SUPER MONDAY

A motivational and informational morning message from Superintendent Willis

Week 27 ~ February 19th, 2024

Super Monday Message

Happy President’s Day! For a long time President’s Day was simply called “Washington’s Birthday.” The nation simply celebrated the birth of George Washington. Over time the celebration began including President Lincoln more as his birthday was also in February. Today the holiday is frequently used to celebrate all United States presidents.

In the true spirit of the holiday I like to talk about George Washington. But this year I think we should talk about someone that helped George Washington. Following the defeat of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, the war was over and the British prepared to leave New York City. When they left, they took all the loyal supporters of the king with them. At least, they took all the loyalists except James Rivington.

When the sons of liberty re-entered New York City they were shocked to find that James Rivington was still there. Rivington owned a newspaper that printed horrible things about the continental army, George Washington, and the other rebels. Rivington was considered by the Americans to be the most vile journalist in the employ of King George III. Prior to the outbreak of the war, the sons of liberty burned Rivington’s home and his printshop twice. Rivington had to flee to England before the war. When Rivington returned to the British occupied New York City, the sons of liberty made a life size doll of him and held a formal ceremony to hang it.

What was more shocking to the patriots returning to New York City was not just that Rivington had not left with the British, but he also had a guard of continental soldiers ordered to protect him and his property. New Yorkers could only conclude that by some strange twist of fate, Rivington had switched sides to support the revolution. Their surprise was undoubtedly made even worse when their hero, General Washington, visited Rivington’s shop with bags of gold.

Rivington’s role in the revolution has taken over two hundred years to piece together and much of it is still a mystery. Rivington’s coffee shop was one of the most common gathering places of high ranking British officers during the war and Rivington was George Washington’s best placed spy.

When George Washington needed to prevent General Cornwallis from escaping Yorktown by sea, he needed the help of the French Navy. The French Navy was there, but the British Navy was coming for the rescue. The largest naval battle of the war would have been a close fight if the French hadn’t received a gift from James Rivington. The French received a copy of the British Naval signal book. Having your opponent's signal book would be like a baseball team knowing the placement of every pitch before it’s thrown. The French Navy prevented a rescue and General Washington forced General Cornwallis to surrender.

There are many unsung heroes in every organization. With every hero of old there are hundreds or thousands that helped make them great. Our schools have many unsung heroes that it’s difficult to properly thank for all they do. We have a great network of caring individuals that make everything possible. We thank them and we thank you for your support of Piute County schools. Have a great week 27.

Super High Fives

Just a couple of the awesome recent accomplishments that need a big thank you. 

• Another super high five to the boys and girls basketball teams. The boys won the region tournament and the girls took second. No games this week, but the state tournaments are next week. We’ll need all of our fans there.
• A super high five to Andrew Anderson for getting a Piute County Arts Council started last week. The council will help promote, support, and organize the arts in our county. The school district hopes to be a great partner for the new organization. The arts magnify and deepen learning.

Other Super Information

• Spring Sports Calendar 2024
• Winter Sports Schedule
• 2024-2025 School District Calendar

Super Weekly Schedule