DESENS PLAYING A NEW TUNE AT B-H

    It is not often that a new certified teacher joins a staff in the middle of the school year, but that is just what happened at Britton-Hecla recently. Due to a resignation last fall, the administrators at B-H were forced to go in search of a new band and music teacher and  were fortunate enough to find just the right man in new teacher Justin Desens.
    Desens is an Aberdeen native and stuck around his hometown to attend college at Northern State University.  He completed his pre-student teaching experiences in Aberdeen and Groton, and then his formal student teaching down in Sioux Falls. He also spent time teaching private guitar lessons at Dakota Music Academy in Aberdeen. Desens finished his degree in K-12 Music Education just this past December. 
    At B-H, the new teacher will have a full slate of classes. He will be teaching fourth and fifth grade elementary music, sixth through eighth music appreciation, and the fifth through high school bands. 
    Taking over teaching in the middle of the school will present Desens with some unique challenges, which he acknowledges. “My main challenges have been starting over with rules and expectations with every class as well as learning names and forming those important personal connections with students,” Desens noted. “Thankfully I’ve already seen some progress in each class by learning about the students and reinforcing some expectations, so I believe these are the least of my worries.”
    As he looks forward to his future at B-H, Desens already has some notable goals in mind. “I’d like to improve the general experience for students here in any music class whether that’s general music or band,” the new teacher emphasized. “For the band side of things, I’d like to take each group to a higher skill level as well as bring them to more opportunities outside of Britton to perform and see how other schools and communities do band.” 
    Even outside of regular school and classroom obligations, Desens enjoys working with music students. During the summer, he works as a camp counselor at Rushmore Music Camp. “I love working with music students from all over South Dakota and surrounding states, as well as with my friends from NSU and other well-established music educators,” noted Desens. 
    When not staying busy with his music endeavors, Desens enjoys spending time with his fiancé Abbigayle and his six-month-old kitten Lucy.  He also enjoys building large, detailed Lego sets and said his apartment is decorated with many Lego flowers.