I must be honest, covering local schools can be the best of times and there are situations where it is the worst of times.  One of the best times is attending the end-of-the-school-year celebrations where Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) District teachers and administrators gather to celebrate the end of another school year and prepare for the summer break.

One important announcement at this event each year is the naming the the HSE Schools Teacher of the Year.  For the 2023-2024 school year, that teacher will be Johanna Kitchel, orchestra teacher at Riverside Intermediate & Junior High.

There were two other finalists for Teacher of Year – Heather Skaggs, Fourth Grade teacher at Brooks School Elementary….and Erin Ingwersen, Math Teacher at Fishers High School.

Many awards were handed out.  Superintendent Yvonne Stokes conducted an exercise giving teachers a chance to breath in and then out, in an effort to leave the stress of the past school year behind.

There were a number of retirements among HSE teachers, listed below.

All the teaching staff left HSE High School with smiles on their faces, anticipating the summer vacation.