Ozaukee County, WI – Ozaukee Christian School is pleased to welcome a new fourth grade teacher this year: Sara Benzschawel!
While Sara waited for a fresh new order of textbooks to arrive, she expressed how excited she was to begin teaching at OCS.
“I love the sense of community they have here,” said Sara. “I like how all the kids know each other in all the grades. Everyone is really close. … It’s a different vibe [compared to a public school].”
Sara has been a substitute teacher for OCS in the past, so she is familiar with the supportive environment.
“I was blown away by everybody’s kindness and willingness to help each other,” she said.
As Sara prepares her lessons for fall, she plans to include plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning.
“I’d like to have them up and moving around,” she said. “I don’t want them to just sit in the classroom. I don’t want to just speak at them.”
Sara, who grew up in Hartland, Wisconsin, in a Christian household, earned her master’s degree in education from Portland State University. Since returning to Wisconsin, she has had more opportunities to get involved with her church.
Sara lives with her husband Eric and their three daughters and two cats in Jackson. They are soaking up the summer with outings to carnivals, water parks and hiking trails.
Sara loves spending time outdoors and taking photos, with her daughters being her favorite subjects.
If you have a fourth grader, be sure to say hello to Mrs. Benzschawel this fall! Your student will be in good hands in her lively classroom.
A second vibrant new teacher is joining the OCS family this fall!
Stefanie Wade will be teaching art to kindergartners through eighth graders.
For years, Stefanie has worked as a graphic designer, working on websites, brochures and photography for two different companies. Her creative marketing solutions have led her to see art in both a beautiful and practical way.
Stefanie and her husband of 15 years have three sons: a nine-year-old and seven-year-old twins.
She has been volunteering with her church’s children’s area for years, including three years helping out with the VBS program.
“I enjoy my kids,” said Stefanie, “And I didn’t know I would also enjoy spending time with other people’s kids.”
This revelation led Stefanie to go back to school to earn her teaching certificate from UW Madison. Her student teaching experiences led her to gain experience in a high school setting and a kindergarten through fifth grade setting, and she is ready to dive in!
“I just love encouraging kids in their art practice,” said Stefanie. “The young ones have such an excitement for it to begin with. They always amaze me.”
Stefanie said she wants to teach her students to use art as an act of worship.
“I want to relate art to God’s intentionality and design. … I’m excited to be at a Christian school where we can be open with how we talk about God.”
Stefanie is especially passionate about three dimensional art and plans to have a variety of materials at the ready: cardboard, coat hangers, modeling clay and more!
While student teaching, Stefanie helped students work on projects with real world applications like “zoo stations,” where students built habitats for zoo animals, and product packaging, where students brought in household objects and designed an attractive package for presenting the object in a store.
With projects like these, Stefanie hopes to encourage students who love art to explore careers in design, architecture and other specialty fields.
When Stefanie is not in the classroom, she enjoys photography, sewing, strength training and board games with her family.