New Student Teachers at Pierce
New Face in the Kindergarten Classroom: Hailey Hill
By Mikenzie Lawrence
Brittany Weber's kindergarten class will be seeing a new face joining them for the remainder of the year. Hailey Hill grew up in Kennard, which is a village near Blair.
Hill lived with her parents and three younger siblings. She also had three dogs, five cats, three chinchillas, and two guinea pigs. She enjoys doing puzzles, art, and reading.
Hill graduated from Arlington High School in 2022, and is currently pursuing a K-6 elementary education degree at Wayne State College. She is not completely sure what grade she wants to teach yet, but for sure knows she wants to teach lower elementary. Hill says she has always had a passion for working with young kids, and knew from an early age that she wanted to become a teacher.
“Learning different strategies, especially with their reading and word fluency strategies, because I think that is really interesting,” is what Hill said is most excited to learn about in Weber’s classroom.
Learning With Mr. Lindgren
By Meredith Krienert
Caleb Lindgren, a new student teacher at Pierce High School, is beginning his journey in education. He is currently attending Wayne State College, majoring in social studies education.
Lindgren recalls that his first interest in pursuing education began after a job shadow with a social studies teacher at Norfolk Public Schools. Before wanting to become a teacher, Lindgren aspired to be a historian.
“To work in a museum, travel the world, find fossils, or pretty much anything old was what I really wanted to do,” Lindgren explained. When asked what shifted him toward teaching, he responded, “I started helping kids and seeing them smile.”
He is teaching alongside Kaleb Anderson in eighth grade social studies, Gary Shada in American history, and Brock Bretschneider in senior government. While student teaching, Lindgren is also coaching junior high boys basketball and will coach boys golf in the spring.
Originally from Battle Creek, Lindgren has two siblings, Gavin and Drake. When he is not busy teaching or coaching, Lindgren enjoys fishing and other outdoor activities.
Whether in the classroom or on the court, Lindgren is already making an impact on students at Pierce High School. His enthusiasm for teaching and coaching marks the beginning of a meaningful career in education.
Pierce Welcomes Familiar Face Now as Student Teacher
By Josie Painter
For some, school is merely a set of classes they attend and eventually leave behind. For others, it becomes a place of purpose. Tait Heimes, a new student teacher but a familiar face at Pierce, is one of these few.
Born on September 3, 2003, in Norfolk, Heimes was practically raised at the school. Being the son of a teacher and coach (now current principal at Battle Creek), he was continually at school, around students, and at practice, which ultimately helped him decide to join the teaching and coaching profession.
He attended Battle Creek High School, where he participated in football for one year, as well as basketball, golf, speech, and one act. After graduating, Heimes attended Wayne State College and majored in K-12 special education. He now makes his way from Wayne to Pierce every day to student teach with Marika VonSeggern in the special education department at Pierce Elementary. In about a week, he will take over for her. Then, in March, he will transition to the high school to work with Shelly Adams in the high school special education department.
Heimes is familiar with many of the Pierce High staff, including Trent Suehl, our current elementary principal, who was Heimes’ fifth grade teacher and football coach at Battle Creek. Suehl remembers him as “always being someone who had a great personality and was a fun student to have in class.”
He goes on to mention that Heimes “has a lot of qualities of a great teacher.” Heimes is also familiar with Adams and Greg Warneke. While he was a high school senior at Battle Creek, Heimes job shadowed with both on Fridays. He has also previously completed student observation hours with VonSeggern while taking undergraduate courses at Wayne State. Having been here several times has allowed him to witness some of the students grow over the years, and he notes, “It’s cool to see those kids from about four years ago to now, and the difference they have.”
Some of Heimes’ hobbies include golfing, basketball, working out, and watching movies with roommates. Unfortunately, the most interesting thing he could offer about himself is having read and watched the Harry Potter series seven times. Fortunately, he will fit right in with all the teachers. Heimes has also coached at the rival school, Battle Creek, for three years. Be sure to give him a warm welcome and congratulate him for being at the superior school.
