Meet Your Teachers!
Staff Handbook
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In case you have never met some of our teachers, here is a chance to know them a little better. Though it would be impossible to fill you in on everything your teachers do, how much they care for students, and what they are passionate about, here is a sneak peak, along with each teacher's web page link!
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Elementary Teaching Staff
Mr. Trudeau graduated from Norway High School, and went to NMU for his Elem Ed degree. Mr T also has a master's degree in k-6 reading and literacy. He has been teaching here for 15 years. He currently teaches 4th grade, but has taught many grade levels. Mr. T is the morning supervisor in the breakfast room, has been on the school’s tech committee for the past few years and coaches high school boys track. Mr. Trudeau is also one of the leaders for the walk to school/safe routes to school team.
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Mrs. Kelly is starting her 7th year here at Norway, though she has been involved much longer through her coaching. Mrs. Kelly teaches Physical Education and Health for EK-4th grade and also teaches PE to the 5th and 6th graders. Mrs Kelly coaches varsity track and varsity girls basketball. She and Mr. Kangas (JV coach) spend countless hours in the gym helping these girls become the best! Mrs. Kelly also does a lot with the Pe-NUT ED program for k, 2nd and 4th grades and is one of the leaders for Walk- To-School Wednesdays. Mrs. Kelly also oversees the online students.
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Mrs. Miller is one of the 2nd grade teachers at Norway Elementary. She graduated from NMU, spent six years teaching in Green Bay, and has lived in the area ever since. She has two kids, both currently in college. Her son is an english/history major, her daughter is studying to become a veterinarian surgeon and cheers for the Green Bay Packers. Mrs. Miller has spent much of her own time helping the Norway Cheer Team and is the Norway Cheer coach.
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Mr. Langin is one of the 3rd grade teachers in Norway Elementary! He has worked hard along with all the other teachers to incorporate technology into his classroom. Check out his student autobiography units on his weebly page if you get a chance! Mr. Langin also coaches cross country, and is the morning middle school playground supervisor. He is married and has two boys, ages 2 and 4. In addition to all the great things Mr. Langin does at school, he is building a house to keep busy.
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Miss Kleikamp graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood/Middle Childhood Education from St. Norbert College. She enjoys spending her free time with family and friends and being involved in various outdoor activities.
Sarah will be teaching 3rd Grade at Norway Elementary School and looks forward to building relationships with her students and learning alongside them. |
Mrs. Sorenson is the Special Education Teacher in the Elementary School.
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Mr. Gallino teaches second grade at Norway Elementary School. This is his fifth year teaching and is very excited to be back in the classroom. Before teaching, Mr.Gallino worked at Verso Paper. He also owns a construction business installing seamless aluminum gutters. Mr. Gallino also coaches JV boy’s basketball. He enjoys going to camp, sports and spending time with his family.
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Ms. Barthels is starting her 26th year at NVAS; 21 years have been spent in first grade. Her favorite thing about being a teacher is teaching her students how to read. Ms. Barthels comes in early every day to prep for her classes and works hard to have effective lessons to help those first graders learn to read and much more! Ms. Barthels also spends time planning activities to have her class involved with the community and their families. Be on the lookout for some special crafts around the holidays! When she is not in school, she enjoys traveling, reading, shopping and spending time with her family and friends.
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Mrs. Conery was raised in Niagara, WI. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from UWGB and her Master’s Degree in Elementary Reading and Mathematics from Walden University. She serves on the Norway PTO as the Teacher Liaison. Her husband is from Norway, and he is an NVAS graduate. Teaching is her passion, and she knew at an early age that she would become an Elementary Teacher. Mrs. Conery greatly enjoys teaching young learners, since it is the foundation of their academic careers. She is driven to help her students develop a love for school and learning. In her spare time, she enjoys: spending time with her family and friends, traveling, crafting, and attending concerts.
