LCS Students Head Back to School!
By: Sydney Reeves, a senior at Leigh High School
With another summer coming to an end and another year at Leigh Community Schools beginning, comes many new changes and opportunities.
To begin the new school year, an open house was held on Thursday, August 11, from 6-8 pm. This gave students the opportunity to meet their teachers, pick up their computers, and see their new classrooms.
The K-12 students officially kicked off the new school year on Friday, August 12, with an exciting assembly where the new Secondary Principal, Mr. Andrew Faltys, really “slid” into the new year in style! Pre-K started on Wednesday, August 17.
This year's incoming Kindergarten class includes 24 students and the senior class has 13 students.
With another year beginning, it means many new faces being welcomed to the building. Four new elementary students and one new high school student joined the school this year, along with seven new staff members.
New staff members include Mr. Andrew Faltys as Secondary Principal/AD, Mr. Jarrod Bazata as Ag, Allison Schroeder as Special Education, Stephanie Dostal and Jessica Wendt as paraprofessionals, and Katie Beller and Tara Urban as part-time paraprofessionals. Mrs. Annie Bahns is also part-time Pre-K and part-time paraprofessional, along with Mrs. Kendra Beller moving to 1st Grade.
Superintendent, Mr. Fischer said, “There are many things to be excited about at LCS. We have great students and staff, and we are excited to see the progress we have made in the past couple of years. We have settled into the new building and are getting our STEM and Health Science Pathway program going with the acceptance of a large grant that was written by Mrs. Hillen. We are also beginning to plan for an elementary classroom addition, which we hope to start in the spring. Big things are happening at LCS, and we are well on our way to having a great school year!
Along with the STEM and Health Science Pathway program starting and the planning of the new elementary classroom addition, the administration has also added three words to the high school hallway this year: Pride, Excellence, and Tradition. These are meant to be meaningful to all students and staff throughout the school as they take pride in the great tradition of Leigh Schools and strive for excellence in all they do each day.
Another exciting change this year is the double-track morning preschool classes now being offered because the class sizes are continuing to grow, and one pre-school class was not enough.
There are many other new changes that can be seen in the school throughout this year. Getting the ground ready for the elementary classroom addition will begin. This past summer, 1,100 loads of dirt were hauled in from the old high school site to the new site to expand the district’s flat footprint behind the building. All of the past records and banners from the old high school were also put up this summer in the elementary gym.
Some other new facility changes include the gym floors being refinished and the floors in the hallway, science room, and ag shop all being refinished with new epoxy this summer.
Other things to look forward to this school year are the installation of the victory bell in front of the activities entrance, which will be put up using bricks from the old high school. There will also be a new trophy case erected by the high school gym, which is slated to be done by Labor Day.
With many big changes continuing to happen all through the years, Leigh Community Schools is on their way to a great year and a great future!