Renwick Retiring Staff

Year after year teachers and staff continually give back to their students in the classroom. For some teachers and staff this will be the last year in not only a classroom, but a Renwick Classroom. While we can’t repay them for all they’ve given back to Renwick we’d like to provide some highlights of their contributions towards Renwick. 

St. Marks 

Brenda Macari – Brenda has been teaching for 25 years between Renwick and Maize. Her favorite part of her job is watching the light bulb come on for students and watching them grow and change within the 3 years she teaches them in middle school. She is going to miss her co-workers and the working relationships she has developed. The thing that left the biggest impact on her is the satisfaction of watching former students go through high school, graduate and become responsible citizens.

Loretta Brenner – Loretta has been teaching 4th grade for 23 years at St. Marks. Her favorite part of her job is building relationships with her students and watching them grow academically. She is really going to miss her co-workers and students. She has built life-long friendships throughout the years and will continue to cherish those. The biggest impact as a teacher for Loretta has been making a difference in the lives of the students, and watching them grow up to be successful adults.

Wes King – Mr. King has been teaching for 30 years at St Marks. His favorite part of teaching is seeing the kids everyday, and the relationships that are built on a daily basis, which helps him stay young at heart. He is really gonna miss all the interactions with the kids. The life long relationships and friendships with students, staff, and parents have really impacted his life.

Toni Hullinger – Toni has been a middle school language arts teacher at St. Marks for 20 years. One of her favorite parts of her job is when a student realizes what they can do, especially when they had prior doubts about it. Whether it’s mastering a difficult concept, trying something new, or finding their empowerment to be the kind of person they want to be. She is absolutely going to miss the staff of SMS. The staff is made of the most dedicated and caring people she has been privileged to know. Mutual respect, encouragement, and lots of laughter keep them going. So many memories remain in her heart. Her teaching and her life have been impacted by each student she has been lucky enough to have in her classroom.

Lynette Brittain – Lynette has been teaching for 27 years, and 16 of them at St. Marks. Lynette has so many favorite parts of her job but the best one is when a student’s face lights up when they finally get it. She loves the reaction when they have tackled something that was hard to start with, but now the students think it’s easy. She also loves to see their confidence build. She is really going to miss the family atmosphere at St. Marks. Shs has grown to know many families well, and is starting to teach children of children she had years ago. She also has the privilege of working alongside former students on our staff which is a full-circle feeling. Many of the staff at St. Marks helped her raise her own children over the years, and have been a part of so much of her life. What has impacted her life the most as a teacher is the knowledge that learning really is a continuum. She has always believed in learning new things, and has really enjoyed the challenge of teaching at different levels and teaching different subjects. She hopes to keep learning in her non-teaching life, and prays that her former students strive to keep learning as well. She thinks in our current society, it is our responsibility to learn the facts and study the rhetoric to educate ourselves and form our opinions in an educated manner.

Michelle Hopkins – Michelle has been a para for 15 years at St Marks. Her favorite part of her job is working with the kids everyday. She is going to miss seeing and having the support of the St. Marks Family. It never fails to amaze her how smart the children are, and how much they keep questioning and learning.

Andale Elementary

Renee Ewert – Renee has been teaching for 36 years at Andale elementary school as a kindergarten teacher. Her favorite part of teaching has always been the students. She loves seeing how excited and eager the kids are to be at school, and how there faces light up when they learn something new. She is really going to miss the relationships she had built over the years. She has made so many friendships across the district, and many are now her closest friends. She is also going to miss watching the children she taught grow up. She loves seeing where their lives have taken them, and watching them with their own kids, then being able to teach the next generation. The biggest impact of her career is the support of the administration and fellow teachers she has had a privilege to work with. Her contribution to help Renwick become an outstanding district in Kansas that prepares the students for the ever changing world has helped define the person she is today.

Andale High School

Mark Kerschen – Mr. Kerschen taught at Andale high school for 36 years, and coached girls basketball for 26 years, and head coach for 24. His favorite part of teaching is interacting and building relationships with the kids, and then running into them out in the world being constructive citizens, and how much they have grown up after school. He has really enjoyed teaching the kids of former students these past few years, it has really given him a different perspective on some things. He is really going to miss the teachers he has taught with for so many years, and all the great conversations with them. He will miss helping the kids learn math, and the excitement of starting a new year, the sports seasons, and Fridays when everyone is wearing black and gold. Coaching girls basketball has impacted his life the most. The challenge to get the team of girls to work together and succeed was his greatest pleasure. Another thing that impacted his life was waking up in a surgery recovery room and having a former student care for him. It really makes him realize how important all the work we do at school is. The kids have to go out and function in the real world, and when he sees one doing it, it makes him feel really good.

Colwich and Garden Plain 

Colwich and Garden Plain have no retiring teachers this school year.

Thank you for your contributions to Renwick. We appreciate all your hard work and dedication to the Renwick Schools.