Civic Shout-outs - Wasatch Front, 8030 S 1825 W (2026)

24/05/2026

Civic Shout-out Sunday - The Crossing Guard Team at Eastlake Elementary

My family and I are fans of active transportation, so throughout this school year we’ve made an effort to bike my kindergartner to school as often as possible, only taking our car as a last resort. One unexpected bonus that’s come along with this lifestyle has been the opportunity to have frequent face-to-face interactions with the Eastlake crossing guards. From the first day of school, I immediately noted how friendly and engaging the crossing guards were. They would always welcome my daughters and me with broad smiles and enthusiastic greetings. In preparation for this post, I got to put some names to the friendly faces we’ve encountered so often this year.

The first crossing guard I knew I needed to speak with for this project is Olga (photo 1 - top left). Olga radiates happiness and care for the students each day. She also frequently gives me kudos for the tasks she sees me doing as a mom, complimenting me and calling me “such a super mom!” for everyday things like towing my bike trailer and having an afterschool snack ready for my kindergartener. Many of you would probably agree that parenting is hard work, so any notice and moral support we can get is so appreciated! Olga also adds little touches like dressing up seasonally (dressing up herself and decorating her stop sign) and even bringing Valentines to pass out to the students.

Another crossing guard who regularly brightens our days is Belle (photo 2 - bottom left). My daughters always wear their unicorn helmets in our bike trailer, and Belle affectionately greets them as “my little unicorns!” as she guides us across Topview Road. Like Olga, Belle decorates her stop sign, and she even had a unicorn on her stop sign the day I photographed her!

When my family and I cross Isla Daybreak Road, we are usually assisted by Nadine (photo 5 - bottom right). Like several of her colleagues, Nadine is beloved by many of the students who cross her street. On the day I stopped to photograph her, she chatted with some students about how she would be taking a big wedding anniversary vacation at the end of the school year, and the students wished her well but said they would miss her so much. She responded that the only downside to her vacation would be how much she would miss the students as well.

Our school crossing guards are hired through the South Jordan City Police Department, and whoever handles recruiting and training there has done a fantastic job to develop such an exceptional roster of employees. Thank you SoJo Police Department, Olga, Belle, Nadine, and all of the other wonderful crossing guards at Eastlake!

- Alison Cañar, South Jordan

How do your children get to and from school each day? What city or school district services help keep them safe and cared for on their way? Please reach out if you would like to share your own shout-out or nominate a person, place, or organization that deserves recognition.

18/05/2026

Civic Shout-out Sunday - Amigos y Libros Storytime at the West Jordan Library

My husband was born and raised in Ecuador, and we have been working to raise our two daughters to be bilingual. When our oldest daughter started attending preschool, we saw a noticeable drop in the amount of Spanish she would speak. My husband tries to speak to her in Spanish as much as possible, and she used to reply back to him in fluent Spanish as well. However, after starting school, she started responding back more and more in English. I have a background in teaching multilingual students, and from that training, I thought that I need to introduce our daughters to Spanish in a wider variety of contexts to give them more motivation to use it. So, I began looking for resources in my community to support my daughters’ bilingualism, and that’s when I found Amigos y Libros Storytime!

Amigos y Libros Storytime is led by two wonderful librarians, Megan and Bret. Megan and Bret take turns reading stories, with Megan reading a story in English and Bret reading the same story in Spanish (¡Español!). This innovative format helps families like mine who want their children to be exposed to more Spanish as well as families who speak primarily Spanish at home and want to expose their children to more English in order to provide a smoother transition to school where English language proficiency will be important.

In addition to reading books, Megan and Bret thoughtfully prepare and present many other early-literacy activities. They have songs for the children to dance to and/or play instruments with, finger plays and rhymes for them to learn, and games for them to play. At the end of each group storytime session, they have a craft related to the day’s theme as well as many developmentally-enriching toys available for the children to play with. They also provide a wide variety of books centered around the week’s theme that families can check out and bring home with them. I’ve found so many new favorites from the books they’ve highlighted. They also share news about other upcoming library events that families might enjoy.

My daughters absolutely love attending Amigos y Libros. Each morning that I tell my three-year-old that we are going to Amigos y Libros, she says, “Hooray!” One week on our car ride to the library, she said from the backseat, “‘Mom, I love you because you always take me to the best activities.” My five-year-old usually can’t attend the program anymore since she started kindergarten, but she always asks me to bring back a copy of the craft for her to complete at home because she loves them so much. She will also be excited to temporarily join us again over the summer.

