

NEW STAFF … The Bryan City Schools Board of Education took a moment to pose with their new staff members present, expressing how excited they are to start the year off with so many qualified new faces.
By: Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
The Bryan City Schools Board of Education met on Monday, August 21, 2023 at 6 p.m., welcoming the new staff members of the upcoming year soon after the pledge.
The new school psychologist is Lauren Garrett, the new family / consumer science teacher is Bethany Lamb, Scott Staten as the middle school social studies teacher, Ronald Kauffman as the high school business teacher, Emily Walker as a 3rd grade teacher, Micheale Brown at 5th grade intervention specialist, Chris Malanga as Media and Communications Director, Nicholas Simul as orchestra director, Jason Luthy as band director, Nikki Meyer as cubdergarten teacher, Vannessa Resendiz as ESL support paraprofessional, Jamie Geren as an occupational therapist assistant, and the following paraprofessionals: Jacqueline Conrad, Tina Shartzer, Nicole Wallace, Miriam Deitemeyer, ArleyJo Benedict, Allison Vorkapich, and Jeremiah Frank.
Those present posed for a photo, excited to have had such a great first four days of the 2023 – 2024 school year thanks to the readiness and preparedness of BCS staff.
Chris Malanga, the Media and Communications Director, reported that student IDs will be ready for four county students to ensure that strict security measures are in place as quickly as possible.
Picture day was a topic on every student’s mind that night, as all prepared for it on Tuesday morning.
The new turf football field is being well used, with reservations being made via Google Calendar. There are already 41 events set to take place on the turf this year.
Cubdergarten is seeing an average class size of 16 students per teacher, and kindergarten is seeing an average class size of 23.
The board then discussed the healthy impact of “High-5 Fridays,” which is an event where upperclassmen come to the elementary school at the beginning of the day to greet students, high-fiving to promote interest in the games.
There have been pep rallies grades 7 and up, with September 8th being set for the presentation of the ABC Awards.
It was then announced that the BHS homecoming tradition of floats has seen its last year, with this year being set to have photo backdrops.
September 27th will also see a community homecoming event, where traditional homecoming games will be available to the public. Grilled foods will be served at 5:30 with games beginning at 6 p.m.
It was then shared how important it was to the band to be able to see themselves on the big screen for the first time in history, with a video recording of their performance being able to be shared with students for instructional purposes.
October 25th will see a career showcase, where students through middle school will be introduced to those in the area looking for qualified workers.
With no new business to address, the board then moved on to approve the superintendent’s recommendations as presented.
The Bryan City Schools Board of Education then moved to enter into executive session at 6:41 p.m., with their next meeting scheduled for September 11, 2023 at 6 p.m.
Anna can be reached at anna@thevillagereporter.com