Mr. Torres 

Before CHS: I originally went to college for engineering. I was at Purdue. I was in Engineering for a couple of years, but then I decided I wanted to pursue teaching. It was something I always thought about, and then I found out that Purdue had a program for engineering teachers. So, I graduated from Purdue in the spring, this is my first year teaching. 

Education: Purdue 

Favorite Movie: Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse

Favorite Sports Team: The White Sox

Advice for students: Just make the most of the opportunities you have while you’re in high school. Like dual credit, you guys get that for free. You get to take the SAT for free. So just take advantage of those opportunities because that’s going to help you when you finally get to college.

Position at CHS: I teach engineering.

Mr. Tenbarge

Before CHS: I actually taught at CHS for five years from 2016-2021. At that point, I took an assistant principal position in South Bend. I worked for a year on the south side of the city at South Bend Riley. And then last year, I was moved to South Bend Washington, which is on the west side.

Education: I got my undergrad from IU Bloomington. I pursued my master’s in educational administration through Purdue Northwest.

Favorite Movie: Cinderella Man

Favorite Sports Team: I’m a Colts guy, I know that it’s tough living in Northwest Indiana, but I’m actually from the southern part of the state so I grew up a Colts fan.

Advice for students: I would say definitely get involved, that’s the big thing. I would say that for students who are involved, we don’t really have to worry about attendance. Their grades are usually good because they want to stay eligible for their contests, so that’s the biggest one for me.

Position at CHS: I am one of the assistant principals so I have a part of the alphabet. I have Gu-Pap, so the middle part. I service students and help them when they need assistance. Also, a part of my job is that I work with our attendance initiative, and we’re shooting for ninety-six percent attendance. 

Ms. Hawkins

Before CHS: For the last two years I was at Chesterton Middle School. One year I was their dean of students, and last year I was the assistant principal. Prior to that, I was teaching second grade at Yost Elementary, and I spent nine years at Yost teaching between first and second grade.

Education: I attended Ball State University for my undergraduate and graduate degrees. 

Favorite Movie: I am a Star Wars fan, the whole franchise. But if I had to pick, my ultimate Star Wars movie would be Return of the Jedi.

Favorite Sports Team: I love the Chicago Cubs and the Green Bay Packers.

Advice for students: To never give up. Realize that you aren’t going to be good at everything, and it just takes time. I always try to encourage students to never give up.

Position at CHS: I am one of the assistant principals. I am in charge of dual credit, the CTE program, and freshman TEAM. I have the last end of the alphabet as well. 

Ms. Jelenski 

Before Chesterton High School:  Before coming to CHS, I taught at both Morgan Township High School and Kouts Middle School teaching science classes. 

Favorite movie:  Beetlejuice (1988)

Favorite sport: My favorite sport is dance! I grew up competitively dancing at a local studio, as well as danced on my high school dance team & college dance team. I currently still teach a wide variety of dance classes at a dance studio called Prestige Arts in Valparaiso. 

Studied:  I studied at Valparaiso University. I have a Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health & Human Biology. I also got my teaching certification through VU’s Transition to Teaching program. 

Advice for students: Always try your best, every day. However, what your “best” is can be different every day, and that’s okay. Enjoy high school as much as you can; get involved, find people you care about and people who care about you. Try your best to set yourself up for the future version of you. You are going to change in so many ways, and that’s okay too! You don’t have to have a set idea at this current moment of what you want to do when you graduate high school; do what makes you happy, and you’ll figure it out. Enjoy the little things, and don’t rush growing up! Be kind, stand for what you believe in, and take care of yourself both mentally and physically. Most importantly, HAVE FUN with everything you do, and don’t take anything too seriously!!

Position at CHS: At CHS, I am in charge of teaching science Project Lead the Way classes. The two PLTW classes I teach are Principles of Biomedical Sciences, and Human Body Systems. I also teach Biology 1. Along with that, I just started coaching JV Cheer. 

Ms. Gyure

Before Chesterton High School: I worked for Duneland School corporation for a long time. Before I was working here this year, the last two years I was at the middle school as their instructional coach and before that I was at the high school teaching math for seven years.

Favorite movie: Gone Girl

Favorite sport: My favorite sport is probably swimming because I swam in high school. 

Studied: I went to Purdue Calumet

Advice for students: Work hard your freshman year because it goes a lot faster than you think it will. 

Position at CHS: I am the instructional coach 

Ms. Kirchner

Before Chesterton High School: I worked at Chesterton Middle School for 14 years and Liberty Intermediate for two years.

Favorite movie: A Star is Born

Favorite sport: To participate in – it is running. I just applied to run the Boston Marathon in April.  

To watch – football. I am a huge Buffalo Bills fan (even after Monday night’s game).

Studied: Purdue University – West Lafayette

Advice for students: Figure out what interests you the most and pursue that avenue. Get involved in activities available at school, you will meet people that share that interest and make you feel more connected to your school. Respect yourself and others. Work hard and when you need help, ask. 

