One of former Bella Vista Principal Garth Anderson’s most treasured keepsakes isn’t a plaque, award, or photograph. It’s a “plain old” rock handed to him decades ago by a kindergarten student who found it on the playground and decided his principal should have it.
“I took that rock and I’ve kept it all these years,” Anderson said Monday night during Bella Vista Elementary’s Memory Night celebration. “I still have it with me at home as a reminder of the simple beauty of life as seen through the eyes of a five-year-old.”
That small act of kindness — alongside memories of tether ball games, Shakespeare plays, school assemblies, and lifelong friendships — were the recollections shared Monday as more than 800 current and former students, teachers, principals, and families returned to Bella Vista to celebrate nearly 60 years of Tiger pride.
For one final evening, the halls of Bella Vista buzzed with laughter, hugs, and generations of community members reconnecting with the school that shaped so many childhoods in Cottonwood Heights.
Guests poured through memory books and class photos, reunited with former classmates and teachers, enjoyed food trucks, cake and cupcakes, and posed for group photos with former principals, faculty members, and alumni. Everyone who attended received a commemorative pin and a special drone photo of Bella Vista’s Class of 2026.
Among those in attendance were Canyons Board of Education President Amber Shill, Board member Katie Dahle, incoming Superintendent Dr. McKay Robinson, incoming Assistant Superintendent Mindy Robison, Director of Elementary Schools Sally Sansom, and former Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore.
Cullimore, whose children attended Bella Vista and who once served on the school’s Community Council, reflected on Bella Vista’s roots. Helping to create Canyons School District, he said, remains one of his proudest accomplishments as Mayor.
Shill, who also previously served on Bella Vista’s Community Council, brought with her a special piece of school history — an Olympic pin designed by Bella Vista students for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
For many, the night was about reliving simple moments from their childhood.
Sherry Milner, who first enrolled at Bella Vista in 1969, remembered spending recess locked in fierce tether ball battles. “We’d play for as long as we could,” she said. “The teachers would have to pull us away when recess ended.”
Garth Anderson, who led Bella Vista from 1990 to 1995, reflected on Shakespeare performances, 100-day celebrations, and once dressing up in a gorilla costume after students achieved their reading goals.
For six decades, Bella Vista has been more than a school. It has been a gathering place, a neighborhood landmark, and a second home to generations of families. And Monday night proved that once you’re a Tiger, you’re always a Tiger.
