Duneland Assistant
Superintendent of Operations and Human Resources Monte Moffett has begun
tallying up the number of years of experience the school corporation will be
losing at the end of this school year -- so far 168.5 years -- as six
teachers have announced their retirements.
Moffett read the
names at the start of Monday’s School Board meeting and a summary of each
career.
The retiree with
the longest career at Duneland is Music Director Tom Schnabel with 32 years.
Schnabel started at Duneland in 1985 and spent two years prior teaching at
Portage. He has been Duneland’s music director for the last seven years.
Retiring after 31
years is Jackson Elementary First Grade teacher Elaine Krause who has also
spent years teaching at Liberty and Brummitt Elementary schools. Before
coming to Duneland, she taught four years in Munster.
Chesterton Middle
School teacher Amy Otto will retire after 21 years at Duneland, 16 of which
were at CMS. Five were with Westchester Intermediate. Otto taught 9.5 years
at other school districts.
CHS Business
teacher Rebecca Gierke will retire after 20 years, having one additional
year at Lake Station Schools. Gierke has been the high school’s
international baccalaureate coordinator for the past nine years.
LES First Grade
teacher Gayle Sandquist will retire with 16 years teaching at the school.
She has six years’ experience teaching elsewhere.
CHS Business
teacher Donna Wilk will retire after 10 years at the high school. Prior to
CHS, Wilk worked seven years with Union Twp. Schools and nine years with
Michigan City Area Schools.
“We certainly do
appreciate all their efforts and their dedication to our students and
they’ll be sadly missed,” Moffett said.
Board President
Kristin Kroeger said 168.5 years of experience is a lot to let go of but
wished all the retirees luck in the next stage of their lives.
“It’s always
humbling to hear the number of years of experience that go with them. It’s
really hard to replace that experience but we wish everybody well,” Kroeger
said.
Personnel report
At CHS, Poppy
Carden will be the Special Education Department Chair. Jacob Leske will
coach the Freshman Softball team.
At WIS, Megan
Sexton and Nicolas Sufana will coach Boys Intramural Basketball. Diana
Schmiegel will coach Girls Intramural Basketball.
Katilin Bruning
will be an instructional aide at CMS. Kaylie Kirk will be a kitchen helper
for Duneland Schools. Michelle Albright will be a grade 2 level coordinator
for Brummitt Elementary.
Resignations
include bus driver Susan Gilson Dyer, LIS SAT Committee member Nancy
Hoffman, Brummitt Elementary grade 2 level coordinator Katie Curiel, CHS
concession manager Sue Sutton, kitchen helper Denise Dudek, maintenance
employee Richard Sexton and LIS cafŽ/recess aide Michelle Dietrich.
Technology boosts
skills at Jackson
During the meeting,
the board received thank you’s and a presentation from staff and fourth
graders at Jackson Elementary for the purchase of Google Chromebooks.
Student Lilly
Boyter gave the introduction, expressing appreciation for the Chromebooks.
Marley Mayer explained the app Kidblog which students can use to communicate
with teachers and other students. Ava Persin and Sidney Morris talked about
and demonstrated the Keyboarding Without Tears program that teaches students
how to type with the Chromebooks’ keyboards.
Next, Rian Goins
made an ecosystem presentation created with Google Slides. Garett Koch and
Cassie Lange explained Google Sheets’ ability to organize data and how it
can be used for science fairs. Karlie Nelson showed how students use Google
Docs and tape interviews.
Introducing the
students were teachers Brian Norris and Stacy Vesling.
Norris said
Chromebooks were purchased for all Duneland 3rd and 4th Grade students.
SCUBA trip
For the 15th
consecutive year, Duneland will offer Chesterton High School students the
chance to experience a SCUBA program at the MarineLab in Key Largo, Fla.
Assistant
Superintendent of Instruction Jim Goetz said that the course will be offered
during the school’s summer session. Students, teachers and chaperones will
leave CHS on Tuesday, June 20 and will return on Saturday, June 24.
Students on the
trip will earn a life science credit and their diving certificate while
having the opportunity to see the Florida Keys’ reef system and other
wildlife. There will also be time for exploring other parts of the island.
Leading the trip
this year will be science teacher Dan Paff and art teacher Adam Schultz. The
course can take a maximum of 18 students.
Goetz said the fees
for students will be about $1,900, which will cover airfare, transportation,
meals, hotel accommodations and the scuba gear rental.
Schools
Superintendent Pruis said the SCUBA trip is usually approved at the same
time as the Trail Bound trip, which will be to the north woods of Michigan
this year, but the Trail Bound trip needed advance approval and the board
already voted on it in the fall.
Sports teams win
praise
Duneland athletes
have a hot streak going after taking several wins in sectional
championships.
Pruis lauded the
CHS Girls Swimming and Diving team for breaking seven records as it won its
18th consecutive IHSSA sectional title. The state championship will be held
this weekend in Indianapolis.
The Boys Swimming
and Diving team finished its season undefeated winning a 21st conference
championship.
CHS Wrestling team
finished runner-up in the regional this past weekend.
Garnering a round
of applause, Pruis said CHS Gymnastics team defeated rival Valparaiso at CHS
fieldhouse on Tuesday. The gymnastics team is currently ranked first in the
state.
“Our student
athletes are having a great year,” Pruis said.
Also mentioned was
the WIS 5th Grade Science Bowl team placing seventh in the state.
CHS Natural Helpers
will host their annual coffeehouse fundraiser on Tuesday, Feb. 21, in the
CHS cafeteria with student talent. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $5.
CHS Family Theater
will present “Subpar Heroes,” written by 2009 alum Tom O’Neill and directed
by Anne Sharp, on the weekend of Feb. 24-26 in the CHS auditorium. Tickets
will be on sale soon.