OGDEN — Ring the bell.
Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 began the 2023-24 school year at 8:40 a.m. Wednesday, although classes ended at 11:55 a.m. because it was a half-day.
Soldiers from Fort Riley stood at the entrance of Ogden Elementary School, applauding the arriving families of kindergarten through fifth graders. About 130 students are enrolled, according to principal Kayla Simon.
With a new school year comes new teachers. The Mercury was led into two classrooms to observe.
First-grade teacher Lauryn Peterman, a native Kansan, graduated this past spring from Baker University in Baldwin City. She spent part of Wednesday getting to know her students and receiving their answers on what and what not to do during carpet time.
“I’m so excited to just grow with them — learn a bunch,” Peterman said. “Learn a bunch about Ogden, learn a bunch about the community, just learn about them individually and myself as a teacher and a professional.”
Peterman eventually would like to be part of administration.
As one is just beginning her career in education, another new face at Ogden Elementary is a seasoned veteran.
Amanda Kump, who teaches fifth grade, made a Big Apple to Little Apple transition over the summer. After graduating college in 2003, she began teaching seventh- and eighth-grade language arts at a suburban Chicago school for the first half of her career, but then took a break to take care of her children at home. Prior to Kansas, she was a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher at a small Lutheran school in the New York City borough of Queens.
Kump acknowledged the fact she has been teaching a long time, but when moving to a new school district there are adjustments.
“There’s a lot of new curriculum that we have to learn,” Kump said. “A lot of new technology that we did not have at my previous school … it’s great to see all the resources that are available to me, but definitely overwhelming to navigate through everything.”
After students created name tag glyphs, listened to a reading of the 1995 book “More Than Anything Else” and discussed a growth mindset, Kump hopes they come away from the classroom remembering how she made them feel, especially about themselves.
“Growth mindset is huge for me, and it’s something that I still struggle with from time to time,” Kump said. “So trying to work with them to get them to see their potential, maybe they’re not there yet but it’s that power of ‘yet.’ With some hard work, with some perseverance — it can get you to accomplish great things.”
Outside of Ogden Elementary is a new musical garden courtesy of a grant from the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. The garden has interactive percussion instruments for students to enjoy. Behind the instruments, there’s a mural by local artist Allison Bowman, which was completed last October.
The school will also be getting a new digital sign to replace the current sign, which has been used for over 12 years.
During a parent-teacher organization event Friday evening, Ogden Elementary unveiled its new gym. This is one of several district projects funded by the $129.5 million bond issue passed in 2018.
