WC Teacher Interview

Kacey Skeens This year we have a few of new teachers at Woodbury Central; Mrs. Hadden is one of them. Mrs. Hadden’s immediate family includes her husband, two children and a spoiled Golden Retriever.

She is from a small town in Kansas similar to Moville in a lot of ways. “People are friendly, everyone knows everyone, and the school activities are a large part of the community’s social gatherings,” explains Mrs. Hadden.    

She has taught 9-12 grade in Dallas, TX before moving to Iowa and she decided to teach at our school as a middle school math teacher because she immediately felt at home.

Mrs. Hadden is fan of the music band Journey but lately, she has been listening to a new group called Home Free.

She feels most satisfied when she can see students grasping mathematical concepts on their own. It is then when she knows she is truly teaching. However, the toughest part of her job is getting students to see the importance and beauty in math.


We are excited for Mrs. Hadden to teach at our school!


By: Marta Perez



Mrs.Lux

New Teacher Interview: Mrs. Lux

Mrs. Lux is a new teacher at Woodbury Central this year. She teaches Middle School Special Education. She attended college at Morningside College and got her bachelor degree in Elementary Education. She also has endorsements in K-8 Reading and K-12 Instructional Strategies. Before she came to WC she taught Sunday School to preschool and kindergarten at Sloan Community Church of Christ. She has also taught 3rd and 4th grade in Jr. Church.

This is Mrs. Lux’s first teaching position. She did substitute teach at multiple schools last spring. She would consider her teaching style as collaborative and hands on. She said she is most satisfied with her job when, “she sees her students succeed daily.” She uses a filing system to stay organized while teaching. One of Mrs.Lux’s goals is to continue her education and obtain her master’s degree in special education.

Mrs.Lux was raised in Sioux City, Iowa for many years until she moved to Sloan, Iowa after she got married. She moved to Moville last May. She likes to listen to Garth Brooks.  The last sporting she went to was a middle school volleyball game.  The last book she read was Because of Winn Dixie with her students. She is a very dedicated teacher to the school and we’re excited to have her!


By: Tanner Rahn




Ms.Alons

Ms. Ashley Alons grew up in  Browns Lake, IA. She is currently working as Woodbury Central’s English I, English II, Publications, & Independent Literature teacher. Ashley chose to work at WC because she says, “it’s a lot like home” to her,” and it’s a similar type of high school she went to.


Ashley previously taught at Central Middle in Muscatine, IA. Some other teaching experiences she’s had are teaching first grade summer school every year, and she has also coached club volleyball before.


One of her current teaching goals is to, “stay ahead in my planning and grading this year.”

She’s quoted as saying, “ I’m an organizational freak! I live by my personal planner, post it notes, I’m obsessed with Google Drive, & I’m the type of person who makes her bed every single morning.” These are a few tools she uses to stay organized.

Ashley’s favorite actor is Steve Carrell, but only as Michael Scott in The Office! A book she is currently reading is The Zookeepers Wifei. Something unique about Ms. Alons is that even though she is an English teacher, she has never read or watched anything from the Harry Potter series!

By: Keeley Ruring



Ms.Fawcett

Mrs.Fawcett is one of the few new teachers at Woodbury Central this year. She went to Morningside College in Sioux City where she got her BA degree in Science. She has taught previously at the Exira-EHK School District as a middle school special education teacher, and one year at Riverside Elementary school in Sioux City also as a special education teacher.  

Mrs.Fawcett was raised in Jackson, Nebraska. She since then has moved to Moville. She has two daughters, which both attended Woodbury Central. Her two daughters are now twenty-four and twenty-one. She has three grandchildren who she loves to spend time with.

Mrs,Fawcett is a very upbeat, caring, fun-loving teacher. She would describe her work style as a collaborative-team player. Mrs.Fawcett feels most satisfied with her job when a student change their mindset from not being able to do something to believing they can. She says the hardest part of her job is finding the time to get everything done. She is a big supporter of the school.


