. On one particular day, I remember starting school a couple of minutes before 8:00 in the morning and I finished at 8:05, it was the end of the week and I had already done the work for Friday in most of my classes, there were only two classes that I still had work to do, and I was able to easily complete them in under 10 minutes. That was what the start and end of my eighth grade year was like.
I had hoped he'd write a little more about the details throughout the year as well ... but apparently this writing assignment in summer stressed him out! I had to ask him for it many times! Here's a look at his last report card, which also captures classes/teachers which may be interesting to him in the future.
He was able to be with his basketball buddies Gage and Collin in Math (he's a year younger, but in the advanced math, which he brought up a time or two until it became a running joke in the family). His Spanish teacher Mrs. Spravzoff had also taught Landon (at Elkridge). He never seemed to have much homework, and never asked for any assistance with projects. The grading system seemed odd this year, straight A or B, no A- or B+ ...
In addition to having an "active" class (team sports/fitness) both semesters, he also stayed after for intramurals several times a week. Although I think we had some neighborhood kids going to the school too, it was just easier for me to drive him to/from school than to attempt a carpool. 7800 S would be really backed up during the morning commute, so I'd go around the back way and drive down a side street, dropping him off and having him then walk to the crosswalk and to the school. After school I had him walk down the street to a nearby church building and I'd pick him up there, avoiding much of the traffic (I'd pick him up at the school after intramurals).
Joel P started/ended earlier than Elkridge ... 7:25-2:25, so he had to get up a little earlier this year.
When Coronavirus concerns hit ... it was a Wednesday (March 11) when the NBA shut down (a Utah player testing positive) when it became "real". School went on Thursday and Friday (the 13th)... and after school was out that day, it was announced that there would be a move to online learning for a few weeks. The teachers had a couple to scramble and try to alter lesson plans. I think because Cooper was already online, that the transition was slightly easier for us. I already had a good look at online learning and how it worked. Some parents complained on Facebook about how much work their kids had, but Colton never seemed to have much. He'd sleep in a little, get started by 8:00 or so, and was often done by 10:00. I do recall one "oh no" moment, as he'd made a presentation in Google Slides and was just doing the finishing touches, he and I were chatting (my workspace was in the same room as his desk) when suddenly, the words he'd written started deleting. It was like someone was hitting the delete button (we do think maybe it got pressed and stuck?) and we both watched as his entire presentation disappeared. We switched out the keyboard.
I wasn't at all surprised when it was officially announced that the kids would not be returning to school this school year. At one point, he and went by the school so he could go in and get his gym clothes and lock from the locker room. He didn't have anything in his school locker (these silly boys never used their lockers, just carried everything around with them all day). It wasn't as impactful for us as for the poor seniors, and those playing spring sports. Tournaments, trips, prom, graduation ... all canceled. There were lots of "drive-by" things, graduation parade, etc. We still haven't received his yearbook, but it should be coming.
The end of eighth grade ...
