Get to Know a Mighty Hawk: Mr. Crandall

Each month, The Mighty Hawk Messenger profiles a Lucas staff member to help our community get to know him or her better.  This month, we talked to building sub Chris Crandall.

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What is your role at Lucas, and how long have you been in that position?

Mr. Crandall:  My role at Lucas is Building Substitute. I have been in that position since Sept. of 2018.  

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:   What did you do prior to joining us at Lucas?

Mr. Crandall:  Prior to Lucas I have been a substitute in both the Iowa City and Solon school districts. 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What’s your favorite part of working at Lucas?  What’s the biggest challenge?

Mr. Crandall:  My favorite part of being at Lucas is the kiddos. I have gotten to know some of them very well. They are all amazing.   The biggest challenge has been trying to keep my immune system strong enough to survive this winter system. 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:   How did you keep busy during the school cancellations over the last month?

Mr. Crandall:  I kept busy by having a great amount of family time. My wife and I have four kids, so keeping up with all of their activities is a full time job. We played a lot of board games and PS4. 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:   What’s something about you that Lucas students and families might not guess?

Mr. Crandall:  Something that Lucas and its families might not guess is that I was born in Wisconsin and my jokes are kind of "cheesy"!

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:   If you could teleport to any place in the world right now, where would you choose?

Mr. Crandall:  If I could teleport anywhere in the world right now it would be Finland. 

March 2019 Newsletter

The March 2019 newsletter is now available.

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February 2019 newsletter

The February 2019 newsletter is now available.

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Spanish

Get to Know a Mighty Hawk: Mrs. Ryan

Each month, The Mighty Hawk Messenger profiles a Lucas staff member to help our community get to know him or her better.  This month, we talked to reading specialist Katie Ryan.

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:   How long have you worked at Lucas, and what is your current role?

Mrs. Ryan:  I began working at Lucas in 2017 as the building sub, and my current role is half-time Title reading. I absolutely love teaching small groups! 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What did you do prior to your job at Lucas?


Mrs. Ryan:  Prior to teaching at Lucas, I taught grades 3-6 at Wickham Elementary for seven years.  

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:   Who was your favorite teacher or other role model as kid?  Why was he/she so memorable?


Mrs. Ryan:  My all-time favorite teacher was Miss King at Longfellow Elementary. She was my 5th/6th grade teacher. I loved her because she truly cared about us and she made learning FUN! I helped her every Wed. after school with my best friend. 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  It’s great that many Lucas staff members live in the neighborhood.  What do you like about having your whole family as part of the Lucas community?


Mrs. Ryan: I am so incredibly thankful that my son Henry (1st grade) and my husband, Mr. Ryan are with me every day at Lucas. I get to see Henry interact with his friends and his teacher. Sometimes he even gives me a hug in the hallway. It is a very special time for our family being together at school. And I go spy on Mr. Ryan every day! It’s the best. 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What’s your favorite way to spend your weekends and breaks?


Mrs. Ryan: I love to relax with my family and friends. We enjoy going out to eat, seeing movies, going to parks and playing games! 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What’s something about you most people wouldn’t guess?


Mrs. Ryan: I have 5 brothers and sisters and I played the trumpet for 8 years. Oh and I hate onions! 

January 2019 PTO Newsletter

The January 2019 newsletter is now available.

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Spanish

Get to Know a Mighty Hawk: Mr. Dayton

Each month, The Mighty Hawk Messenger profiles a Lucas staff member to help our community get to know him or her better.  This month, we talked to our building substitute teacher, Mr. Dayton.

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  Can you describe your role at Lucas?

Mr. Dayton: My role at Lucas is that of building substitute teacher, which included a stint in the role of guidance teacher.  

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  How long have you been in the teaching field?  What did you do before coming to Lucas?

Mr. Dayton:  I taught for 7 years in high school and another 4 in middle school.  I was a substitute teacher for Iowa City C.S.D. last year before acquiring the building sub position this year at Lucas.

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What do you like most about teaching multiple grades and subjects?  What is challenging about it?

Mr. Dayton: It is nice having the variety of working with students of different grade levels and subjects.  Getting to see the different skill levels and nuances of their development is interesting.  

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What are your favorite things to do when you’re not at work?

