Talawanda teachers, parents prepare for first day of school

Wednesday was the first day of school for most of the Talawanda School District, with the first day for pre-K through first-grade students being just around the corner on Aug. 18.

Talawanda High School

On Monday, teachers at Talawanda High School (THS) were sitting through meetings and preparing their lesson plans before they would welcome another class of students.

“Every year, the most exciting thing is just to get to see the students again,” said math teacher Allyson Klovekorn. “I was at open house last week, and it’s so fun seeing students from previous years, and they get so excited to see you again and tell you about their summer.”

Klovekorn is in her ninth year teaching at the high school, and she said she’s feeling more confident than ever.

“I’m not teaching any new courses, so I know what I’m walking into, essentially,” Klovekorn said. 

She made sure to prepare first-day activities, rules and expectations, and worked with the math team to figure out what the students’ first unit should be and how their learning should be paced.

Both Klovekorn and another math teacher, Caroline Morrow, said one of the more significant changes this year, besides bus schedules and school lunch times, is the implementation of the cell phone ban. 

Klovekorn said cell phones have created some problems in the past, and Morrow said the rule could force students to participate in different types of socializing and positive communication. 

Last year, THS documented 34 warnings issued for cell phone infractions, and on 10 additional occasions, a consequence was issued, according to data provided by Director of Communications and Public Engagement Holli Hansel. High school enrollment last year was under 1,000 students.

Still, Klovekorn said she has prepared for the change by creating a “brain break” space in her classroom where students can color, work on puzzles or do other activities once they finish their classwork.

Kramer Elementary School

At the elementary level, teachers at Kramer had been preparing for the new year for the past several days.

At the school’s open house Tuesday evening, pre-K teacher Christy Meister said she had been labeling cubbies, pulling out materials and attending curriculum meetings.

As a teacher of 13 years, she said she was most excited about getting to know her new students.

Across the hall, kindergarten teacher Ann Mortimer, who’s been an educator for 33 years, was preparing for her last year before she retires.

“I’m just as excited as my first year, too,” Mortimer said. “It’s been fun just getting everything ready again.”

Upstairs, mom-of-three Brionna Shepard was preparing two of her children to enter a brand new school, as they just recently moved to the district.

“It’s been actually really smooth,” Shepard said. “My younger siblings actually graduated from Talawanda a long time ago, so it’s actually cool that we have a second generation starting here.” 

Rhett Brymer, a local resident, said his family is used to the routine of starting school at Kramer Elementary at this point, with one child enrolling in the fifth grade this year. He said he’s looking forward to the kids being put back into a routine and spending some time away from screens.

“They do a great job putting kids with teachers that I think work with those kids really well,” Brymer said. “We’ve been really pleased with all of Luke’s teachers up to this point.”