Starting off the school year with her own giraffe drawing, Ms. Church inspires her students to do well. Photo by Brandon Heims
By Brandon Heims
Some new faces have arrived in the music and art department. New art teacher, Ms. Church and new orchestra teacher, Mrs. Kallenberg share how their career has led them to Plymouth High School.
Coming from teaching at Anderson, Pendleton, and Shelbyville, Mrs. Kallenberg has actually returned to teaching at Plymouth. In 2002 to 2003, she was the director of the Plymouth Community Youth Orchestra (PCYO) and is very happy to be back stating, “Both my husband and I grew up in Elkhart so we are now closer to family and we love the community here.” Church said, “Last year I started my teaching career at Menominee and Washington Elementary School here in Plymouth. I was excited about coming to Plymouth because I could instantly tell it would be a good fit for me. Even though I did not know a ton about Plymouth, I am excited to continue getting to know the community.”
Being happy about returning to Plymouth, Mrs. Kallenberg shares her love of music. Photo by: Brandon Heims
Going from one school to the next, there are bound to be some differences. “Most of the schools I’ve worked in are smaller than Plymouth so that was an adjustment,” Mrs. Kallenberg said. Ms. Church said, “The high school is definitely different from the elementary schools. In the high school, the students are bigger, older, and I see my classes every day. In the elementary schools, I saw students once a week for art.” The first day is all a person needs to be either very overwhelmed or to say to themselves, “piece of cake!” Ms. Church said, “I have been pleasantly surprised with my move to the high school. I loved being with the younger students in elementary, but I have already been impressed with what I see here at the high school.” Mrs. Kellenberg would agree with Ms. Church. She says, “My first day was great! All the teachers are helpful and the students were very well behaved. Since I’ve kept in contact with some families from Plymouth I didn’t feel like the new person on the first day since I knew so many of the band and orchestra kids already!”
Mrs. Kallenberg graduated from Elkhart Memorial High School in 2001, then attended Valparaiso University and graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and a minor in Math. “I’m also certified to teach math,” she said. She learned early that music was the area she wanted to explore stating, “I started playing violin when I was 4 and knew that I would keep playing my entire life. In middle school I decided I wanted to teach and my orchestra director convinced me to teach private lessons to some 5th graders and that was when I decided on music.” She took her first private student when she was 15 and had over 85 students ranging in age from 3 to 77. She started teaching PCYO 10 years ago.
Working on sculpting Ms. Church preps for her upcoming classes.
Ms. Church graduated from Angola High School. “It is actually really similar to Plymouth,” she said. She then went to Indiana Wesleyan University, in Marion, IN and played softball for them and she majored in Art Education and minored in Spanish. Being the new art teacher, she said, “I have always loved creating art, but it wasn’t until my senior year in high school that I decided I wanted to help others learn about it and improve in creating it. My dad is a teacher and eventually I realized that I wanted to share my excitement for art with others. My artistic skills come naturally, but I have also learned to develop them. Now my goal is to help students reach their full potential as artists.” This is her second year of teaching.
Some people’s families may be affected by a new job in a family, especially if it is in a different region. Some families however, may be fine with it. With Mrs. Kallenberg, she said, “The place that I worked before I started teaching had an extremely flexible schedule so my kids could come see me during the day whenever they wanted and I could even have them with me when they were sick. This schedule is a little more strict, but my kids love meeting my students and hanging with me at school after the day is over.” Ms. Church on the other hand, said, “I am not married yet, but I guess it affected my family because I am the youngest in my family and I moved away from Angola. So I have been trying to learn how to cook!”
Before directing her students to play their instruments, Mrs. Kallenberg gives them a quick lesson.
Teachers do a lot more than just teach. Mrs. Kallenberg loves to knit, “In fact, I own The Yarn Loft in town and teach knitting and sell yarn,” she said. Ms. Church loves to swim, saying, “In Angola, my family has a lake cottage that I LOVE! I enjoy spending time hanging out with my friends/family, working out, shopping, and going to sporting events.” Her favorite teams consist of the Cubs, Colts and Notre Dame.
Teachers, who teach art most likely have a favorite type of art and might even enjoy going to museums or art galleries. Ms. Church loves a lot of styles and types of art, but does have a preference. “I am really into the concept behind the artwork over just the subject matter. I want to know WHY the person created it, and what it represents. I love color and dynamic pieces because they make a statement. I always want to know, ‘How did they create it? What does it mean,’” she says. Additionally, sometimes she enjoys museums and art galleries, “There are certain aspects of art galleries that I find interesting to see what is in the museum and why it has such a high value.”