BCLUW Celebrates and Honors Its Four Out-going Retirees
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Ehn |
Dunham |
Kitzman |
Kaisand |
Contributed Photos
By Devin Schiebel
Comet Chronicle
Staff Writer
At the end of this school year, BCLUW will be saying goodbye to three teachers and one secretary who, combined, have been in education for 124 years! The BCLUW students and staff would like to thank them for their service and recognize all of the lives that they have impacted throughout the years.
Thank you for making BCLUW Schools a place to learn and grow; you will be missed.
John Ehn is a science teacher at the BCLUW middle school. He has been teaching for a combined total of 33 years — 5th graders for 23 1/2 years and 6th, 7th; and 8th graders for the past 9 1/2 years. He has been a coach for many sports, volunteered at school and community events, and has dedicated many years to help, lead, and support the students and staff of the BCLUW communities.
After all these years Ehn has decided to retire as he says, “I’ve met the required age limit and that will allow me to receive my well deserved benefits. It will also allow me to spend more time with my grandchildren and pursue other things on my bucket list.” Those well-deserved things include: geocaching, bird watching, yard work and some other hobbies with his wife.
He and his wife, high school teacher Jeanne Ehn, plan to do some traveling and spend time with family, friends, and enjoying life. Ehn says what he has enjoyed the most is, “guiding young people to see how they handle the day to day challenges of life and seeing them grow into young adults.”
He tells students “Be willing to listen. Do not be afraid to ask for advice or help. Be honest. Work hard to accomplish your goals and meet deadlines. Take time to enjoy and reflect on the successes as well as the failures. Believein yourself and your values.”
Dan Dunham has been teaching for 34 years and all at BCL/BCLUW. He has taught first grade the entire time and has touched the lives of numerous students. Over the years he has enjoyed watching first graders grow in their ability to read. In fact, many students and parents credit Dunham with their, or their child’s, ability to read!
He says he “can’t think of anything more rewarding then teaching first grade.” Many of his students remember the “Smart Pills” (M&M’s) that he would had out when you turned in your homework and the reading tree house in his room.
Dunham first felt the calling to teach when helping in a summer head start program with 4-5 year olds. The advice he tells students is, “Don’t make excuses — everyone always sees through them anyway!”
Sarah Kitzman has been employed by BCLUW for 35 years. For 29 years she was the secretary in the superintendent’s office. During that time she worked for six different administrations that have been a part of the BCLUW Schools. Her most memorable experiences were watching the different school buildings consolidated into one school/building, making what is now BCLUW.
The past six years she has been the secretary at the elementary school, “working with Mrs. Petty and an awesome elementary staff.” She says since she transferred buildings, every day has been an adventure.
Mrs. Kitzman believes that the introduction of the computer has had the biggest impact on the school system. After she retires she would like to hang out with family, go on trips, relax at home, garden, read, sew and maybe learn how to quilt!
Her advice to students is, “Do your best, be yourself, and always remember to say please and thank you!”
Jessie Kaisand has been teaching for 22 years. She has taught at the middle school, kindergarten, Title I, second grade, and first grade. She wanted to be a teacher because she wanted to share her love of learning with others. Her students fondly remember the interesting activities she would create for them. They remember studying the Asian culture and having to eat bananas with chopsticks, and creating a mini-town with buildings they each constructed based on where their parents worked. Mrs. Kaisand says some of her greatest enjoyments have been having former students come back and visit.
Kaisand is looking forward to retirement. She would like to enjoy her grandchildren, sew, fish, canoe, and play more golf.
She tells students to, “Learn everything you can in school.”