Harmony-Emge School District #175

Welcome, Mrs. Becherer, Ellis Elementary School's new Counselor! My name is Mrs. Becherer. I attended University of Missouri-Saint Louis where I received my Masters in School Counseling. I have been working in schools since 2013, but this will be my first year at the Harmony-Emge School District. I'm so excited to join the team and can't wait to get started! We are so excited to have you Mrs. Becherer!!

TOMORROW is Registration!

Mr. Armstrong is in the Teacher Spotlight today! Mr. Armstrong is a Permanent Sub for the district, here is a little about him... I served 21 years of active-duty military service with the Air Force and then graduated with my B.S. in Workforce Education and Development through SIU Carbondale in 2017. I then earned my MBA in 2020 through Maryville University in St. Louis. As the permanent substitute for nearly 4 years, I could be in any classroom, any given day to pick up for teachers that are absent. I'm excited to get the 2023-24 year started and continue to provide a safe, learning environment for our students. District #175 thanks you for everything you do!

In-Person Registration is this Thursday! Please review the flyer for what to bring sso you can be prepared.

There will be more information for Soccer and Cross Country tryouts at our registration day this week. If you are not able to make it to school, the information will be posted on the school's live feed and Facebook page. Tryouts for soccer and Cross Country will start some time the week of August 7th. Please make sure that students wanting to try out have been registered for school, and that they have an updated physical on file. Any questions, please contact Mr. Bauer

Baseball will have another day for a tryout, since we were able to hold tryouts before we left for the summer. This day will serve as a tryout, and as our first team practice. If you did not make the team from our last tryout, please come back out to show what you have worked on over the summer! There will be another schedule handed out on that day, along with other paperwork. Students in 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade a eligible to tryout for baseball. Please make sure student(s) are registered and have an updated physical on file. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Bauer. Signal Hill Park, Belleville, IL 62223 8/7 (Monday) 4:30-6:00 p.m. Bring - Water - Glove

Softball tryouts will be held at the Signal Hill fields from 7/31-8/4. Times will be from 9:00-10:30 a.m. Grades eligible for tryouts are 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Students must be registered for school, and must have an updated physical on file. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Bauer. We will again be partnering with Signal Hill this year to field a softball team. The fields are behind their gymnasium. If you park in their school lot, there will be steps that lead you down to their softball fields. 40 Signal Hill Pl, Belleville, IL 62223 9:00-10:30 a.m. Bring - Glove - Water

Today's Teacher Highlight is Kindergarten Teacher, Ms. Barbeau! I graduated from Missouri Baptist University with a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. I became a teacher to encourage and inspire students to be successful, my second grade teacher, Mrs. Edwards, was this to me, and I hope to be that spark in my students' education. This will be my second year at Ellis Elementary and I cannot wait to get back in the classroom to meet my students! Thank you for all that you do!

Mark your calendar!

Let us give a warm welcome to our new 3rd grade teacher, Ms. Campbell! Hi! My name is Morgan Campbell. I graduated from SIUE where I received my bachelors degree in Elementary Education. I worked at a daycare for many years and thats where my love for children began. I am so excited to start this journey at Ellis and cant wait to meet all the awesome faculty, students and families! Welcome to District 175, we are so happy to have you!

New Teacher Welcome!! Hi! I'm Mrs. Hibler! I received my Elementary Education Degree from SIUE. This will be my first year teaching at Harmony175 and I am excited to be joining the team! I've always knew my dream was to be a teacher and help young minds grow. I am really excited to meet everyone this year! District #175 is so excited to have you Mrs. Hibler!

Today's Teacher Spotlight is Ms. Engelbrecht! Message from Ms. Engelbrecht- The 2023-2024 school year will be my 8th year of teaching! These 8 years have flown by! I started out my first year as the 7th grade math teacher at Emge. The next 5 years were spent coteaching in 4th grade, and last year I moved back to Emge to teach math once again. If it's not obvious already, I LOVE math! I was inspired to become a teacher by my 8th grade teacher. She helped me fall in love with Algebra and made everything so easy to understand. I wanted to do that for others and I've always enjoyed being around kids, so I knew teaching was the way to go. I love seeing that "light bulb" moment with my students when they finally understand a new concept! I am excited to help create more "light bulb" moments in this coming school year and to help foster an appreciation for math. Thank you for all you do!