Mr. Dayton: My favorite thing to do when I am not at work is traveling.  I like to learn about the history of different cities and explore the activities that they have to offer.   Lastly, I really enjoy trying different kinds of ethnic foods when I visit new places.  

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  Who was a teacher or other adult in your life who inspired you as a child?  What did he/she do that was so memorable?

Mr. Dayton: The people who inspired me as a child were my parents.  They encouraged me and instilled a good work ethic. 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  In a world of unlimited resources, how would you spend winter break?  How does that compare to how you actually spent it?

Mr. Dayton: Given unlimited resources over winter break I would have done a lot of traveling.  My actual winter break was mostly spent relaxing and spending some time with friends and family.  

Get to Know a Mighty Hawk: Ms. Gilmore

Each month, The Mighty Hawk Messenger profiles a Lucas staff member to help our community get to know him or her better.  This month, we talked to our new guidance counselor, Hallie Gilmore. 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  We’re excited to have you at Lucas!  Based on your experience working here previously, what are you excited about as you begin this new job? 

Ms. Gilmore:  I am most excited to see familiar faces of students! I had such a wonderful experience with the hardworking, caring, students I knew a few years ago and I cannot wait to get to know all the new students I haven’t yet gotten a chance to know. 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  When you were a kid, did you expect you’d become a guidance counselor?  If not, what did you hope to be when you grew up?

Ms. Gilmore:  I did not think I’d be a School Counselor at all! It took a lot of time and experiences in different jobs in schools and with children to realize that my personality and passions actually suited me very well to school counseling. When I was a kid I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. It turns out that I’d much rather help students, families, and teachers be able to have a wonderful and productive school year instead.

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What is it about working with kids that you most enjoy?

Ms. Gilmore:  I absolutely LOVE seeing how excited students get when they overcome an obstacle at school and realize that they can do so much more than they may think they are capable of. I also love how caring, silly, and fun students can be with me and with other students. I hope that in and out of the classroom students will be able to have fun with me and learn that it is ok to ask for help when they need it. 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  I understand you’re an Iowa City native but you went away to school.  Where did you study, and what made you decide to come back?

Ms. Gilmore:  I am an Iowa City native and I think Iowa City is one of the most wonderful places to grow up and live. I went to the University of Iowa for undergraduate and fell in love with Psychology. After graduating I moved to Cádiz, Spain to be an English teacher in a bilingual elementary school. I loved the people and culture I met and experience in Spain, but missed my family and friends quite a bit. My time there helped me to understand that I belonged in a school helping students but that I wanted to pursue my love of psychology some more as well. I went to graduate school in Chicago at DePaul (where Dr. Jenkins went!) in my studies at DePaul I learned how to be a Professional School Counselor and became even more passionate about helping students. I ultimately came back to Iowa City to be closer to my family and friends and cannot wait to start helping students learn and thrive in my hometown.

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  If you could only listen to one musical artist or band, read the work of one writer, and watch the movies of one actor or actress for a whole year, what would your three choices be?

Ms. Gilmore:  One Direction. Hands down. I have always loved pop music, boy bands in particular. The fact that One D is British and I’m an anglophile is just an added bonus. Dr. Seuss is an all time favorite writer of mine because his works show very important life lessons while also rhyming, being silly and having awesome illustrations! Aside from every One D song ever, my favorite song ever is “Circle of Life” from the Lion King. I love the movie and am so excited to see the new live action version. I know that’s not an actor or actress, but I’d be fine only watching Lion King for a year. 

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What’s your favorite healthy food?  What’s your favorite treat?

Ms. Gilmore:  My mom is a dietitian and has inspired lots of healthy eating habits. I cannot ever get enough kale or spinach! It was a long and winding path to get to this point but there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t have some leafy green. I am particular about my treats, but will never ever turn down a cookie! I’m a bit of a cookie monster.

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What is something about you Lucas families might be surprised to learn?

Ms. Gilmore:  My favorites are Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, and Merle Haggard. I have a growing collection of these wonderful singers (and many more) on vinyl. I also cook many delicious things and golf whenever I can.

I am so very excited and grateful to be the new School Counselor at Lucas. I care very deeply about the welfare and success of all students and hope I can get to know each and every one at Lucas!