By: Tanner Rahn




Mr.Forrer

Mr. Sam Forrer is the new PE teacher and high school football coach for the Woodbury Central Wildcats. He is originally from Boulder, Colorado. “The mountains are beautiful, and there is so much to do,” Mr. Forrer explain. His family includes his parents Amy and David, his sister Hannah, and his dog Finley.

Mr. Forrer completed his Undergraduate Degree from Mount Marty College in Yankton, SD in 2016 in Physical and Secondary Education. He taught PE ages K-5 at Beresford Elementary in Beresford, South Dakota.

 “I love the MS and HS aged kids. I know Woodbury Central is a community in which is very close and highly supported. That is something I have always wanted to be apart of,” Mr. Forrer says.

“Getting my students to enjoy physical activity. Teaching them techniques, activities, and games that they can use and participate in throughout their lives,” are some of Mr. Forrer’s goals for his class. Energetic, happy, caring, responsible, and fun, are 5 words that describe Mr. Forrer. His favorite part of his job is when his students are working together and having fun, and his least favorite is not having enough time with them.


By: Kameron Paulsen




Mr.Wilkerson

By: Celine Bendl Mr. Josh Wilkerson is one of the new teachers at Woodbury Central High School. He is the teacher for 8th and 9th grade history, Modern US and World History and he’s also an assistant coach for the boys basketball team. What he likes most about Woodbury Central is the small town atmosphere here.


Mr. Wilkerson grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska with his parents Jim and Kathy ‘Tighe’ Wilkerson. Now, he lives in Sioux City with his wife Jennie and his 2 year old daughter Evalyn. He studied Secondary Education History BA with a minor in Political Science and Psychology at Morningside College. Before coming to our school, he was a teacher at the Bishop Heelan Catholic High School in Sioux City.


He describes himself as fun, caring, competitive, old-school and driven. His work style is organized, hardworking and focused. The most satisfying part about his job is when students understand something after struggling and the toughest part is paperwork.

Currently he’s reading the book, My Life On a Napkin and the last movie he watched was Dunkirk. We are glad to have him as a teacher at our school!


Jane Logan Retirement

By Brandon Stender 

Jane Logan, a Woodbury Central English teacher, is calling it quits; she started teaching 41 years ago and has been walking the halls of the Moville school building a lot longer than that. She says that she’ll “miss the WC staff and my peers, all the support staff, and administration. Our enthusiasm is huge as individuals and as a large group for supporting each other and our students. As a staff, our camaraderie is exceptionally comfortable. I will miss bopping into a room to speak with another adult in 45-second bursts of conversation. I will certainly miss the students. Who else will give me thumbs-up or thumbs-down on my day’s attire? Who else will roll their eyes at my exceptionally lame jokes, and then try to be polite to me with really weak smiles?”

Ms. Logan says that her “Greatest Professional Accomplishment” is to learn that some of her former students have become English teachers. She credits all of her success to her parents, to Maroldine Armstrong, her high school English teacher, as well as to Genevieve Hughes (her first grade teacher); to Jesse Sherwood (Grade 2); and to Mrs. Lau (Grade 6).

“Teaching is more than it’s cracked up to be. It’s delight and sorrow, regret and joyous accomplishment." These are the words from Ms. Logan when speaking about her enjoyments of being given the opportunity to teach at WC. One of her most memorable teaching moments came when she was the speech and drama coach, and so many students signed up for the annual play that the students came together to write an extra scene for the play so they would all have the fun of performing in it.

WC junior Loryn Nettleton says this about her education sensei: “She was definitely one of my harder teachers and I had to study a lot for her classes, but she was always pushing me to do better; her Essay Check Sheet will come handy in the future and I think that I am a better student because of having Ms. Logan as a teacher. We will miss her.”

During her years, Ms. Logan had a side gig of teaching Introduction to Literature and Introduction to Composition college classes for Western Iowa Tech (WITCC); she taught some of the classes in the evenings on the campus, and also taught them as a part of WC’s PSEO (Post Secondary Enrollment Options) curriculum. Before that, and during the years that WC and L-B shared a superintendent, Ms. Logan also taught senior literature classes over the ICN (Iowa Communication Network) which opened the classes to students in Battle-Creek, Ida Grove, Lawton Bronson, and Woodbury Central. "That was a real treat," she recalls with a laugh. "I was trying to hold a Q & A, and run cameras on three schools, microphones on 20 students, a slide projector on my topic, and a smart board with my notes."

