teacher of the month recognition dedication teacher appreciation

 

 TEACHER OF THE MONTH

 

Lake Mills Rotary Club is dedicated to celebrating outstanding educators in our public and private schools. Each month, two teachers are recognized for their dedication, innovation, and positive influenceโ€”one from the Lake Mills Area School District and one from St Paul Lutheran Church and School or Lakeside Lutheran High School.  

 

Teacher of the Month is invited to be a guest at Rotary Club Meeting & receives lunch, a Teacher of the Month Certificate, a $200 check, and a "goody bag" from our generous sponsors and the Lake Mills Rotary Club.  

Thank you to our generous sponsors:
(click on the sponsor to visit their page)

BANK OF LAKE MILLS 

Farmers & Merchants

Bank CMG (Formerly Greenwoods State Bank)

Subway-Lake Mills 

Grace Small Engine

Sanft Accounting

Countryside Jewelry

Legendary Lake Mills 

American Family Insurance-Amy Winkelman & Associates Inc

 Culverโ€™s-Lake Mills

 Jensen Plumbing, Heating, & Air, Inc. 

 American Legion Post 67

Jersey Mike's

Nominate a Teacher

 

 

Lake Mills Area School District

 Mrs. Kirsten Steinke
We are thrilled to recognize ๐“œ๐“ป๐“ผ. ๐“š๐“ฒ๐“ป๐“ผ๐“ฝ๐“ฎ๐“ท ๐“ข๐“ฝ๐“ฎ๐“ฒ๐“ท๐“ด๐“ฎ, Mathematics Teacher at Lake Mills High School, as February's ๐‘ป๐’†๐’‚๐’„๐’‰๐’†๐’“ ๐’๐’‡ ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐‘ด๐’๐’๐’•๐’‰! ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’›
๐“œ๐“ป๐“ผ. ๐“ข๐“ฝ๐“ฎ๐“ฒ๐“ท๐“ด๐“ฎ has taught at Lake Mills High School for 6 years and brings 19 years of teaching experience to her classroom. She was selected based on nominations from #LCatPride students, families, and colleagues.
Hereโ€™s what nominators shared about her impact: ๐Ÿ‘‡
โ€œ๐‘€๐‘Ÿ๐‘ . ๐‘†๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘–๐‘›๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘Ž ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘“๐‘“๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ. ๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”, ๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘”๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘ . ๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘๐‘˜๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”, ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘š๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘ , ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘’๐‘™๐‘  ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘“๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘. ๐ป๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘–๐‘š๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ก ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘š๐‘–๐‘๐‘  โ€” ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘š ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘’๐‘™ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’๐‘›, ๐‘ฃ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ข๐‘’๐‘‘, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘™๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’. ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘š, ๐‘‘๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ, ๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘™ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ , ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘˜ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ฆโ€™๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ข๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ . ๐ป๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›, ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘š๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘š๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘’๐‘ . ๐‘Š๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘“๐‘ข๐‘™ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘ข๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘  ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘โ„Ž ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก, ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘’, ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘ก.โ€
Please join us in congratulating ๐“œ๐“ป๐“ผ. ๐“ข๐“ฝ๐“ฎ๐“ฒ๐“ท๐“ด๐“ฎ on this well-deserved recognition! ๐Ÿ™Œ
 
(story & image credit to Lake Mills Area School District Facebook Page)

St. Paul's Lutheran & Lakeside Lutheran

 
Mr. Evan Korthals
 
Mr. Korthals has been teaching and inspiring students at St. Paul since 2023. He currently teaches 7th grade and upperโ€‘grade science and also serves as the Sunday School superintendent. His energy, creativity, and genuine care for his students have made a lasting impact on the St. Paul community.
From his current and former students:
โ€œHe is one of the most entertaining teachers I have had. He makes science fun and exciting.โ€
โ€œMr. Korthals is very energetic and is a great science teacher.โ€
โ€œWhen I was in 7th grade he was really fun, and I have so many memories from having him as a teacher. I consider him one of my favorite teachers I have ever had.โ€
โ€œMany will miss him next school year, including myself, but we all wish him the best for the rest of his time here at St. Paul.โ€
From a parent and grandparent:
"Mr. Korthals has sparked the desire to learn in my granddaughter. She wants to go the extra mile now and do more than what is required. She says, "He is the best teacher ever!""
โ€œHe has an understanding of seventhโ€‘grade studentsโ€™ thought processes and seems to talk with them, not at them. We are very thankful for Mr. Korthals!โ€
Your enthusiasm, dedication, and ability to connect with students have made a remarkable difference. The St. Paul community celebrates you and is grateful for all you bring to the classroom and beyond.
Congratulations, Mr. Korthals!

(story and image credits to St Paul Lutheran School Facebook Page)

2025-2026 Teacher of the Month Recipients

September:  Mrs. Beth Wartzenluft, LMMS 7th Grade
                       Mr. Bill Tomlin, LLHS English
October:  ๐‘ด๐’“. ๐‘ช๐’‰๐’“๐’Š๐’” ๐‘บ๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’‚๐’‡๐’†๐’๐’•, Music Teacher at Lake Mills Elementary School
                Mrs. Lois McKenney, Special Education at St. Paul Lutheran School
November:  Mr Luke Wiedenfeld, Ag Teacher at Lake MIlls High School and FFA Advisor
                    Mr. Glen Pufahl, Band Director at Lakeside Lutheran High School
December: Ms. Tracey Voight, 7th Grade Math at Lake Mills Middle School\
                  Mr. Wesley Towne, 8th Grade at St. Paul Lutheran School
 
January: Mr. Dan Zaeske, Physical Education at Lake Mills Elementary School
                 Mr. Nathan Koerber, Spanish Teacher, @ Lakeside Lutheran High School
February: Mrs. Kirsten Steinke, Math @ Lake Mills High School
                 Mr. Evan Korthals, 7th Grade at St Paul Lutheran School
 
 
 
 
 

Past Recipients 2024-2025 -Teachers of the Month

September: Mrs. Kelli Hegstrom, LMES Special Education Teacher

                        Mrs. Jodie Schoomer, LLHS English & STEM 

October: Mrs. Kristina Manke, LMMS 5th Grade Teacher

November: Mrs. Beth Denzin, LMHS Math Teacher

                      Mr. Justin Vanderhoof, LLHS Social Studies 

December: Mrs. Linda Heimstreet, LMHS Music Teacher 

January: Ms. Holly Norgren, LMES Kindergarten Teacher

                 Mr. Dennis Leckwee, LLHS Theology

February: Mr. Jeffrey Hegstrom, LMMS 6th Grade Math Teacher

March: Mr. Jeffrey Lehr, LMHS Technology Education Teacher 

              Mrs. Lori Tetzlaff, LLHS

April: Mrs. Kayla Pulvermacher, LMMS Special Education Teacher

May: Ms. Maggie Scott, LMES 3rd Grade Teacher

          Mr Matt Doering, LLHS