To the District #175 community – It is with great excitement that I would like to formally announce my new role as Assistant Principal of Harmony Intermediate and Emge Junior High. After spending the last six years in the Harmony-Emge School District #175 as a classroom teacher and coach, I could not dream of a better place to start my journey in administration. I officially joined the Harmony-Emge family in the Fall of 2017 as a fourth grade teacher. In the years that followed, I have built treasured relationships and connections with the students and families of our district. During my years in the classroom, I cultivated strong abilities in curriculum planning and design, positive relationship building, and collaborative practices; all of which led me in the direction of pursuing administration. After studying under the mentorship of Dr. Kraemer, I completed my Masters of Educational Administration from SIUE this past December. While I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the classroom, I am ready for the chance to expand my impact in a district that already holds such value for me. Alongside our wonderful administrative team, teachers, staff, and the families of our community, I look forward to continuing to help provide your students with the best opportunities for success and achievement. I cannot wait to welcome our students back for a new year! Please feel free to contact me with any questions at arueter@harmony175.org. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and we look forward to another great year with you and your students. Ms. Allison Rueter

Ms. Eckert is our Teacher Spotlight of the day! I just celebrated 25 years of teaching at Emge Jr. High. I currently co-teach 7th and 8th grade Language Arts and Math. I earned my bachelor's degree in Special Education at Eastern Illinois University, Master's Degree in Elementary Education at SIUE, and a Master's Degree in Administration at Lindenwood University. District #175 has been a second family to me for my entire career. I am excited to work with some of the best co-workers and students in the area. -Ms. Eckert

Today's teacher highlight is a current teacher, Ms. Steward! I started teaching English at Emge in 2001. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in English from McKendree University, my Master’s Degree in Secondary Education from Lindenwood University, and my National Boards Specialization in both grade level and subject area through Illinois State University. -Ms. Steward Thank you for all that you do!!

Mrs. Sutton is a 1st grade teacher at Ellis and we love everything she does for us! This is my 9th year teaching at Ellis. I have also taught in North Carolina and Georgia while my husband was in the army. My husband and I just celebrated our 23 year wedding anniversary! I have two boys. My oldest is a sophomore at SWIC, and my youngest is a senior at Freeburg High School. I attended Black Hawk College in Moline, Illinois. I got my teaching degree from Western Illinois University. I received my bachelors in Education , Self-contained K-9. I also have endorsements in Language Arts/Middle Grades and Social Science/Middle Grades. The reason why I became a teacher is I love being part of the process of guiding those students to be their absolute best. When they come into the classroom I want them to know that they are loved, and that I will always believe in them. I believe it is so important to build those relationships from day one. I am so excited to begin the new school year, and see all my new/past students! I love seeing those smiles come into the classroom every day. Watching their confidence grow in their learning is priceless!

Today's Teacher Spotlight is a current teacher of ours, Mrs. Jarvis! This will be my 8th year of teaching (7th at Emge). I graduated from McKendree University with a degree in Mathematics. I love teaching math because math was a subject that I used to struggle in when I was in middle school and I want to show students that they CAN do it! I am excited for this school year to start to build relationships with students and show them how math can be fun and how we use it everyday! -Mrs. Jarvis Thank you for all you do, we appreciate you!

Dear Harmony Emge SD 175 School Community, I am honored, humbled, and excited to begin working with you and our incredible team of educators, staff, administrators, and community as we work together to continuously improve our school district. During my first few days with the district, it has already become apparent the level of dedication and commitment our district has for our students, teachers, and community. Please know that I will be committed to working beside each of you to ensure that our students have every opportunity to succeed. I know that we will continue to do great things for the students and the community of Harmony-Emge #175. I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and share a little bit about my background. I was born and raised in Southern Illinois. I currently reside outside of Freeburg with my wife (April), my three daughters (Shea, Mackinzie, Megan), and a long list of animals. I spent my first 9 years in education as a classroom teacher at Columbia High School. Over the last 15 years, I have had the opportunity to serve as an administrator (8 years elementary, 4 years high school, 3 year district office) in three school districts. Currently, I am completing my doctoral program at SIUE. Thank you for all that you do, and I hope you have a great rest of your summer. Sincerely, Mr. Dustin Nail, Superintendent

Today's Teacher Spotlight is Mr. Romine! This is Mr. Romine's 33rd year in the district. He taught third grade for 15 years, first grade for 15 years, kindergarten for a year and second grade his last two years. This will be his last year teaching in District #175 and is looking forward to retirement. Thank you for spending 33 years with the district! We appreciate all that you do!

New Teacher Welcome! My name is Ms. Pena and I am a new sixth grade math teacher at Harmony EMGE. I am very excited to kick off this new year as it will be my first year teaching! I graduated this past spring from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin with a degree in Elementary Education and minors in English as a Second Language and Special Education. I am looking forward to a great year of making connections with my future students and families while I get to know this new community and profession! Please give a warm welcome to Ms. Pena, we are so excited for you to join District 175!