SUPER MONDAY

A motivational and informational morning message from Superintendent Willis

Week 4 ~ September 1st, 2025

Super Monday Message

By this time we are hopefully starting to settle into the school year routine. With after school activities and weekend trips it can feel like your family is always on the go. From August to May it can feel like ten months of continuous movement.

In 2016, researchers from Sweden declared that the common swift was the bird that spent the largest portion of its life in the air. With advanced tracking methods they found that the common swift can spend 10 months in the air without ever touching the ground. This incredible bird can eat, drink, and even sleep without landing. When the swift is tired it can fly higher to find the right wind current, activate a part of its brain that might be compared to an auto pilot or cruise control, and then rest while flying.

The swift populates much of Europe and western Asia during their two months of down time and breeding. Then they have 10 months of flight, migrating to and from southern Africa. In their lifetime they fly enough to make several trips to the moon.

Though the common swift spends the highest portion of its life in the air, the albatross spends the highest portion of its life away from land. When the world’s largest bird leaves the nest, the Albatross might not come back to land for four to six years. It will do as the swift and occasionally rest in the air, but it will also land on the ocean and rest on the water.

One particular albatross has been tracked in its flights for almost 70 years. The United States Geological Survey has named her Wisdom and she was originally tagged in 1956. Wisdom was estimated to be at least 6 years old when she was tagged and is estimated to now be over 75 years old. The oldest known wild bird in the world. A female albatross can lay one egg each year and Wisdom has had at least 30 chicks with some coming after 60 years old. 

Like the common swift, Wisdom only spends a small portion of the year on the ground (Her home is Midway Atoll island), the rest of the year she is exploring the ocean. Wisdom has been witness to some of the world’s most intense hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. She has survived in places where thousands of Albatross have been lost. 

Wisdom and the common swift are incredible examples of endurance. Despite difficult circumstances and the harshest environments, they almost never stop moving forward. We may not have as many opportunities to land as we would like. We also may feel we will be in the air for the next 10 months, but like the swift and the albatross, we were built to endure. We can do hard things and we can do them well. 

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for” - John A. Shedd

Enjoy this great labor day and then have the best week 4!

Super High Fives

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

• A super high five to the cross country team for a great start to the season. The girls team recruited well and has 10 girls. It’s difficult to do cross country and volleyball or cross country and baseball. Hats off to our two-sport same season athletes.
• A super high five to the Tri County Bookmobile. The bookmobile program has been going for a long time and it brings a great opportunity for our kids and our community. Nothing opens doors like higher levels of literacy. 
• Super high five to the powers that be for delivering the much needed rain. A few places got hit harder and faster than would be preferable, but we’re grateful for the rain.

Other Super Information

• Representative Katy Hall of the Utah Legislature is doing a survey about high school athletics and practice schedules. Parents, students, and coaches are allowed to participate.
• Link To Letter From Representative Hall Explaining Survey
• Link To High School Sports Survey
• Fall Sports Calendar 2025
  • Link to subscribe to PHS Sports Calendar
• 2025-2026 School District Calendar
• USBE Parent Portal

Super Weekly Schedule