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Mrs. Dahlman is the k-12 art teacher, and 5/6 LD teacher. She also is the leader of high school, and middle school art club, creates the k-8 yearbook,coaches middle school track, is the 5th/6th grade lunch/recess supervisor, volunteers for the Isle Royale Education Program, manages the NVAS web-page, is on the technology committee, oversees the online students, and has created school and community murals with her students. In her spare time, she volunteers at an area bible camp as a lifeguard/waterfront manager, spends time outdoors and with friends and family! Mrs. Dahlman LOVES to challenge students and help them to become deep, creative thinkers and problems solvers!
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Mrs. DeBakker received a bachelors degree in Elementary education from Northern Michigan University. For the past twelve years, she has been teaching Head Start. She and her husband Scott are originally from Norway and they have a son, Landon. They all enjoy the outdoors; hunting, fishing, and many other activities. She am excited to be teaching at Norway Elementary and looks forward to working with your children.
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Mrs. Lasater has been teaching kindergarten since 1993! She loves school sporting events, and is a member of many school and ISD committees. She is a graduate of Norway High School and St. Norbert College. She lives in Norway with her husband and they have two children, Jada and Parker. Jada is in college, Parker in high school. Mrs. Lasater loves children and teaching and is looking forward to a productive school year!
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Ms. Paul graduated from Norway High School, and NMU, she has a double minor in social studies and science and a master's degree in reading and literacy. She has two children, Callie and Colton, and lives in Norway with her shih-tzu, Sammy. Ms. Paul enjoys swimming, skiing, biking, and many other things with her family. She loves running, planting flowers, kayaking and watching her kids participate in religious and athletic events. She is passionate about reading and writing and looks forward to making the year memorable for your children! Ms. Paul also does many extras, including helping with programs, doing after-school tutoring and helping with reading olympics.
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Mrs. Seat enjoys first grade because reading is the key to academic success and life success. She teaches summer school, attends athletic events, works in the concession stand and takes tickets at events. She has spent several years on the school improvement team and is the manager of the school store. She enjoys running and participating in community race events. Mrs. Seat is a great teacher and is especially excellent at teaching students how to read! She enjoys spending time with her family and friends. They enjoy going to sporting events, camping, biking, and golfing.
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Mrs. Derwinski grew up in the Iron Mountain/Kingsford area and graduated from Kingsford High School. She graduated from Northern Michigan University with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with a double major in Language Arts and Social Studies and a minor in Integrated Sciences. Mrs. Derwinski has a Master’s degree in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment from Walden University. She has spent the past six years teaching at the School District of Florence County in both 5th and 3rd grades.
Outside of teaching, she spend a lot of time with her husband, Steve, and their Brittany Spaniel, Josie. They enjoy many outdoor activities together such as playing tennis, kayaking, cross-country skiing, four-wheeling, bird hunting, and swimming. Mrs. Derwinski also loves curling up with a good book to read. She and her husband both have family in town, and enjoy spending time with them, too. |
Mrs. Proctor was born and raised in New Jersey and attended the University of Maine. She has a degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Special Education and has been an educator for 20 years! Mrs. Proctor believes that all students deserve to be respected and appreciated and have the right to receive a high quality education in a safe and inclusive learning environment. She has a passion for teaching and learning, enjoys new challenges, and has high expectations for herself and her students. She's very excited to teach 5th grade at NVAS this year!
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Mrs. Mendina resides in Norway with her husband Andy and two sons, Carter and Charlie. This will be her 8th year teaching. Ms. Mendina taught kindergarten for the past 7 years and is very excited for this new adventure at NVAS in the Title 1 program.
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Middle School Teaching Staff
Ms. Robert began her teaching career in Fresno, California in 1983 teaching a bilingual 5th grade classroom of 36 students. It was the beginning of a career that she loves and continues to enjoy. She has taught every grade from Pre-school to 9th (except for 1st and 3rd grades) in the last 35 years. She is excited to be teaching new subjects this year but even happier that she can still be in the classroom guiding students each day to reach their full potential. She will teach all exploratory classes this year, 8th Grade Careers, 7th Grade Introductory Spanish and Current Events and 6th Grade Literature.
