After the Bell With CCHS Staffulty Member Abigail Kruse
Have you ever wondered what teachers and school staff do when they are not at school? We decided to find out!
This is the 6th in a series of stories about some of Central Catholic’s staffulty members and what they like to do after the bell rings at the end of the day. Some have surprising hobbies, others have creative talents. With this series, we hope to shine a spotlight on the special people who work with our students every day!
Animal Ambassador
This is Abby’s 2nd year teaching at Central Catholic. She teaches Honors Spanish 1, Spanish 2, and a Beginning Piano class. She is also moderator for the Irish Knit & Crochet Club, which is new this year, and she assists with the Drama Club. But once Abby mentioned to students and colleagues that she has 5 pet snakes, she quickly earned her reputation as the “snake lady” at CCHS.
“I've always thought reptiles were cool, but I never considered having them as pets until I escorted a 6th grade class to Camp Storer several years ago,” Abby explained. “I met one of their ambassador snakes, Monty Python, and I loved his gentle weight and curiosity. So now I have 2 corn snakes, Slinky and Popcorn. These belong to a species called colubrids, and they are native to Ohio. I also have 3 ball pythons, Noodlebop, S'mores, and Waffle. Native to west and central Africa, they are some of the smallest in the python family and common as pets around the world. This is because they are docile, curious, long-lived, and low-maintenance pets.”
Abby enjoys creating enrichment items for her snakes out of things that might be thrown away, and she said they especially enjoy cardboard tubes of all sizes. When it's warm enough, she takes them outside for walks or a yard safari so they can get some sunshine and fresh air.
“Last year I was able to bring in the ball pythons for students to meet, as they had been asking throughout the year, for a ‘challenge by choice’ lesson,” Abby said. “All students had the opportunity to look at the snakes and even touch them if they wished. They could come close or remain at their desk. For me, the real treat was helping colleagues to challenge fears they had held since childhood. After this exercise, some said the snakes were underwhelming and drier than they thought, and even boring! Since then, I've become known as the snake lady here at CCHS, and I've even shared tips and tricks with two students to locate their missing pet snakes.”
Abby attends many reptile expos where area vendors come to sell animals, both as pets and feeders. “My snakes eat frozen-thawed rodents,” she said. “It's not my favorite part, but they need to eat, and it's only once every two weeks.”
During the summer and at various events throughout the school year, such as weddings and the Lights Before Christmas, Abby works as an interpreter in the education department at the Toledo Zoo. She is stationed in the children's section - Nature's Neighborhood - or at the natural history museum next to it, and she tells guests about the exhibits. She and her coworkers educate informally through activities, animal meet and greets, skits, and natural conversation about the animals the zoo has, where they came from, and the history of the exhibit itself. While she often handles animals, most of her job is interacting with humans. She enjoys hearing guests of all ages sharing stories about how the zoo has changed from when they were kids, and all the different languages they speak.
“I also appreciate the ways I've been able to network with other professionals and share my passion for conservation,” Abby said. “Caring for the earth is extremely important to me. Here at Central Catholic, I recycle in my classroom and encourage students to reuse daily resources. A big dream of mine to fulfill during my time at CCHS is to install a native prairie space somewhere on our school grounds.”
One of Abby’s other interests is Irish dancing. During high school and college, she danced competitively and for fun. She is from a small town north of Dayton, and performing on St. Patrick's Day and in the annual Dayton Celtic Festival with the Celtic Academy of Irish Dance was exhilarating for her. She enjoyed competing as well, both individually and on teams called ceilis.
These days, she takes lessons when she can at Ardan Academy on Reynolds Road, and she volunteers to help with the Glass City Feis and Great Lakes Feis dance competitions each August. She would like to get back to competing someday.
Abby also has a personal message she would like to share. “As a teacher with ADHD and sensory processing disorder, I want to shine a light on ways I advocate for and accommodate myself at work,” she explained. “My classroom is organized in rainbow order, with each class assigned a color to use throughout the year in my procedures for collecting, grading, and returning student work. At pep rallies and games, you’ll see me wearing earplugs to block some of the noise so I can enjoy what’s going on. I clap by using sign language for applause because the motion helps me deal with the sound around me. To any students reading this, in particular: I want you to know it’s okay to make life a little easier for yourself.”
Previous Editions of “After the Bell”
Kim Bremer (August)
Ernie Lamb (September)
Logan Lorenzen (October)
Kylee Stewart (November)
Tyler Kleeberger (December)
