February Teacher of the Month | Video

Evan Kruegel | 2/6/2013

Rayna Berndt is back home, teaching in the same school she was once a student in. But the town isn`t exactly the same place it was when she was a little girl. "There have been a lot of changes going on to our school with new people coming into our community and new places being built."

Berndt enjoys the challenge. She teaches second grade at the Bainville School, an age group she finds very rewarding. "I think it`s a fun age because they`re developing that independence, but they`re still so excited about everything. They`re still really excited to learn, and to come to school, and excited about all their teachers too, so it makes it fun."

To add to the fun, the school now has some new technology that wasn`t around when she was a student. "The smart board, we use it every day for our reading and phonics, and daily news section of our reading, and the students really enjoy that. And then we play games as a whole class like language games. We`re able to use that and it also allows us to watch a social skills video every day and I can throw it up on the smart board and they enjoy that, it’s like watching on the big screen."

Like every good teacher, she says the best part about coming to work every day is seeing her students. "My favorite overall thing would definitely be the students, hanging out with them each day is just great, and seeing how much they teach me. Even when I`m working to teach them I learn just as much from them too."

While it the town might be changing, Berndt is proud to be back home, teaching another generation of Bulldogs.

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