With about two weeks left before school starts, the St. Joseph School District kicked off their New Teacher Institute Monday morning. 

The three-day event for new teachers includes various sessions to help teachers get acclimated to the district and get ready for their first day of class. 

A luncheon, hosted by the St. Joseph Women’s Chamber of Commerce was held Monday at the Moila Shrine Temple. The luncheon celebrated not only the 145 new teachers there but all the teachers getting ready for a new school year in St. Joseph. 

Melissa Schubert is a first grade teacher for the St. Joseph School District and was Co-Chair for the luncheon this year. She said she’s excited to begin classes with a new group of students. 

“I am super excited just to meet my new kids,” Schubert said. “It’s so fun every year to meet them and build relationships with them and to watch them grow and learn and there’s nothing better than to see them ‘get’ something for the first time.”

One of the speakers at the luncheon commented on the excited atmosphere in the room and Schubert said the district is ready to move forward into a new school year. 

“The school district, as a whole, is really trying to move forward and move past things that have maybe happened in the past,” Schubert said. “So just trying to keep that positive attitude going into a new year and focusing on our students and doing what’s best for them and making steps to make progress from where we have been in the past.”

The first day of school for the St. Joseph School District is Monday, August 15th.