The Goessel school board honored Lois Janzen during its Nov. 10 meeting. Janzen is retiring after 46 years of driving a school bus for the district.
The board presented Janzen with a plaque, with Superintendent John Fast noting that Janzen has driven about 700,000 miles. Her first bus was No. 7, and her last bus was No. 7.
Diana Schmidt, bus director, expressed appreciation for Janzen?s years of bus driving service. Schmidt said she had been a student on Janzen?s bus when Janzen drove the bus to activities, and now Schmidt and Janzen are co-workers.
?We will miss her,? Schmidt said.
Board chair Dan Miller expressed appreciation for Janzen?s work on behalf of the school board, the students and USD 411 patrons.
Fast said: ?Mrs. Janzen has demonstrated a level of loyalty and service to an employer that goes far and above expectations, and I believe that is because she sincerely enjoyed serving our students.?
Janzen said she enjoyed driving bus.
?It never felt like a job,? she said. ?It was so enjoyable.? She said it worked great with farming. She got up at 3:30 in the morning to milk the cows, then ?ran the route.?
New teacher
Brian Lightner, a new teacher at Goessel this year, was invited to introduce himself to the board. He teaches math, coaches cross country and is the athletic director.
Lightner said he grew up at Inman, where he was involved in ?lots of activities,? including church youth group, sports, Scholars Bowl and music. He competed against Goessel students, so he feels he is familiar with the community.
?I appreciate the community you have, and the school,? he said.
Lightner was awarded track and math scholarships at Tabor College. Following college, he taught at Cimarron from 2006 to 2009, then at Peabody-Burns from 2009 to 2014. He was hoping to live closer to family, and Goessel is closer.
Lightner said his years of teaching have transformed his teaching philosophy.
?It?s about loving the kids first,? he said, ?then teaching the material.?
He said he enjoys his athletic director responsibilities.
?I enjoy being the guy behind the scenes,? he said.
The board commended Lightner for his work. Board member Darla Meysing said, ?You?re doing a great job.?
Fast noted the long hours that Lightner spent in summer already, before the school year started.
Timing system
Later in the meeting, Lightner informed the board about a fully automatic timing system for track meets. He said the state of Colorado requires an automatic timing system.
Lightner said the system would eliminate 10 people at the finish line, although a back-up person with a stop-watch would still be needed. ?Timers? and ?pickers? at the finish line would no longer be needed.
He said it would save money and free people to do other tasks. Lightner said the system would pay for itself in five years. Track meets would run more smoothly and professionally, and would speed them up. And it would provide the opportunity to host league track meets.
The board made no decision about timing system.
Other business
In other business, the board:
? voted to hire Tom Zogleman as the third high school girls? basketball coach.
? heard from Fast that the grade school building had 100 percent participation from parents at parent-teacher meetings Oct. 23. That number includes a few phone conferences.
? heard that the book fair raised money for the library.
? heard from Scott Boden, junior and senior high school principal, that 26 junior high girls and 23 boys are playing basketball. At the high school level, 29 girls and 18 boys are planning to play basketball. Boden described a new program this year for the high school basketball teams: the players will have a fifth-grade buddy.
? heard about an extended school day intervention program, which is new this year, for students at risk of failure due to missing assignments, frequent or extended absences, repeated ineligibilities or low grades.
?A handful struggle with attendance, getting assignments done outside of school,? Boden said.
? heard that Boden is a member of the Marion County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. The coalition sponsored a presentation by Joe White, who talked to students about the consequences of his decision to drink alcohol and jump from a moving vehicle.
? heard Boden report that ?significant progress? continues on the construction project, including installation of the front doors, weight-room flooring, paint booth, blinds, railings and other items.
? heard the Marion County Special Education Cooperative report from Kyle Funk, who attended the recent meeting since Kelly Booton could not attend.
?They have their hands full,? Funk said, adding that he has a lot more appreciation for what the MCSEC does after attending the meeting.
? heard The Learning Consortium report from Fast and Meysing. Fast said Nathan Graber is looking into TLC equipment use.
? heard a legislative report from board member James Wiens, who said new state estimates indicate a loss of funding. Miller said, ?As a community, we will find our way.?
? discussed the board retreat, scheduled for Nov. 13. Board members expressed interest in asking staff what they appreciate about USD 411 and what could be improved.
? discussed professional development opportunities.
? discussed a video that showed technology possibilities for the future. Funk suggested that schools need to teach how to be responsible and show up at work every day.
?It’s the basic things you teach, not the things you use to teach it,? he said. Wiens added that more important than teaching every skill is teaching how to learn.
?We won?t be able to teach them everything they?ll need to know,? he said, suggesting that school should teach the basics that students can adapt to various situations.