Ms. Logan also claims that she will “miss the Class of 2018. 'Nuff said," she adds with a big smile. "Also, I miss traveling with students. Twice, when Mrs. Avila was here, we took students out of the US: once to Spain, and once to Mexico.” Ms. Logan says she quit traveling with students after Natalee Holloway disappeared, and she didn't want that to happen to any of her "children."

If Ms. Logan's not traveling with her family, she prefers to be at home in Moville. “I encourage students to be in this area because they want to be here, not because they have anywhere else to go, or no desire to be anywhere else. I always go elsewhere, but I prefer to return. I like Moville.” Those were the words said by Ms. Logan when asked what it is like to be born and raised, and then spend her life in Moville.

One of Ms. Logan’s greatest personal educational experiences came from a July 2004 tour of many World War II Holocaust sites. Her trip began in Amsterdam where she dined with Miep Gies, a friend to the Otto Frank family who successfully hid them in an attic in Amsterdam during WWII. Ms. Logan later traveled to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, and Austria. She describes the journey as an “…incredibly intense and humbling experience.”

Besides Ms. Logan’s travels all over the world, she was also a very important puzzle piece to WC as she was fit into high school teaching areas as needed through the years: she taught English l, II & III, British Literature, Contemporary Literature, PSEO, Advanced Placement English, Workplace Skills, and Journalism. She also taught middle school Reading, Drama, and some Computer classes.

Ms. Logan’s long teaching resume includes teaching at Eldora, IA, at Fremont-Mills in Tabor, IA, and then in an alternative public school in Papillion, Neb. Finally Ms. Logan found her way back to her home town of Moville to teach middle school reading at Lawton and then high school English at Kingsley for a couple of years before taking time off to raise a family in the early 1980s. In the meantime, she was a substitute teacher at L-B, K-P and WC. In addition to being a teacher to many students, she was a correspondent for the Sioux City Journal for a few years ("Ms. Reinders' father was my boss," she reports), and for five years was a full-time writer for Iowa Farmer Today before earning her spot on the WC staff.

Ms. Logan plans to spend her retirement as a substitute teacher in area schools again; she wishes to monitor the Class of 2018 some more before the students set off into their futures. She also plans to golf at the Meadows in Moville with her father. She would also like to travel with her father and is currently trying to make the decision between Quito and Phu Quoc Island. She also hopes to write stories, work on her photography, refurnish furniture and complete some of her crewel embroidery projects. Ms. Logan adds, “I’m blessed to be surrounded by family: in addition to my father, my sister and her family live in Moville. My children and grandchildren are within a 6-hour drive.”

Ms. Logan, who graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in English education, emphasis in reading, later earned a Master's degree in English Education at USD in Vermillion. 

GWAY Stan Galloway Retirement

10 May 2017

By Brandon Stender

Stan Galloway, a high school history teacher and bus driver at Woodbury Central, calls it quits after teaching for 40 years. Raised in Sudan and Egypt until the seventh grade, Mr. Galloway moved back to the US with his family and lived in Omaha before moving north to settle in Sioux City. Mr. Galloway attended Central High School in Sioux City for two years before transferring to the newly-built West High for his senior year. He played basketball one year at West HS, and then played basketball at the U. of South Dakota and majored in history education.

Right after he graduated from USD, Mr. Galloway married his wife Crystal and continued his career path: his hobbies were to coach basketball while teaching at Garretson, S.D. One day, after two years of being in South Dakota, Mr. Galloway spoke with his mother-in-law about an opening for a high school history teacher. That was when he took his talents south to a small little town north of Highway 20: Moville is where he would teach for the rest of his 38-year career.

Mr. Galloway has been driving a school bus since 2004 when Coach Jim Fisher suggested it. Mr. Galloway saw it as another way to make some extra money, and continued to drive school buses for 13 more years.