My family and I are so grateful to Megan and Bret for all of the passion and warmth they bring to their storytime. They remember my daughter and greet her by name each week, and we both appreciate them so much. Thank you, Megan and Bret! The Salt Lake County Library System also offers more bilingual storytimes at other locations, some of which I might also be shouting-out in coming weeks!

- Alison Cañar, South Jordan

Do you have any favorite city or county sponsored activities? Please reach out if you would like to share your own shout-out or nominate a person, place, or organization that deserves recognition.

15/05/2026

Gardner Village hosts so many fun events for families. Many of the activities are free and open to the public with options for paid add-ons.

12/05/2026

Who knew there is a Twilight Zone day?!? This sounds so cool. This is just one of so many fun things happening every day at our libraries!

10/05/2026

Civic Shout-out Sunday - Mrs. Oberg, Kindergarten Teacher at Eastlake Elementary

My daughter’s kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Oberg, is early in her career but already has the classroom presence and charisma of a seasoned veteran. She’s mastered the mixture of warmth and high expectations needed to ensure students are safe and successful in her classroom. Knowing some of her young students might be nervous for their big transition into elementary school, she gifted each of them a small jar of "Jitter Glitter" at back to school night to place under their pillow. My daughter slept soundly before her first day, proclaiming, "it's working!"

Kindergarten teachers carry the heavy weight of building students’ foundational literacy and numeracy skills, and I’m confident Mrs. Oberg has provided my daughter with a rock-solid start. Under Mrs. Oberg’s tutelage, my daughter learned to subitize, “instantly recognize the number of objects in a set without counting them,” a term she proudly came home and taught to my husband and me. As a classroom volunteer, I observed how Mrs. Oberg supplied brightly colored “treasure boxes” students could choose from and open to reveal their CVC word sets, adding a sense of fun and discovery to repeated practice.

Mrs. Oberg has put in a lot of logistical work to make her curriculum come to life for her students. She guided her class to work together to write and illustrate each season of the year for display on her walls, and invited parents to her classroom to hear their students sing and show off their creations. While reading "The Little Red Hen," Mrs. Oberg wanted to ensure her students understood the process of baking bread, so she brought ingredients and materials into her classroom for each child to have the experience of kneading dough. She even took the time to procure a real sheaf of grain for her students to see up close!

As a mom, I’m so grateful for teachers like Mrs. Oberg who take such care to make their classrooms a home away from home for their students. Happy Mother’s Day to all of our followers!

- Alison Cañar, South Jordan

Did your child’s school celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week? Please reach out if you would like to share your own shout-out or nominate a person, place, or organization that deserves recognition.

04/05/2026

Civic Shout-out Sunday – “Favorite Character” Picture Books at the Salt Lake County Library

After a typical hectic morning biking my kindergartener to school, I searched my closet for a fresh top before hustling back out the door to storytime with my preschooler. It was May 1st, so thinking of “May the Fourth,” a Star Wars t-shirt caught my eye.

My daughter and I enjoyed storytime and then settled down near the “Favorite Character” picture books in the children’s section. In just a few moments, my daughter had gathered a stack of books she couldn’t wait to read. Her first choice happened to be “Mandalorian: A Clan of Two.” I smiled at the synchronicity that led me to be perfectly dressed for the occasion as we followed the adventures of Mando and “the Child” (known to my kids as Baby Yoda).

Picture books are an excellent way for young children to enjoy a story that might be too scary or overstimulating for them when presented in film. My daughter was able to see the opponents the Mandalorian faced without being exposed to the laser blasts or sudden, intense moments she might encounter in a movie or TV show. It’s also much faster to familiarize a child with the characters they might meet on a Disney trip by reading 10 picture books than trying to watch 10 feature films (I speak from experience on this 😄).

So whether your little one loves princesses or Peppa Pig, superheroes, Gabby’s Dollhouse, or Paw Patrol, there’s a good chance you’ll find exactly what you need at your local library.

- Alison Cañar, South Jordan

What civic services have brought some extra sparkle to your days? Please reach out if you would like to share your own shout-out or nominate a person, place, or organization that deserves recognition.

Civic Shout-outs - Wasatch Front

24/05/2026

18/05/2026

15/05/2026

12/05/2026

10/05/2026

04/05/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share