Position at CHS: Nurse- there are two of us in the clinic.The other is Mrs. Simons.

Mr. Potter 

Before CHS: I taught geography, history and economics in Greenfield, IN for 7 years following my time at IU. I also graduated from CHS in 2011!

Education:Iu Bloomington 

Favorite Movie:My favorite movie is the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy! 

Favorite Sports Team:My favorite sports team is sadly the Chicago White Sox

 Advice for Students: My biggest piece of advice is to put in the work every single day no matter what. Bosses/college professors number one complaint about workers is inconsistency and a lack of effort! 

What is your position going to be at CHS: I teach Social Studies, run the Gold Standard Club and help coach Speech/Debate

Mr. Soller

Before CHS: I was active duty in the US Navy for 20 years. While I was active duty I served in various capacities such as: Kennel Master at Naval Station Norfolk, Va (I was an explosive and narcotic dog trainer), the Command Senior Enlisted Advisor for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and an Assessment and Evaluation Specialist at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).  

Education:My Master’s degree in English is from Tiffin University and my Doctorate in Education is from Capella University.

Favorite Movie: Not surprisingly, my favorite movie is Band of Brothers. It documents the heroic journey of Easy Company during WWII.

Favorite Sports Team: The Cubs will always be my favorite. 

Advice for Students: I have two bits of advice for students.

– Realize that not knowing what you want is okay. What you want right now may not be what you want later. Life is about the journey, not the destination.

– Talk to different people, read different books, watch foreign movies, and do not be afraid to question what you “think” you know. The greatest adventures in life may be hidden in a place completely foreign to you. Do not be afraid to go there. You will be surprised at how a visit to a new place or one conversation with a new person can change you.   

What is your position going to be at CHS: I teach English here at CHS. 

-English 9

-World Literature II

-Advanced Composition

Mr. Lamabersie 

Before CHS: I was a licensed general contractor. 

Education: I went to college at Purdue North Central, and Purdue Calumet, I did not finish. 

Favorite Movie: Indiana Jones.

Favorite Sports Team: The Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Advice for Students: No matter what, they need to continue to work hard in life, continue to work hard out of high school. 

What is your position going to be at CHS: I am an Industrial technology instructor, 2 different levels. Principles of Construction, and general Carpentry. 

Mr. Bogner

Experience at CHS so far:  So far, the kids and staff have been amazing, and I’m very happy to be here.

How long in the educational field?: This is my 28th year of teaching.

Fondest teaching memory:  Oh boy, I’ve got a lot of them. Single-handed one? Probably teaching one of my Algebra I kids when they finally learned how to factor, and they were so excited about it.

Favorite movie: Oh, probably Major League

Is the subject you’re teaching currently your favorite?:  No, Algebra II is probably one of my favorites.

One unique thing about you: That I’m probably one of the funniest people you’ll ever meet.

Mr. Estridge

Experience at CHS so far: So far I feel at home, I like the people I work with, I love the students, I love the setup. I was a little on the fence about coming here because I was well-established at (inaudible), where I came from, so it was weird to start over, but I am very happy that I did.

How long in the educational field?: This is my 13th year.

Fondest teaching memory: I mean, anytime I can take a kid that will say “I hate math” or “I hate English” and get them to a point where they’re proficient and passing, it’s amazing.

Favorite movie: Casino, that’s a great movie.

Is the subject you’re teaching currently your favorite?: I like teaching math; I’m not teaching math this year, but I’m licensed in social studies and I like Social Studies.

One unique thing about you: I like to intertwine humor into my lessons, I’m a little more energetic than I probably should be, but I think that that helps resonate with kids and it helps get kids somewhat interested in math and most kids hate math, most kids hate social studies, but if you kind of try to break that barrier then good things happen. I love self-deprecating humor; I love making fun of myself.

Mr. Burke

Experience at CHS so far: I’m really really liking it here! It’s very strange because I spent 10 years at Westchester Intermediate School which is so much smaller than this. But I really like this building, I like all the teachers I’ve met so far and it’s been cool getting to see a bunch of former students.

How long in the educational field?: This is my 18th year, 10 of them are in Duneland.

Fondest teaching memory: I guess that my fondest teaching memory here in Duneland was teaching a direct reading class, so it had less than 10 kids in it, and getting a few kids in there that for the first time lives ever enjoyed reading a book. So that was pretty cool.

Favorite movie: That’s a tough one. Let’s say The Never-Ending Story.

Is the subject you’re teaching currently your favorite?: hat’s a very complicated answer. So this is the first time in my life I’m not teaching in a classroom so I’m the Special Education Coordinator over here so I help oversee all 13 teachers who are special ed teachers here and all of the kids who have IEPs in the school, so I don’t get to teach a subject anymore, which is strange. My favorite subject to always teach is Reading and Language Arts, but I’ve taught a lot of different subjects.

One unique thing about you: I guess most people don’t know that I know how to knit and that’s sort of an unusual thing for like I guess a guy to do. And another thing is that a lot of people think I’m an extrovert but I’m an introvert.