Spartans Welcome New Renaissance Man
Oftentimes, many articles written in school newspapers focus solely on the students and their accomplishments. Undoubtedly, teachers should be included as well when reporting on the happenings of our school, because without our teachers, our school wouldn’t be what it is today.
As of this year, OLCHS has gained a new teacher, Mr. Kallenborn, who currently teaches College Writing II and English I. Before teaching here, he taught at Lockport High School, and more recently, Shepard High School. Now, at OLCHS, Kallenborn is not only a teacher but the department chair for art as well. When asked if it is hard to balance this workload, he says that although it can be time-consuming, he believes that working with the different departments gives him a more well-rounded view of the school. Kallenborn also says, “Helping people has always been one of my strengths, and when you teach, you get to spend time with the subjects that you love, so it’s a win/win!”
Although Kallenborn is invested in his work here at OLCHS, he also has a lot of interests in his personal life. He enjoys cooking, traveling, games, films, building models, and reading graphic novels. “My wife says that when you don’t have kids, you turn into one. Based on our hobbies, I agree!” he jokes. He used to play Dungeons and Dragons and is now the advisor of our school’s Tabletop Club. He plans on introducing other games to the club as well.
Besides having those interests, Kallenborn also enjoys playing music. Aside from his iconic performance in the talent show with Mr. Denton, he has been a part of three different music groups. His “instrument of choice” is a microphone, which is understandable considering he was the lead singer of a rock band, MC in an original hip-hop group, and MC in a hip-hop cover band. Kallenborn also enjoys listening to all genres of music, excluding country.
Kallenborn is also planning to teach a Comics Creation course next year here at OLCHS, along with continuing to teach English I and College Writing II. Kathryn Fragapane, one of his freshman students in English I exclaims, “He is a great teacher. When you enter his class it is just full of happy and positive vibes. He devotes so much time to his students and pushes us to work harder and accomplish our goals. He’s done so much to get to where he is now and it has really paid off!”
