Congratulations to senior, Kyle Fennell, for being selected the IMPACT Institute OUTSTANDING STUDENT of the second semester in Marine Service Technology! #WarriorPride
HELP! We are in desperate need of senior pictures for the graduation video. Please submit them to Google Classroom asap! If you don’t have a senior pic, we will use your school picture.
We have coaching positions available! #JoinOurTeam
High school uniforms for track & softball may be turned in this week to the athletic office. They will be open until 3:00 pm.
Mrs. Audrey Arnold's larger than life personality makes her well-liked among students and staff. She is well versed in most core subject matter, as she is licensed to teach math, science, and social studies at multiple grade levels. Reading, spending time on the lake with family, and planting flowers are her favorite things to do. She is a two time IU grad with two bachelor's degrees and is a die-hard IU fan. One of her most memorable moments at IU was the crazy atmosphere on campus when the basketball team played in the 2002 NCAA championship game.
Motto: kindness matters.
Fun facts: She graduated from East Noble High School.
Her daughter Ellie was born when she was 35 years old.
She can still do a cartwheel...just ask
her students from this school year! 😜
She took a brief hiatus, but we were excited to welcome Spanish teacher, Mrs. Roberta Herbert, back this year! Roberta was a stellar athlete in high school and college. She played basketball, volleyball, and softball at Goshen High School. During her four years on varsity basketball, Goshen won two sectional championships and she finished second in career points, first in rebounds, and first in steals. Taylor University granted her a full ride basketball scholarship where she played two very successful seasons with both teams advancing to the National Tournament. She transferred to Goshen College for her final two seasons, started every game and won numerous awards. Her first job out of college was at Westview where she taught and coached junior high basketball for 8 years. Fellow Spanish teacher, Krystal Booth, is one of her former players. She has been coaching the past six years at Fairfield, where her four children go to school.
Fun fact: Mr. Herb Ressler, Westview substitute teacher, was her athletic director at Goshen High School.
PLEASE RETURN ALL MATERIALS (TEXTBOOKS, CHROMEBOOKS, LIBRARY BOOKS, MUSIC, INSTRUMENTS ETC.) TO THE GYM/AUDITORIUM DOORS THIS WEEK FROM 9AM-1PM.
In 1979, Mrs. Jan Hardesty, began teaching special education at Topeka Elementary School. Throughout her 40 years in education, she has left a legacy of high-quality instruction, compassion, and professionalism. Unfortunately for us, she has decided to retire after this school year.
Jan commented, "It has been a pleasure to facilitate learning in students as I watch them grow from children to adults with the skills to succeed with their own families, at work, and in their communities."
Her outgoing words of advice: "Focus on what you can do with the gifts that you have been given. Persevere with quiet confidence."
Fun fact: She is a HUGE fan of Harry Potter books and has been on three trips to the Wizarding World in Orlando, Florida.
Her post-retirement plan is to spend time with her hobbies (reading, walking, gardening, and travel) and find a part-time job that will fund her travel habits!
Thank you, Mrs. Hardesty, for the legacy you leave with us and best wishes in retirement!
Mr. Joel Pippenger (Pipp) has been employed at Westview for 20 years as a PE teacher and athletic trainer. He also spent 15 years as the varsity wrestling coach. Pipp graduated from Manchester College where he wrestled for 2 years and was the HCAC conference champion at 118 lbs in 1997. Later, he picked up Gracie Jiu-Jitsu where he holds the rank of Purple Belt and was a two time Indiana champion at featherweight.
Fun fact...Westview's ultrahealthy PE teacher made candy 😳 for a living at Kraft Foods in Kendallville to pay for college and his line at Kraft produced 45,000 pounds of caramel per day!
Mrs. Candace Hales has taught sophomore English and Yearbook for the last nine years at Westview and has coached HS and JH volleyball along with JH basketball. She graduated from Jimtown and attended IU for college. During college, she majored in English and Political Science (not education). She married Ross Hales and has 3 children.
Fun facts: She worked two summers at a meat packing plant and has been a vegetarian for almost 30 years.
She has planted over 1000 trees on her property. 🌳
Spanish teacher, Mrs. Krystal Booth, is well loved by her students and was recently awarded the 2019 LaGrange Chamber of Commerce TEACHER OF THE YEAR! She is a 2010 Westview graduate and played soccer, basketball, and track in high school, although a twice torn ACL cut her athletic career short.
