Each month the Lucas PTO is featuring a teacher or staff member on the Mighty Hawk Messenger blog. This month we spoke with Angela Kessler, Principal Ken Turnis' secretary.
Photography generous donated by Lucas parent Amanda Monday, owner of BirdsDream Design.
When I walk the kids to school, I always notice two matching
trucks in the staff parking lot. Which two teachers have the same tastes in Ford
F-150s?
Ha! That would be Mr. Turnis and me. Mine goes faster and can throw mud
farther.
I heard sometimes your truck doubles as a school bus. Can
just anyone give a student a ride home from school?
Not everyone can give students
a ride home, just the privileged people. The District requires that you take a safe driving course through Durham
to give rides home to students. It
is not required that secretaries take the course but it comes in handy to be
able to do so when someone needs a ride.
With the university and other demographic factors, the
student population at Lucas can often be in flux. In an average week, roughly
how many students transfer into or out of Lucas? What steps to you take to ease
their transition?
On average we
transfer 4.77 students in or out of Lucas Elementary. This year has been higher than in the past. Knowing in advance that a student is
leaving is always helpful for the student. I try to make sure that all teachers are aware of the
transition date so they can assist and help the student with closure in leaving
and saying goodbye to friends. Some
things that I try to do to help the children with the transition is to find out
where they are going and call the school to tell the secretary that they are
coming. Sometimes I give the
student envelopes and stamps so we can write letters back and forth. I’ve sent cards with the records to the
students so they get something when they get to their new school. Every student is so different, so it
depends on the student.
What was the most unexpected thing that ever happened to you
at work?
I have sooooo many
stories of unexpected things. Probably the MOST unexpected thing was the marriage proposal. I had a kindergartener boy ask me if I
would marry him when he was older, like when he got to 3rd
grade.
Before you landed at Lucas I hear you were jetting all over
the world as director of purchasing and a global project manager. What was your
most exotic destination?
Well, I’ve
been to 20 countries. The most
exotic….. Greece maybe. Turkey
was a little scary. A few of my
favorites are Slovakia, Italy and Japan.
Your Halloween costumes are the stuff of legend. What was your favorite?
Scooby Doo for sure. The only downfall was that no one knew
it was me. Cindy Loo Hoo was
fun too.
Inquiring minds want to know if there is any family link
between you and 1st grade teacher Ann Kessler.
Good question, I might have to look into this. As far as we know there is not, but I
might have to get on Ancestry.com to see.
Would you describe an average day in the Lucas office?
They are all very unique and exciting. I am not sure that I could describe just one. Someday I will write a book… Our day always starts with smiling faces and a little hustle and bustle. We enjoy that so much that we do it again at the end of the day!
Other posts in this series:
Give the gift of a great experience this year with Iowa Women's Basketball tickets! Lucas Elementary families can purchase tickets to the Iowa vs. Maryland game on Sunday, January 10th for only $5 each! 
