Welcome back PGS! (Teacher Spotlight)

Top left to right: Mrs. Bohanan, Mrs. Metz Bottom: Mrs. Spears

By: Alyssa Kieser

Welcome back everyone to The Prince!! We are excited to be back for the 2022-2023 school year. This year we have several new teachers at Princeville Grade School, including Mrs. Kacey Bohanan (Kindergarten), Miss Samanatha Spears (1st grade), and Mrs. Kahlia Metz (2nd grade). Let's get to know them a little bit

Ms. Kacey Bohanan is Princeville’s new Kindergarten teacher. She grew up in Hanna City and then moved to Indiana for part of her middle school and high school career. She wanted to be a teacher because she helped kids in elementary school in her spare time, and ended up becoming a one-on-one teacher's aide to a little boy in Pre-K. She was only supposed to be with him at the end of the school year, but they asked her to help out the next fall. She stayed with this little boy for 3 years and loved it. She knew that it was where she was meant to be. She went to college at Robert Morris University, and before that went to a junior college to play basketball. Her favorite part of teaching is when a student finally clicks when learning something. She gets just as excited as the kids! The best career lesson she has learned is to, “just breathe and don’t worry about every little thing.” If she was not teaching she would want to work for the FBI as a profiler. Another fun fact about Ms. Bohanan is that she runs her own photography business! Now that you know a little about how she became a teacher, let's do some rapid speed questions. Her favorite food is pizza and her favorite color is red. Her favorite sports team is Duke and her dream vacation would be Bora Bora or Hawaii.

Our next teacher at PGS is Miss Samantha Spears. She teaches 1st grade. She grew up in Princeville, Illinois. She chose teaching because she had always wanted to be a teacher, and as she got older she realized the effect that teachers have on their students. She then knew that teaching was meant for her because of being able to help kids learn and make an impact on the kids' life. She went to college at Western Illinois University, and she recently got her masters at Grand Canyon University. Miss Spears’ favorite part of teaching is seeing the students understand what they are learning, and she loves to get the opportunity to learn each of their personalities. Her advice to her students is to take every day as a new opportunity to do or learn something new. If she was not teaching she would like to have been an event planner. Her best career lesson she has learned is that, “everyday you are learning something new as a teacher and it is important to always ask questions.” Miss Spears has a couple of favorite things, including the Chicago Cubs because they are her favorite sports team. Her favorite food is pizza and favorite color is purple. She also has 2 dogs. Miss Spears’ dream vacation would be in Hawaii.

Last but not least is Mrs. Kahlia Metz. Kahlia grew up in Belvidere, Illinois. She became a teacher because she struggled as a student and wanted to learn ways to help kids grow and be the best they could be. She went to school at Northern Illinois University for her Bachelor’s, and then went on to Grand Canyon University for her Master’s degree. Mrs. Metz's favorite part of teaching is also when she sees the kids “light bulb” go off after teaching a skill for so long. The best career lesson she has learned is, “knowing that I did everything that I could to help a student learn and grow.” If Mrs. Metz was not teaching, she would be an animal rescuer or have an animal daycare. An interesting fact that nobody knows is that she has completed 7 Spartan Races and 1 Tough Mudder. She likes the Chicago Cubs, they are her favorite team. She has 2 dogs named Onyx and Lake in addition to 3 cats named Venus, Stella and Oreo. Her favorite food is watermelon and her favorite color is pink. When asked, “Who is someone that she would like to meet?” Mrs. Metz replied she would like to meet her grandpa because she was not able to meet him. Thank you teachers for your hard work. Have a great year!!