Mr. Galloway may have been teaching for a while but when asked if teaching is really what it’s cracked up to be, he explains this: “It is not any easy profession. I don't know how much time it has taken me to prepare lessons, correct tests, etc. but it has definitely been worth it! The memories I have from many years of coaching and teaching are mostly positive!”

Mr. Galloway adds, “I will miss the everyday interactions I had with my students. especially seeing them improve. I also enjoy my fellow teachers, administrators and support staff at WC. They all care about the students and want to see them excel.” Mr. Galloway also adds that through all his years of teaching he said he enjoyed Brandon Stender a lot; then he asks, “What’s not to love about that kid?” (Editor's note: Mr. G REALLY did say this!).

Mr. Galloway has many good memories at WC but says the most memorable ones came from the 1980 Football Class 1A State Championship, and also the 2014 Girls Sub State game against Treynor to go to State for the first time in WC girl’s history. Another memory that Mr. Galloway describes was when Grady Gallagher scored 46 points in a 2011 basketball game against Boyden Hull. He describes Grady’s performance as “the greatest performance I’ve ever witnessed in high school!”

Mr. Galloway’s classroom memories are just as good. He also says he will remember the oven fire in Home-Ec. last year. He appreciates when kids persevere and do well on material they might not enjoy, like learning about the Great Depression.

Mr. Galloway will also recall all the pranks that he and the teachers exchanged, like one year when he was pranked by Mr. Meister (HS business teacher) and Mr. Bahrke (retired history teacher) when they put “The Club” on his steering wheel so he couldn’t drive his bus route. He also recalls when he took the classroom staplers from Mr. Meister and Mr. Bahrke, made Jell-O, and put both the staplers in two separate containers so the staplers were in the middle of two chilled blocks of Strawberry Jell-O.

Mr. Galloway’s wife Crystal will retire from teaching next year. While she continues to teach, Mr. Galloway plans to start building a house closer to his children and grandchildren somewhere between Des Moines and Iowa City. Mr. Galloway also aspires to do more trike-flying, and hopes to own one some day; he also may become a certified flight instructor. To ride his bike along the Lewis & Clark Trail is another planned adventure, as is to drive on the Overseas Highway to Key West with his wife, and visit Israel. Mr. Galloway adds this: “One thing I know, I’ll never be bored!”

Mr. Galloway is the proud parent of four children: Kyle (38); Melissa (36); Ryan (34); and Rachel (31). Mr. Galloway and his wife also own a dog named Sheba. When Mr. Galloway was asked about his favorite motto and he had this to say: “Life is all about choices. Every day we make choices that can have positive or negative ramifications on our lives. I’ve tried to get students to think about the choices they make in class and out of class since, these can have long-lasting results. Ultimately, I believe our choices will determine where we will spend eternity.”

Thank you, Mr. Galloway for your 38 years of service and endless kindnesses to everyone at Woodbury Central and the community; we will all miss you.
m

Jacob Wohlert

Publications

January 19 2017


Mrs. Robertson, a Special Ed elementary teacher at Woodbury Central grew up in Sioux City and graduated from Morningside College. She says she has "wanted to be a teacher since I was a second grade student" and likes to teach at W.C. because of its smaller environment. She said, “I love the small setting.” Mrs. Robertson teaches 10 children in her class; her job is to take care of the students and educate them.

Mrs. Robertson is most satisfied with her job when she helps the children grow in their education every day; the hardest thing for her is to ask for help from others because she likes being "independent."

Her work style involves planning ahead and always having a backup plan, yet “being flexible, and going with the flow.” She describes her personality as “fun, independent, patient, organized and caring.” She encourages her students through her positive attitude, and helps them approach their assignments through creative ways. She stays organized in her classroom with a planner, binders, her phone, plastic tubs, her lesson plans, assignments, and folders to collect the student’s work. When asked to describe what she values most in life, she said “family." Mrs. Robertson teaches 10 children in her class, and one of her life goals is never to see one of her students fall behind, but to see each one of them succeed.

She and her husband Jeff live in Sioux City.
New
New Teacher Interview Stephanie Shever

By Faith Schlotman

            Woodbury Central welcomes new fifth grade teacher Stephanie Shever. Ms. Shever values her friends, career and her family.

