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SALT LAKE CITY — For every kid hoping snow would cancel classes on Wednesday, these students actually wanted to go to school.
"They've been looking forward to this for at least a month," Majestic Elementary Arts Academy Principal Marianne Johansen said.
Fifth graders in the Jordan and Granite school districts were treated to a Salt Lake Stars game at the Delta Center on Wednesday. For many of the students, it was their first visit.
"We're like sitting courtside today," Johansen said. "We're a Title I school. That's not a luxury that we frequently get, you know?"
If there's one student who could use a few smiles right now, it's 10-year-old Jaxson Steele.
"I adore Jaxson," the principal said. "He's just that golden kid, you know? He comes to school every day with a smile on his face."
Johansen can't stop thinking about him. "He unexpectedly lost his mom the day after Christmas," she explained.
It means Jaxson has to move in with his father, who lives in a different school district.
"Which is really hard for us. He's been with us since kindergarten. Like, he's our kid," Johansen said.
That gave her an idea.
"We were able to reach out to our foundation and they found a donor who purchased a brand new clarinet to give to Jaxson," she said. When Jaxson was called to the court, he had no idea he was getting a clarinet. The look on his face said it all.
"I was shaking. I was just, I didn't, I don't know," he said.
As tough as things are for him right now, this moment showed him he's not alone. "It means the world to us. It makes the time so special," said Corey Steele, Jaxson's father.
There's no doubt he'll make new friends, maybe one day, people will come to see him play.
