SUPER MONDAY

A motivational and informational morning message from Superintendent Willis

Week 7 ~ September 22nd, 2025

Super Monday Message

John Newton was born in England in 1725. John’s mother passed away when he was just 6 years old and he did not get along with the stepmother that came soon after. The stepmother sent him to boarding school and there he was abused. At 11, he began sailing with his father. There he learned the skills of navigation and sailing, but he also learned the bad habits of sailors. 

When John’s father retired, John continued sailing and his bad habits became worse. His disobedience led to him being forced into the British Navy against his will. He did not respond well to that. He attempted to desert the Navy and was publicly flogged and humiliated as punishment. His childish disobedience turned into adult sized bitterness and he breathed out threats against the captain where he dared. He wrote songs and poems to mock the captain and some became popular among the sailors.

Following his service in the Navy, John began working as a crewman on a slave trading ship. John still struggled to follow orders and was difficult to get along with. When John later recalled his behavior during these years he said, “A common drunkard or profligate is a petty sinner to what I was.” John’s disobedience eventually led to his being starved by his captain, then imprisoned on the ship, and finally to being given away as a chained slave in Sierra Leone. As a slave he was treated very poorly and worked on a plantation. When John’s father heard of his son’s state he made arrangements for John to be brought back to England.

While John was miraculously saved from slavery, his habits and mindset had not changed. On the voyage back to England he made a name for himself as the most profane of all sailors. While we could all guess that sailors habitually swore, John was so profane that he frequently had to be admonished for “exceeding the limits of verbal debauchery”.

John’s life changed as the ship got close to Ireland. The ship got caught in a storm far too big for it. For hours John worked the water pump trying to take water out of the ship faster than it was pouring in. Once as John moved across the deck, a wave of water washed the man taking his place overboard and into the sea. John and another sailor tied themselves to the pump and they worked for hours trying to save the ship. In desperation John reached out for divine intervention and said, “Lord have mercy upon us.”

Two weeks later the battered and starving crew drifted into port. John became a new man. He gradually freed himself from profanity, he progressively stopped mocking the religions of others, and over time he stopped drinking and gambling. John Newton celebrated March 21st, the night of the storm, every year thereafter as the anniversary of his life changing.

Years later, the reformed John Newton would tell his story again and again to many groups and congregations. In preparation for a New Year’s Day speech, John wanted to tell his story with a hymn. That’s when he penned the immortal words…

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch; like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

John Newton would not live to see his hymn become one of the most sung and recorded hymns of all time. John did live long enough to get involved in politics and work toward the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 that outlawed the slave trade in Britian. From a cruel and vulgar slave trader himself, John became a powerful abolitionist.

There is never a bad time to quit a bad habit or to start a good habit. John’s story was like a real life Ebneazer Scrooge, but John was still quite young when he started his new life. He lived to 82 years old and did much good for many people. We all have opportunities to do much good for many people. Have a great week 7.

Super High Fives

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

• A super high five to our great substitute teachers. They jump in and help at all of our schools, sometimes without much notice. The great work of education requires great substitutes and we appreciate their work.
• A super high five to the guys that joined Oscarson Elementary School for “Bring Your Guy To School Day”. We love the extra support we get from friends and family.

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