SUPER MONDAY

A motivational and informational morning message from Superintendent Willis

Week 5 ~ September 8th, 2025

Super Monday Message

Roughly thirty years ago a young man named Davis Smith was attending Hillcrest High School in Utah. He noticed that lots of girls took a class called “Outdoor Clothing” and thought it would be fun to join them. The class was taught by a very patient teacher named Mrs. Hicks. 

Mrs. Hicks guided Davis and the class through sewing duffle bags, jackets, and satchels. The enthusiasm for sewing grew in them. Davis sewed things for friends to give away. Davis and some friends took brightly colored leftover scraps of fabric and sewed them as pockets onto shorts. Davis jokes that they started the cargo short trend.

That Outdoor Clothing class had an impact on Davis he could not have anticipated beforehand. Years later Davis started an outdoor clothing company called Cotopaxi. Today Cotopaxi has five store locations, but does the majority of sales online. The company has grown to hundreds of employees and around $100 million in annual sales.

When Davis founded Cotopaxi he wanted the company to have a much bigger purpose than clothes. Part of the company mission statement is to build a movement to support communities around the world. Since the founding, the company has set aside 1% of all sales revenue for charitable causes around the world. In 2024, the company gave over $1 million to a variety of projects to support communities in the United States and South America.

Two years ago Davis Smith made the decision to step away from the company for a few years to serve in his church supervising young missionaries in Brazil. A couple months ago Davis welcomed a new batch of young missionaries to Brazil and found that one of them was the grandson of Mrs. Hicks. Davis had the opportunity to reconnect with Mrs. Hicks and give thanks for her service.

It is unlikely that Mrs. Hicks anticipated that any of the small group of rowdy boys in her Outdoor Clothing class would ever use their new sewing skills on a much bigger scale. She simply gave them the materials and guidance they needed to create something with the most basic of materials. Her patient service came full circle nearly 30 years later.

 Students can find inspiration for life in the simplest activities. In schools we try to give students as many opportunities as possible to find joy in learning and to make learning a life long passion. If you have never had the opportunity to reconnect with someone that inspired you, the opportunity will come, make sure to take advantage of it when it does.

Have the best week 5.

Super High Fives

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

• A super high five to Hunter Tanner for organizing a great Back To School zoom call with the online school, Utah Peak Academy. 
• A super high five to Brandi Schear, Tammy Jessen, Paula Wilde, Natalie Remund, Russ Lee, and Kami Gass for hosting the Lieutenant Governor at Circleville Elementary last Thursday. It was a great opportunity to showcase great classroom work. We were grateful to discuss literacy goals and progress with state leaders.
• Super high five to Paul James and Matt Wilbur for organizing and executing an effective technology professional development day for the school district's teachers and staff last Friday.

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