Mustang senior Blayne Gacke spent ten weeks as an intern in Mrs. Schmiesing’s first grade classroom. “The thing I will miss most about the first-grade class is their willingness to learn,” Gacke said.” (Photo/Submitted)

Sara Stadem | Editor

For ten weeks, the Tri-Valley first grade students in Mrs. Arianna Schmiesing’s class had the opportunity to get to know and learn with their high school intern, Mustang senior Blayne Gacke.
Gacke explained that she wanted to experience the internship class to get some time in a classroom before college and that she always wanted to teach the younger elementary levels.
Mrs. Schmiesing explained the high school teachers reached out to her about pairing her with Gacke for the internship. She further explained Gacke started off observing her classroom and helping students which progressed into more as time went on. Gacke worked her way toward providing one on one help with students, working with small groups of students, grading papers, laminating, recess duty, etc.
Although Gacke’s time has come to an end in the classroom, she will not soon be forgotten.
“They (students) absolutely loved her! And miss her every day!” Mrs. Schmiesing said. She continued, “Blayne is an amazing person and will be an amazing teacher!”
Gacke said, “I loved my time as an intern. I was able to create relationships with both the students and Mrs. Schmiesing. During my time, I learned how to use different machines and see how her classroom was run.” She concluded, “The thing I will miss most about the first-grade class is their willingness to learn. They all love to be in the classroom and were such a joy to be around. I am so glad that I participated in the internship class. I think it was very beneficial, and I am so glad to have had the opportunities it provided me.”