One of the storylines swirling Friday’s 6A semifinal battle between perennial powerhouse Corner Canyon and the on-the-rise Mountain Ridge is a good-natured question of allegiances: Which team will Canyons Superintendent Dr. Rick Robins be cheering for during the 11 a.m. battle at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Will Dr. Robins, a Hall of Fame quarterback for Southern Utah University, be cheering for the Chargers in the playoffs? Or will he be donning the colors of the Sentinels, the team coached by his son, Nick?

According to a recent Forbes article – Research has found students who participate in theater programs exhibit higher scores on standardized critical thinking tests than those who do not – Not to mention it’s just fun to step into the shoes of different characters and worlds.

As all of Canyons School District’s five traditional high schools prepare for their fall musicals, on the latest episode of Connect Canyons we sit down with Alta High Theater Director Linze Struiksma, and two senior thespians, Kaylee Cannon and Taylor Fairbourn, as they prepare for the Hawk’s production of “Hadestown: Teen Edition”.

To say we live in a digital age has become a bit of a cliché – but it’s true. From how we schedule appointments or make a reservation – to how our vehicles operate – to devices on our wrists and in our pockets – Technology has become a major part of our day-to-day lives.

The same can be said for children – According to a 2025 study by the Pew Research Center – Nine-in-10 parents of children ages 12 and younger – say their child watches TV – 68-percent say their children use a tablet and 61-percent use a smartphone – And that’s just 12 and under. Pew Research also found 96 -percent of teens across the country say they use the internet every day, if not “almost constantly”.

Here in the Beehive state, we are no strangers to volunteering. Utah consistently tops the nation when it comes to donating time to help others. In the Canyon School District, our community goes above and beyond to volunteer in our schools in a variety of ways.

In this latest episode of Connect Canyons, we hear from two members of the Canyons community who have dedicated countless hours to schools throughout the District – Jessica Davies, and Teneil Hansen. Davies began volunteering to be near her children and has since spent more than a decade in various positions from volunteer, to currently serving as the Central Elementary PTA Council President. Davies was also the 2024 Canyons Apex Volunteer of the Year. Hansen is no stranger to helping out in the classroom, volunteering for more than 15 years, and now service as a member of the Alta High School PTSA, as well as Secondary Council PTA Secretary.

Have you noticed your child has a penchant for asking deep questions or noticing patterns and connecting ideas their peers don’t see? Perhaps your child is a fast-finisher who gets frustrated at having to wait for next steps. All of these signs could point to your child being a candidate for Canyons’ gifted and talented magnet program, SALTA.

“Some of us, when we learn to play an instrument, we learn one instrument at a time,” says Halley Kirk, Canyons SALTA Coordinator. “Gifted students are just wired differently. We hear one part of a song but they’re hearing the whole orchestra, what’s missing, what could be added, what can be adjusted.”

On this latest episode of Connect Canyons, we sit down with Kirk who talks about the benefits of CSD’s Supporting Advanced Learners Toward Achievement program for students as well as their families. Kirk also explains what families can expect with the testing process and how simply having your child take the test can be beneficial.

It was a job at the Canyons School District that first brought Dr. Molly Hart to Utah from Georgia’s education system.

Good thing.

After a month-long search, the Utah State Board of Education recently named Hart, former principal of Mount Jordan and Albion middle schools, the state’s new state superintendent of public instruction. She’s been on the job since July 1.

I would not be here if it weren't for my experience in Canyons,” Hart said in a recent interview with Connect Canyons about her new appointment. Education in every state is “very, very different,” she said.

Hart, a recent guest on the CSD podcast, says her Canyons colleagues certainly influenced the trajectory of her career.

Canyons students are back in the classroom, and those first few weeks of school can be a little jarring. Whether it's remembering to set that alarm clock or getting acquainted with a new class schedule, it can take a while to get back into the learning groove.

So, we’re devoting the first Connect Canyons episode for the 2025-2026 school year to helping students and parents alike find that rhythm again. Joining us for this episode are Canyons Instructional Coach Susan Young and Canyons AVID Specialist Jay Rudel who share their insights into things parents can do at home as well as tips for students to stay organized.

“For me, I love the start of school,” says Rudel. “Everything is new, and everyone gets a fresh start. And if you attack Day One like Day 180 and say, ‘this is what we’re going to do each day,’ you’ll have some success with that. It takes time. It’s hard work. It’s not easy. But we have to teach ourselves to do hard things and it’s OK to do hard things and fail sometimes. You get up on the horse again and try a different strategy.”

This year, more than 2,750 seniors will don their caps and gowns and step up to receive their hard-earned diplomas. They head out into an ever-changing world at a time of economic uncertainty and rapid technological advances.

But they carry with them a confidence earned from having already faced and surmounted challenges — while notching a few wins along the way. The personal achievements of Canyons District’s Class of 2025 are exponential, from Sterling Scholar awards to National Merit Scholarship honors, not to mention 10 team state championships. This year’s seniors have been rewarded roughly $50 million in scholarships and will be attending more than 50 schools, from Harvard, Julliard, Boston University, and West Point to Stanford, Berkley, the University of Utah, and the Air Force Academy — just to name a few. Canyons has graduates joining every branch of the military, including some from Jordan High’s inaugural Naval Cadet Program who are now advancing to the Naval Academy.

In the last Connect Canyons episode for the year, we sat down with a few graduates who told us how they’re feeling about graduation. They’re full of that nervous excitement, ready to take on their next challenge. They shared some of their favorite memories from school and talk about the people who supported them along the way. They share their hopes and dreams after high school and the advice they would give themselves as incoming freshmen.

Congratulations to the Class of 2025, may all your dreams come true! You can see a list of available live streams for Canyons graduations here.