Ms Robert is a mother of 3 adult children and grandmother to 5 beautiful grandchildren. She enjoys mission work, playing piano at church, working in her garden, anything crafty and playing with her grandchildren. |
Ms. Weber is a local to our area, having grown up in Florence, WI. She holds a bachelors degree from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay where she studied elementary education. She also has a masters of education degree with an emphasis on special education from Viterbo University. Nicole is the new middle school special education teacher and is excited to serve the middle school population!
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Mr. Kangas graduated from NMU and has been teaching since 1987. He teaches 7th and 8th grade math and high school algebra. He comes to school early every morning offering to help students with homework. Mr. Kangas is an excellent teacher and has spent his time teaching devoted to the students and helping them learn and understand difficult math concepts. Mr. K enjoys watching and participating in athletics and coaches JV Girls Basketball and Jr High Track. He volunteers for the Isle Royale Education Program and many other school tasks with the middle school. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends.
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Mr. Fix will be teaching middle school social studies. He is originally from Escanaba and is happy to be living back in the U.P. He graduated from NMU with a bachelors in Political Science and began teaching in 2013. He taught English as a Foreign Language in elementary schools in South Korea for 2 years. He also served as an education volunteer with the Peace Corps in Lesotho. He is really excited to be teaching a subject that he loves. He enjoys camping, sailing, and anything outdoors.
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Mrs. Benz is grateful to be teaching Science at Norway-Vulcan Public Schools! She graduated from NMU with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor/certification in Science and Language Arts for teaching Middle School. Mrs. Benz is a native to the Iron Mountain/Kingsford area, and is happy she's able to raise her children in the beauty of the Upper Peninsula! From the time she was a child, she's always been a lover of nature and very curious about the "workings" of the world around her. At an early age, she was inspired by several people who worked in STEM careers, which led her to learn more about Science and become a teacher! She loves working with kids, and helping them become the next generation of problem-solvers! When she's not teaching, Mrs. Benz enjoys camping, fishing, hiking, and skiing with her family! She also loves visiting different museums and zoos, and traveling to National Parks across the United States!
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Mr. Stephenson is the middle school English teacher here at Norway and teaches 8th grade physical education as well. This is his first year teaching at Norway and he's beyond honored to be part of an amazing staff. Mr. Stephenson is a Junior Varsity assistant football coach as well as the 8th grade basketball head coach. He graduated from Northern Michigan University with a bachelors in secondary english education and a minor in secondary physical education.
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High School Teaching Staff
Mrs. Celello is starting out her 16th year at NVAS, and teaches middle school and high school English and social studies classes. She is also the freshmen class advisor. Along with teaching, Mrs. Celello is a a partner in NorthSide Noodle Co., a pasta and Italian meats factory (Mrs. Myllyla is a partner, as well). During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors, and traveling.
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Mr. Leiker is a high school math and science teacher at Norway. He teaches calculus, chemistry, and Alg 2, and visual basic. Mr. Leiker coaches 8th grade girls basketball, varsity boy’s basketball, and high school golf. Mr. Leiker also enjoys skiing, mountain biking, hunting, and fishing.
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Mr. Madigan is another high school math and science teacher. He teaches geometry, physics, chemistry, and pre-calc. Mr. Madigan is also the varsity football coach. He spends a lot of extra time challenging athletes and students to become the best they can be.
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This fall Christopher Berndt will be teaching in the English Language Arts Department at Norway High School. He is a graduate of Kingsford High School, St. Norbert College, and, most recently, Northern Michigan University. As a life-long Yooper, he is looking forward to bringing a fresh perspective to the school system and creating a collaborative, student-centered environment in his classroom. Go Knights!
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Mrs. Berndt is originally from Milwaukee. She has a Bachelor degree in English and Secondary Education, and has a master's degree in Library and Information Science. Mrs. Berndt and her family moved to the U.P. 24 years ago to raise their family. They have three boys. Mrs. Berndt enjoys reading, swimming, cooking and spending time with her family. In addition to being the high school guidance counselor and helping seniors get all the details in line to prepare for college, she is the Junior senior class advisor.
