Meet Wisconsin Hills Teachers Sarah Lubner-Blankenburg, Mark Oelstrom

Sarah Lubner-Blankenburg

• School: Wisconsin Hills Middle School
• Grade/Subject: Sixth grade/language arts, social studies and communication arts
• Years in the Elmbrook School District: seven years
• College/University: UW-Milwaukee 

What’s the best part of teaching in the Elmbrook School District:

1. Students = strive to do their best, are curious about the world and how to make it a better place, and make me smile daily
2. Parents = support their children and the people that work with them
3. Staff = hold the highest expectations for all students and support each other in our work as educators 

Why I wanted to be a teacher:

I grew up always wanting to make people smile and feel good about who they are.  I get pure joy from seeing people find their strengths, feel confident, and believe in themselves. It took me a while to decide to become a teacher, but now I cannot imagine my life without teaching. I look forward to meeting and shaping the lives of new students every year. I love seeing them grow throughout the year and I believe with all my heart that each of them will make a positive difference in our world – my goal is that they believe this as well.

If I wasn’t a teacher, I’d be:

While I wish I could boast that I would be a cage fighter, or an astronaut, a stylist for a Nicki Minaj , or a professional skateboarder, I cannot.  I can only say that while I adore teaching, eating good food comes in at a close second!  If I had to pack up and leave this beautiful school my hope would be that I could become a food critic. I find lots of love in food.  Making food, shopping for food, reading about food, watching people make food, eating food…is anyone else getting hungry?  Traveling and trying delectably created dishes made with love and then critiquing them so that others could enjoy them– what a job!

Okay…want in on a little secret?  For the past year I, along with a few members of my family, have started a tiny little club that visits area restaurants and critics them on a blog!  So if you ever see me dining out keep in mind that I may be on a covert operation with my Culinary Club! ;) 

My least favorite subject in high school was:

Math. Period.  Numbers and me…we just don’t ADD up! Even if I MULTIPLIED my studying time I still struggled with it. That about SUMs it up!  What FRACTION of this answer is just a bunch of puns? I think all these mathematical puns are a SINE of madness! Ha – get it! See, I like words better. :)

My favorite school lunch menu item was:

Hands down – Tater Tot Casserole!  Do they still serve Tater Tot Casserole?  If not, I highly recommend it’s come back…although it would most likely not score highly with a food critic – it scores number one for nostalgia!

• School: Wisconsin Hills Middle School
• Grade / Subject:  6th through 8th Grade Applied Technology and Engineering
• Years in the Elmbrook School District:  15
• College / University:  Bachelor of Science, Technology Education, UW–Stout; Master’s in Education, Lesley University

The best part of teaching in the Elmbrook School District is:

Getting to work with such a professional and knowledgeable staff.

Why I wanted to be a teacher:

I wanted to become a teacher so that I could teach kids how to do things with what they have learned in other areas. In my classes, students learn skills they will be able to apply throughout the rest of their lives no matter what they do. It is so important for kids today to be creative problem solvers who can create physical solutions, not just solve things on paper or with a computer.

If I wasn't a teacher, I'd be:

If I wasn’t a teacher, I could see myself working as a corporate trainer, a lead production manager, or a plant manager.

My least favorite subject in high school was:

Spanish.

My favorite school lunch menu item was:

The cardboard pizza with cheese that seemed more like a layer of plastic over the sauce instead of real cheese.