Boonville Elementary School has welcomed a new assistant principal to its staff, Lavonne Fortner, who said she really loves her job.

A Millers Creek native from Wilkes County, she and her husband, Jamie, and daughter, Meredith, live in Hamptonville. Her daughter attends Boonville Elementary also which she loves. Her husband works for Lydall, is studying to be a physical education teacher and is a football coach at Starmount High School.

“I love it because you get to see every little thing that they do and be a part of their classroom,” she said, laughing. Why did she go into education?

“I love children,” she explained. “I love the elementary level because it’s exciting to see a child when they learn and when they read that first book and the look on their face when they get the concept. There’s just so much excitement in them when they come to school. They love their teachers. They think the world of their teachers.

“It’s an exciting environment because the kids are so enthusiastic. There’s a lot of energy,” Fortner said.

With a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Appalachian State University in Boone, she also has a master’s degree in reading and an add-on licensure from Lenoir-Rhyne in Academically and Intellectually Gifted, plus a second add-in licensure from ASU in school administration.

She began teaching at Jonesville Elementary School, and she taught there six years. For seven years she taught at C.B. Eller Elementary School in Wilkes County, and she has been assistant principal at East Bend and Courtney Elementary Schools.

Other new staff members include Yancy Moose, a new teacher in an exceptional children’s classroom. She graduated from Starmount High School in 2005 and was an athlete in three sports there. She studied at ASU where she played softball for four years.

She taught as a teaching resource math and coaching employee, and she coached JV softball at Davie High School her first year.

Wendy Cooke is a teacher assistant at Boonville this year, having worked there for several years before spending time at home as a mother to her daughter, Emma. She has three children, Austin, 18, Colby, 16, and Emma, seven. Her pet is Pearl, a bird which was found at the school by Patty Speer six years ago.

Another new staff member is Kala Allen, who is a classroom teacher. She graduated from Starmount High School and East Carolina University. She earned a degree in elementary education at ECU and a certification in reading.

Principal Annette Johnson is excited about Family Movie Night coming Friday, Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m. The movie will begin at 7 p.m. This presentation will be of “The Karate Kid” with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. The event will be held in the multi-purpose room. The film is free. Bring blankets and enjoy the pizza, nachos, popcorn, candy, drinks and souvenirs for purchase.

“I can’t believe what a great first month of school we have had at Boonville School,” Johnson said in The Knightly News school newsletter.

She reported that she saw only one person crying, and she thought it was a mother. Student birthdays are celebrated the third Wednesday of the month. Special occasions are celebrated with a key chain and laminated dog tag if a pupil gets an academic achievement or an honor roll citation.

The end of the first nine weeks will be Oct. 27, and Oct. 29 will be a teacher workday. School decals are on sale for $5. Volunteers are still needed. Grandparents Day is coming soon near the end of October.

September Students of the Month have been announced, and they include Landon Druck, Harley Reynolds, Ryan Kimmer, Jacob Campbell, Daken Whitaker, Evelyn Jimenez, Nathaniel Parker, Carson Casstevens, Morgan Lawson, Conner Murphy, Ethan Sizemore, Carla Partida, Brooke Brandon, Sterlin Holbrook, Emily Parker, Isaiah Martinez, Jacob Craver, Victoria Partida, Katlyn Poindexter, Curtis Wilkins, Lorena Bautista, Christian Orozco, Kari Davis, Gabby Spencer, Cassidy Transou, Cassidy Transou, Zach Hicks, Juleigh Shore, Dakota Casstevens, Alyssa Byrd, Jonathan Pineda, Mary Nicholas, Davin Guyer, Grant Hodges, Cameron Smitherman, Dorsey Smith, Sydney Parker, Laura Dimmette, Terrell McIlwain, Julie Atkinson, Britt Ashley, Scott Brock and Latasha Parsons.