Hopple's Happenings

At

Lincoln Junior High School

Welcome back to everyone!!! I hope you are rested and ready for a great year at Lincoln Junior High. As you know we have some new members that have been added to our Lincoln Family, please take time to introduce yourself to them and make them all feel welcome! I will again be doing a monthly newsletter. I want all of you to look forward to reading all about our building and all the neat things our teachers and adults provide for our students. Once again, welcome and have a fabulous school year.

               Craig

Teacher Feature:

Leslie Stec- I can hardly believe that this year marks my 6th year in the education field. So far the years are FLYING by. This is probably mostly due to the fact that in those 6 years I have been in 3 different schools. After graduating college in 2008, I accepted my very first teaching job in the state of Maryland. You might wonder how a girl that grew up on a dairy farm in Michigan ended up in Maryland and now in Indiana. You see, there is a very simply answer to this question...because of A BOY! My husband accepted a job as a police officer in Maryland and I followed him out there. My first teaching job was as a 4th grade teacher. I started as a long term substitute and then was offered the job full time for the following year.

The school I taught at was amazing, but after 3 years my husband and I decided to try and move closer to our families in Michigan. He started applying for positions in the Midwest and suddenly the city of South Bend was on our radar. In May of 2010, we sold our somewhat new home and moved to Walkerton, Indiana. Now instead of being 12 hours away from family, we were within 4 hours. This was much more doable for us! I applied for any teaching job within an hour of South Bend that I was qualified for. August rolled around and I hadn’t received a single call for an interview. I was quickly becoming worried and discouraged. Finally, my phone rang. Not for a teaching job, but for an aide position at Urey Middle School in Walkerton. It wasn’t my dream position, but I figured at least it was a foot in the door. I interviewed for the position, on my birthday, and was offered it.

After spending a year at Urey, I started application process all over again. Luckily, this time it went much better. By the time the month of May was over, I already had a job for the following year. I was so excited to have my own classroom again and to not spend my summer stressing about a job. When I accepted the position, I couldn’t have dreamed of coming to a school even close to as wonderful as Lincoln. I have been in a few schools in my short career as a teacher, and I genuinely think our staff at Lincoln is top notch! The teachers are truly dedicated and passionate about what they do.

Enough about my professional life, now on to the fun stuff. I have been married to my husband, Brandon, for five years. We don’t have any children yet, but we do have a child in the form of a 4 year old yellow lab. Cooper is completely spoiled! It is a little pathetic, but at least I admit that. We bought our second home last September and love it. Most of my free time is spent on projects in our house, spending time with family and friends, or reading and watching movies. I am definitely excited to have found a place where we plan to spend many more years and eventually raise our family.

Happy Birthday Wishes

Leslie Stec

Dates to Remember:

      August 21st- Faculty meeting 7:15am

August 22nd- LJH school pictures

               August 26th- Fundraiser Kick-Off 1st period

            August 29th/30th- Staff Development Day

Just A Thought. . . .

Teams

“If you're doing what you love, you'll make yourself happy. But leadership is not only about you; it's about your impact on others.”

- Bryan Dodge