Lovell schools ready for upcoming year

Staff has been hired, summer projects are wrapping up and Lovell school officials are looking forward to the 2024-25 school year.

Online registration for all three schools opened Tuesday and runs through Friday, Aug. 16. Parents without computer access or who need assistance may call each school to arrange a time to come in for help by the office staff: 548-2247 at Lovell Elementary School, 548-6553 at Lovell Middle School and 548-2256 at Lovell High School.

Lovell Elementary School

Students new to Lovell Elementary must register at the school office, and parents are asked to bring a certified copy of their student’s birth certificate and a certified Wyoming immunization record, as well as any legal documents regarding custody of a child, Principal Christopher Jensen said.

An elementary school Meet the Teacher and Back to School Night will be held Tuesday, Aug. 20, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Students and parents are invited to come and meet their teachers, but school supplies can be brought the first day of school, Jensen said. He will speak first at 5 p.m. in the cafeteria, after which students and parents can visit classrooms.

A similar Back to School Night for the preschool program is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 27, at 5:30 p.m. for the morning session and 6:30 for the afternoon session. Jensen said the school is still accepting applications for the preschool program.

For information regarding parent access, student drop-off and pickup, bus rules and bicycles, refer to the Parent/Student Handbook on the district website, www.bgh2.org. Also available on the website are the school calendar and registration information.

Regarding access, parents can enter the building through the front doors on Shoshone Avenue and must check in at the office to receive a visitor’s badge. Students may be dropped off on Kansas Avenue between Carmon and Washakie or at the curb on Shoshone Avenue – avoiding the crosswalk – but not using the bus loop, Jensen said. Bus students will be dropped off and picked up in the bus loop at the front of the school.

The first day of school is Wednesday, Aug. 21. Classes run from 8:20 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8:20 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. on Friday.

Kindergarten students will have only a half day of school through August 30, with classes dismissed at 12:50 p.m. following lunch. The full schedule kicks in on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

Summertime projects include new carpeting in the classrooms and hallways.

There are myriad staff changes, Jensen said, with people in 16 new positions this year. New staff members and/or position changes are Principal Jensen, replacing the retired Scott O’Tremba; Emilie Asay, replacing the retired Chauna Bischoff; Marilyn Tillett, returning to kindergarten from first grade; Catherine Leithead, special education teacher, moving from the high school; Riley Dodd, first grade; Kelsey Lohof, first grade; Krystal May, moving to third grade from first grade; Shayla Mayes, fourth grade; Ann Hinckley, moving from third grade to fourth grade; JR Prosser, custodian; Marya Snell, lunchroom; special education paraprofessionals Jeffery Armstrong, Madison Hecker and Cherelle Nicholls; and pre-K para Taylor Webster. A computer position remains unfilled.

Lovell Middle School

At the middle school, Principal William Hiser said an orientation night is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 15, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. with a sixth-grade parent meeting at 5:30 and a seventh- and eighth-grade parent meeting at 6 p.m.

The orientation features a schedule walk-through, locker combination practice and locker personalization. Hiser will talk to parents about expectations, activities, eligibility and more.

The first day of school is Wednesday, Aug. 21, and school hours are 8 a.m. to 3:21 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. Friday.

Summertime capital construction projects include the completion of the school heating and air conditioning system. Though the HVAC project plus new carpet and paint has the building in a state of turmoil this week, Hiser said everything should be completed by the first day of school.

He noted that the new system will provide air conditioning at the school for the first time, adding, “That’s huge.”

A new class offering is Sport History, taught by Stephany Durtsche.

New staff members are Bob Weber, technical education; Melissa King, sixth grade math and science, moving from the elementary school; Carissa Camp, eighth grade English as well as conversational Spanish; Kristin Warner and Brenda Coombs, sixth and seventh grade reading and writing; Danielle Henley, library paraprofessional; and Elisha Summers, special education director.

Keath Fenton will handle both band and choir at the middle school, as well as music performance, after directing band only at both the middle school and high school in years past.

New coaching assignments are Tiffany Anderson as the eighth-grade head volleyball coach and Lance Anderson as the eighth-grade girls basketball coach.

Practices start the first day of school at 3:30 p.m.

Lovell High School

LHS will hold a Back to School Night and freshman and new student orientation on Monday, Aug. 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the multipurpose room.

Principal Craig Lundberg will review policies and procedures, and students can review their schedule, meet their teachers, check out their lockers and put supplies in their locker.

Students may schedule an appointment with the guidance counselor for August 20 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with students signing up for a schedule change appointment during the Back to School Night on August 19.

Registration is being done online, but students may call 548-2256 to make an appointment to register at the school.

Students may pick up their iPad during flex class on the first day, Lundberg said.

The first day of school is Wednesday, Aug. 21, and the bell schedule is 8 a.m. to 3:24 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Friday.

The primary construction project this summer is the project to resurface the track,  which includes new asphalt and a new synthetic track surface, which will be colored Bulldog blue with black exchange zones.

“I can’t wait for people to see the new color,” Lundberg said. “I’m excited.”

The project includes extending the sidewalk on the north side of the track and football field east to the parking lot to provide better handicapped accessibility to the facilities, along with a new surface for the triple jump, long jump and pole vault runways, using the same method and material as the track resurfacing.

It also features a mow strip, a strip of concrete that will separate the grass of the football field from the track, which will prevent grass from growing into the asphalt and allow the school maintenance crew to better trim the edge of the grass – essentially an eight-inch concrete curb.

New staff members include athletic director and physical education teacher Chris Edwards, replacing Nick DeWitt; special education teacher Jeri Jo Salinas, moving from the elementary school; special education paraprofessional Mara Rasmussen, moving from the elementary school; and Janeen Blackburn, custodian. 

Carissa French will direct the band and teach music performance, along with the choirs, and Karen Wardell will run a new life skill program at all three Lovell schools.

Coaching changes include Bob Weber, assistant football coach; Tara Kostelecky, head volleyball coach, and Natalie Collins, assistant volleyball coach; and Brian May, head girls basketball coach plus assistants Jennifer Hessenthaler and Gretchen Walker.

Golf practice starts Monday, Aug. 12, ahead of the first tournament in Powell August 14-15. Other teams begin practice Monday, Aug. 19, with the cross country team opening the season at the Billings Invitational Friday, Aug. 30, the volleyball team competing in the Lander Invitational August 30-31 and the football team playing a week zero game Saturday, Aug. 31, at home against Buffalo with kickoff set for noon.