             Last year, Ms. Shever was a student teacher for third grade teacher Mrs. Paulsen; she says she loves the atmosphere and the people here at WC. After student teaching, she became Mrs. Langel’s permanent substitute teacher. She enjoys “having students tell me that they enjoyed having me as a teacher. I like knowing that I made a difference.”

             Ms. Shever has wanted to be a teacher ever since she was in elementary school, and now has a Reading Endorsement and a degree in Elementary Education. A graduate of Morningside College in Sioux City, this organized, patient and caring teacher was raised on a farm outside of Cushing, IA; her parents are Craig and LeeAnn Shever.

 



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New teacher: Mrs. Lilly


By Katelyn Gebel

 

Mrs. Lilly, the new TAG teacher, recently returned to Woodbury Central after attending as a kindergartener. The following year her family moved a mile east into the Kingsley-Pierson School District. “So yes, I was a Panther, but now I am a Wildcat,” she says with a smile. “I like cats, so everything is good.” She grew up on a farm which “helped me to be responsible” and taught her to work hard.

 “I enjoy the teaching profession as each day brings something new when you’re working with students,” explains Mrs. Lilly, before she adds that she is “organized, self-motivated and gets along with everyone.” When she works with students, “I love seeing their eyes light up as they grasp a new concept or have a new idea to solve a problem.”

 At the end of the school day, Mrs. Lilly helps Coach Lilly with the football team. “I must say this year has been enjoyable as the boys are respectful and have good manners,” she states.

Mrs. Lilly has taught 3 years in Lawton, 8 years in Orange City, and 7 years in Bellevue, NE. Mrs. Lilly is a graduate from Dana College in Blair, NE with a BA in K-12 TAG and Art Education.

 









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New Teacher Interview, Curtis Lilly

By Jameson Mandl

 

Woodbury Central welcomes the new high school science teacher, Mr. Curtis Lilly. Mr. Lilly chose WC because “I like the area and I like small schools.”

Mr. Lilly, who has been teaching for 25 years, grew up in Meridian, a town in East Central Mississippi. When asked to describe his personality, he says, “Passionate-honest, hardworking, nice, and loud.”

The toughest part of the job for Mr. Lilly is getting all students “to be their best, especially when they don’t know what their best is.” Mr. Lilly is most satisfied with his job when students do get it.

When Mr. Lilly is at school, he “likes to have time to do things right” while he is working; with a smile, he adds that he is “a little ADHD at times.” He likes to use spreadsheets, calendars, and lists to keep organized and claims that he finds himself thinking “out of the box all the time. I like to make people think so I always question things, even when I agree with them.”

Mr. Lilly, who plans to earn his doctorate, got his Bachelor’s Degree at Westmar College in LeMars and his Master’s Degree at Southern Miss University. At his last school, he taught high school science and was the boy’s track head coach. Mr. Lilly and his wife Kim have three married children and four grandchildren. In life, he values quality time with his family.






 
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By Jacey Stratton              Erin Reinders Interview                       

 

Sergeant Bluff native Erin Reinders is most satisfied with her job when “students show me they feel comfortable enough to come ask for help with homework and other things.” She adds that the toughest part of teaching for her is “not being good at certain aspects of it," she answers. "I don’t like to fail.”

Ms. Reinders is Woodbury Central's new high school social studies teacher and sponsors its student council; she also has middle school coaching responsibilities.

Ms. Reinders values “family, friends, and time.” She enjoys reading (“The Notebook”), watching movies (“Jurassic World”), and attending sporting events (“SB-L/ WC soccer games”). However, now that she's teaching, she claims that she doesn’t “have time for leisure reading.” 

Ms. Reinders describes herself as “outgoing, slightly humorous, athletic, loyal, and dependable.” She likes to teach using a touch of old-school with some new ideas. Calendars, post-it notes and binders help her stay organized.

Ms. Reinders graduated from Sergeant Bluff in 2009 and says, “It was a great town and school system to grow up in.” After high school, she attended Wayne State College in Nebraska where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Education degree and later student-taught at the Wakefield Community Schools. Following graduation in 2013, she substitute-taught at Wakefield, Nebraska, and Sergeant Bluff-Luton.