Fun facts: She is one of four girls in her family has a twin sister.
She studied abroad in Spain for 5 weeks during the summer of 2014. She noted, “I told myself I would try everything so I tried cow’s blood!! 😳 It was the first time I ever traveled alone...let alone fly to another country and back. I learned so much about different lifestyles and customs and really improved my Spanish speaking. I got to go to a soccer scrimmage and was able to see Europe during the World Cup which was incredible.”
She greets your children every morning on her bus, helps them at lunch and then drops them off at home every afternoon. Juanita Yoder has finished her 15th year at Westview as a school bus driver and recently as the lunch clerk in our building. She has also worked at Meadowview as a lunch clerk. During basketball season she keeps the scorebook full time for girls basketball and part time for boys basketball.
Fun facts:
She was born Amish and can speak it fluently.
Juanita, her husband and both daughters graduated from Westview.
Freshman English teacher, Mrs. Kelly VonGunten, is finishing up her first year at Westview after stepping back from education for two years to spend more time with her daughter. She loves Broadway as much as she loves books, and notes that theater has been a longtime passion. For the last 8 yrs she’s been an assistant director and choreographer for Concord High School’s theater department. She tries to work music and musicals into her teaching wherever she can. Recently that includes subjecting her students to her “vocal stylings” with #MusicalMonday info videos during LU@H.
Mrs. Tracie Duff teaches high school PE and Health. She is a Westview graduate and was an athlete in both high school and college. Fun fact: She traveled to Europe to play basketball and Brazil to play volleyball. Unfortunately, her playing time in Brazil was cut short due to putting her arm through a window causing a major laceration. She returned home with a large number of stitches and a full cast. Thanks, Mrs. Duff, for all you do behind the scenes to help the Westview athletic program!
The staff spotlight is shining on Family and Consumer Science teacher, Mrs. Kaija Kauffman. She attended Fairfield High School where she was on 3 state bound volleyball teams. During her senior season, she was on the North Indiana All Star team. She coached volleyball at West Noble for 5 years (3 years as head coach). As the head coach they won one regular season NECC title, 2 NECC tournament titles, 2 sectional titles, was the KPC All-Area Coach of the Year, and a had a regional final appearance. The game has been with her since she can remember and enjoys building the same love of the game in the players she coaches. When not on the court she loves spending time with her friends, family, and fur babies.
Mrs. Kauffman has just been approved to be Westview’s head varsity volleyball coach starting in the fall! #WarriorPride
Mrs. Amanda Jansen is wrapping up her 16th year in education and currently teaches World History and Economics. She says it’s difficult to pinpoint a favorite subject to teach because she enjoys all of the vast topics throughout the social studies curriculum.
Fun facts:
1. She has presented at the state and national level for Service Learning.
2. She is a loyal, die hard St. Louis Cardinals fan.
Seniors: We’ve created a Google Doc to help you know when everyone’s open house is. Check your email for details and enter your info.
Chances are, if you’ve ever been to Westview Jr/Sr High, you’ve been greeted by high school secretary, Jolene Yoder. Jolene is a HUGE fan of the game of basketball. Fun facts:
*She played bball at Northridge HS for 1 year before finishing out her remaining 3 years on Westview’s team.
*She was a member of the Glen Oaks Community College basketball team.
*Her life’s motto is “Do your best, have fun".
Today we honor 8th grade math teacher, Mrs. Wendy Misner, who is about to complete her 20th year in education. Mrs. Misner says, “I love teaching at Westview because the students are amazing. My hope is to help kids grow their love for math, or at least not hate it as much as they did when they started with me!”
Fun facts:
She married her high school sweetheart, and they’ve been together a total of 30 years!
One of her favorite things to do in the summer is mow lawns.
She grew up with only sisters and now lives in a house full of boys.
Mrs. Manns, Westview’s computer and business teacher, is a huge fan of traveling. In 2004, on a study abroad trip through IU Bloomington, she traveled to Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand, meeting some cool animals and tons of new friends. She hiked to Weathertop and Mount Doom (for you Lord of the Rings fans), went skydiving over Lake Taupo, and whitewater rafting over a 23-foot waterfall. One of her favorite quotes: “attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.”