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Mr. Galvin grew up in Eaton Rapids, MI and has found a new, and enjoyable home here in the U.P. He enjoys the time he spends with his wife, Sara, their daughter, Amelia, and their dog, T. Mr. Galvin reports that he is happy to become a part of the NVAS community and he is looking forward to meeting and getting to know students and staff. This fall he will be teaching Biology, Anatomy, and World History.
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Mrs. Leiker is passionate about technology in education. She teaches technology and multimedia courses in the high school and elementary tech education. She coaches the high school cheerleading team and has even judged a state championship for Division 1. She teaches graduate classes for Louisiana Tech and does some volunteer teaching tech to adults and speaking engagements on technology in education. She is the Key Club & Yearbook adviser at NHS. She loves to water-ski and snow ski with her family. She also enjoys mountain biking, backpacking, and has even been sky diving! She is huge Green Bay Packers fan who attended Super Bowl XLV! She is very excited to be teaching at Norway-Vulcan Area Schools.
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Mrs. Robitaille teaches high school Spanish, levels 1-4. She is passionate about giving her students another tool to communicate with a broader audience. In her classroom, students call her "Maestra", pronounced "mah-eh-strah" or "my-strah" to make it more simplified. Her end goal for her students is that they would ultimately have the confidence to speak Spanish with other language learners as well as native speakers, realizing that everyone makes mistakes and it's more about the effort than the struggle. Maestra is a very enthusiastic teacher and she loves the opportunity she has to both challenge her students intellectually and empower them socially through the vehicle of Spanish. Outside of school she is active in her local church in Escanaba, enjoys time outdoors, and this year is working as a MHSAA cheer judge.
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Mrs. Beyer is a paraprofessional at the Norway High School. Her husband's name is Dave. They have two children - Kristen (Zack) and Neil and four adorable grandchildren - Tyler, Addison, Finley, and Charley. She has been an employee of the Norway-Vulcan Area School for 20 years. She works in the resource room helping students in grades 9-12 with their studies. Mrs. Beyer is also the advisor for the Norway High School Youth Advisory Committee (YAC). YAC is a student led community service organization that is affiliated with the Norway Area Community Foundation (NACF) and the Dickinson Area Community Foundation (DACF)
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Ms. Pollard teaches 7th and 8th grade science, and is most famously known for her excellence in teaching her foods and life skills classes. Ms. Pollard devotes countless hours preparing delicious meals for many dinners and banquettes for staff, athletes, students, and community organizations. She works closely with her students and medical staff to put on a very successful blood drive each year! She is very involved in the community and with her church. It is almost certain that if someone is at the school working long hours it is Ms. Pollard, she sure loves her students and community and is always doing her best for them.
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Ms. Ware teaches K-12 instrumental and vocal music at Norway-Vulcan Area Schools. She grew up downstate and earned her teaching degree at Adrian College before moving here to Norway. Ms. Ware enjoys the unique challenges of teaching at the elementary, middle school, and high school level every single day. Her favorite part of teaching, however, is building strong connections with students and watching them work as a team to create beautiful music.
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Mrs. Gustafson is a English and PE teacher at Vulcan Middle School. She graduated from Western Michigan University and earned her Masters in Education from Marygrove College. Mrs. Gustafson grew up in Livonia, a suburb of Detroit, and has been teaching there for 15 years. She was also a soccer, basketball, and track coach and she hopes to coach in Norway in the future. Mrs. Gustafson is married and has four children that keep her busy. In her free time she enjoys, swimming, biking, kayaking, reading and crafting. Mrs. Gustafson and her family are excited to be a part of the Norway community!
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Mrs. Popp is currently the high school special education teacher at Norway High school, she previously taught in Pembine, WI as their special education teacher. Mrs. Popp dedicates a lot of her time developing respectful relationships with her students and is able to motivate them to meet her high expectations. She does an outstanding job! She and her husband have two kids, one in middle school, and one in elementary school. In her free time, she loves watching sporting events, spending time at camp and hanging out with family and friends. She works to find the best ways for her students to be successful in the classroom!
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