Cody Howell

Not only are there new faces inside of the main building, but outside. Agriculture teacher Cody Howell is starting his first year as an educator, teaching Pre Vocational Welding, Small Engines, Modern Agriculture Mechanics and an Animal Health/Vet Tech class.

Howell is a Chanute High School and Fort Hays State University (FSHU) graduate. After obtaining an Animal Science degree from FSHU, Howell worked at Tiffany Cattle Company before coming to Newton High. 

“I believe that the industry experience and connections I developed while working [at Tiffany Cattle Company] will benefit me a great deal,” Howell said. 

Howell is looking forward to making personal relationships with his students and growing the enrollment in agriculture classes. He is settling into his new environment with appreciation of the block scheduling, support of other teachers and potential in the program.

“I’m really looking forward to being able to use this facility and hopefully utilize some of the space that hasn’t been used before,” Howell said. “There’s a lot of room for growth here and there’s a lot of room to improve the enrollment in the Ag program.”

Rebecca Schloneger

Playing violin since the age of two and growing up in a family of musicians, new orchestra teacher Rebecca Schloneger has had her fair share of experience with music.

While Schloneger has taught music before, it has not been within public schools. In addition to a brief internship working with preschoolers, Schloneger has taught out of state and at a local college. 

“[I taught in] Cincinnati. I taught a violin program and they had a grant that bought all of the violins. All of the students were four-years-old,” Schloneger said. “Then I taught at Bethel College Academy of Performing Arts (BCAPA) teaching private lessons and group classes.”

Not only will Schloneger be walking the hallways of NHS, but she will teach fifth through eighth-grade orchestra at Santa Fe 5/6 Center and Chisholm Middle School. Aside from traveling from school to school, Schloneger will work alongside fellow orchestra teacher Kara Tann. 

While Schloneger will be teaching a subject far different from your typical core academics, she feels as though her teaching style is similar to that of other educators.

“In a lot of ways it’s similar in that we break things into small steps. Another similarity is that everyone can do music. My belief is that all people have talent and it’s a matter of finding that talent,” Schloneger said. “I don’t know if there’s a difference other than we have concerts.”

With her past teaching experiences, Schloneger said that the most rewarding aspect of teaching is getting to know the students, as well as what is important to them. She desires that her students be comfortable with her.

“I would hope that students find me to be approachable and honest and real, but also a little demanding,” Schloneger said. “And just because I’ve done what I’m teaching professionally, I hope I can show them where they can go.”

Sarah Ouis

The class of 2020 has seen a total of three different French teachers. The latest of which, is a native speaker of the language, French teacher Sarah Ouis.

Ouis was born just under 5,000 miles away from Kansas, in Morocco. She spent her adolescence there and grew up speaking a conglomerate of French and Arabic, but studied English in high school. Having some basic knowledge of the English language benefitted her when she eventually moved to the United States. 

“When I came here, I came with my husband. He’s an aerospace engineer and we came here so he could work on a staff with Boeing,” Ouis said. “When I came here, I thought that I would be able to make conversation… It wasn’t as easy as I expected.”

Before her international move, Ouis got a degree in Paris as a notary, moved back to Morocco, and then got married. Upon arrival in Kansas, Ouis got a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Wichita State University (WSU). Shortly after graduation, she had three kids, each five years apart from the other and she and her husband agreed that she should be a stay at home mom.

After deciding to enter the workforce after her 20 year absence, Ouis briefly worked at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) as a substitute teacher. 

“When I taught at UMKC, it was a class for people who wanted to go to France and just wanted to learn how to ask questions when they’re there in France,” Ouis said. 

Ouis returned to school at WSU and earned two more degrees in French Literature and Education. After earning her second and third degrees, Ouis was hired to teach French at the high school.

Due to the fact that the high school has seen many different French teachers in the past years, Ouis’ goal for the year is to try and unify the differing information the students learned from each teacher. Although this may show to be a challenge, Ouis has high hopes for the year. 

“I am so excited. I love it. Because I worked as a substitute and at my old school most of the students were not interested in French, they just dropped that class. But here, all my students, besides maybe two students, everyone else is very excited. I’m very happy about that.”