Ms. Reinders' parents are Mark and Judy Reinders; she has an older brother Joshua, and an older sister Cara. Her teaching goal for this year? “I want to know every student’s first and last names by the end of the year,” she replies.









Mrs. Bock Teacher Interview

By Jameson Mandl

 

Mrs. Bock, who teaches reading at Woodbury Central's middle school, is most satisfied with her job “when I see students engaged and excited about what they are reading.” 

Mrs. Bock enjoys teaching at the middle school level because “I enjoy seeing the growth in students as their taste in what they read matures and develops." She motivates her students to participate in class by “using cards with their names on them. I draw a card to call on them whenever possible. It keeps everyone focused on the lesson at hand.” Her assignments let her students be creative and express their individuality. “There is a lot of room for individual choice in my classes," she explains. "Even though students are required to read a variety of genres, they are allowed almost complete autonomy over the books they choose.”

Mrs. Bock's favorite part of teaching is “the people. I enjoy my WC co-workers and students. I love seeing the untapped potential and growth as my students become discerning readers.” The toughest part of her job as a media specialist is when she is not able "to spend time in my libraries or with the library associates” and keep track of teacher media resources, especially those offered by the AEA.

Mrs. Bock moved to Moville while she was in elementary school. Her father, Dean Von Bergen, was WC's high school principal, and her mother Sharon worked for Hobbs Chevrolet. Mrs. Bock graduated from WC, and earned her major degree in English, and minor degrees in speech and drama from Buena Vista U. Later from the U of Neb, Omaha, she earned her Master of Education, with emphasis in Instructional Media. She decided to become a teacher “when I was in college, I kept thinking to myself, ‘If I was teaching this class…’ I just knew I could do it better.” 

Mrs. Bock has taught summer language camps at BV and, at Storm Lake High School, she was a sophomore English teacher and speech coach. She chose to work at WC because “my husband’s job transferred us back to the area and after substitute teaching for a while, I was approached about the library position," Mrs. Bock recalls. She adds that she returned to school to study for her Master's degree as a media specialist, and three years later she became WC's library media specialist; she has since been transitioned to its middle school reading teacher.

Mrs. Bock values her faith, family and friends; “People are more important than things,” she says. The three Bock children are married and among them, she and her husband Lou have six grandchildren. One of their goals is “to travel to all 50 states,” she says. “Each summer we seem to make it to another one or two. A few years from now, retirement will give us more time and opportunities.” 


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Mr. Herbold Teacher Interview

By Lyndzy Flewelling

 

When Mr. Herbold graduated from Woodbury Central High School, his goal was to move as far away as he could. After graduating From Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Nebraska he taught in California, Missouri, Arizona, and Nebraska. He has taught grades 3-8 and “I love every one of them,” said Mr. Herbold. He enjoyed backpacking across Europe and taking classes overseas, but he missed Iowa's four seasons, his family, and Moville, his home town. When he heard of a middle school science teacher opening at Woodbury Central, he knew it was too good to be true.

Currently Mr. Herbold teaches fifth grade at WC and enjoys getting the students ready for middle school. He uses a lot of drama in his teaching, and likes to reward students for their hard work with art projects. His students enjoy creating Indian artifacts and models, and write Civil War diaries, design "dream bedrooms," or map mock trips across Iowa.

Mr. Herbold has a passion to see children take pride in their work, always at their best. He likes to see original thought in his students. “There is nothing better than when the ‘light bulb’ turns on in a kid's eyes,” says Mr. Herbold. According to Mr. Herbold, the hardest part about teaching is to send his students to the next grade each spring.

Mr. Herbold has great memories of his former students, and he looks forward to visits from his former students and hearing about their accomplishments. Those who work overseas or in some exotic locations are his favorite discussions.

Mr. Herbold met his wife Suzanna while chaperoning at a WC Junior/Senior Prom; they were both WC teachers at the time. Now they have three children: Maxon, Maggie, and Maryn and spend their time traveling, reading and watching movies. “The summers are wonderful but I can’t wait to start teaching again in the fall,” says Mr. Herbold with a smile.