Two longtime Woodmore School District personnel will say goodbye to the scholars for the closing time at the end of the faculty 12 months. Except for a three-year departure, Director of Health Services Janet Wendt has been with the district for 30 years. Food Service Director LuAnne Juergens spent her complete 33-year career with the district. Both are walking far away from jobs they’ve cherished.
Wendt spent her first nine years as a nurse operating in a drug and alcohol unit in Toledo earlier than accepting the placement as a Woodmore faculty nurse. She took over for Alice Ames, who changed into the college nurse when Wendt was a student in the district. Ames, Wendt stated, served as a college nurse for about 25 years before retiring. Discounting the three years Wendt labored somewhere else, Woodmore has had the simplest nurses in the past 50-plus years.
In her three decades at Woodmore, Wendt has watched the colleges remodel in a mess of approaches, but the trade that affected her activity the most, she stated, turned into the transition to inclusivity. When she first started, most special needs students attended separate faculties, while these days, the district’s children attend college together. Although the pass introduced Wendt’s workload, she sees it as an advantageous exchange for all college students.
“When I first commenced, the steering counselor and I did aid companies, and there was more time to do one-on-one with the kids. I miss the ones who support companies. There’s nonetheless a want for that,” Wendt said. However, the children have benefited substantially from the inclusive environment. “It’s right for the kids to assist different kids,” Wendt stated. “People say there are so many labels, but I assume our youngsters are suitable for accepting kids with unique wishes. They’ve learned to be the type to others because everybody has their variations.”
Juergens, who also grew up within the school district, began seeking a component-time process 33 years ago. Because she cherished cooking dinner, she inquired about a position inside the faculty cafeteria. They changed into only one role, open director, so she took it. “I cherished my process. I like to prepare dinner, and I like children,” she said. “When I commenced, we did the whole lot from scratch. We made our soup, our very own spaghetti sauce, and our cookies. I turned into my detail.”
The largest alternate Juergens skilled transitioned from homemade food to authorities commodity meals. She missed cooking from scratch for the students each day but could still impact the youngsters who passed via her kitchen. The skills she received feeding loads of youngsters helped the community out of doors the school properly, through advantage dinners for college kids and Elmore’s annual Thanksgiving dinner.
Woodmore Middle School Principal Kevin Ball said Juergens and Wendt have helped provide over four hundred Thanksgiving dinners over the past four or five years. They have provided “spaghetti dinners for people who may be struggling medically or for the ones who’ve lost a cherished one.” Those dinners raised thousands of bucks to assist with medical care or funeral expenses, Ball said.
The ladies’ retirement will be a loss for the college. “LuAnne firmly believes in providing healthy options for college students living the stressful lifestyle kids have nowadays. She has a few quite incredible grandchildren, and I sit up for looking her attend her grandchildren’s events and being a great fixture in the Woodville community,” Ball stated.
“Janet is a true believer in the goodness of people. She goes out of her way to help those who are much less fortunate or who want a little pick me up. She lives a healthful lifestyle and shares her wellness tips with college students, personnel, and parents. I will miss seeing her smile each morning,” Ball said.
Wendt and Juergens are associated by using marriage and pals by way of preference, and they plan to make a little day trip collectively and spend extra time with family once they retire. But for now, they’re struggling with leaving at the back of jobs they have happily held for three a long time.
