Kris Hinrichs:
CLASS OF 1975
Midwest City High SchoolClass of 1975
Midwest city, OK
Oklahoma State University - EducationClass of 1979
Stillwater, OK
Monroney Junior High SchoolClass of 1972
Midwest city, OK
Ridgecrest Elementary SchoolClass of 1969
Midwest city, OK
Kris's Story
Life
Greetings!
After retiring from 37+ years of teaching in OK, TX, and WV in July of 2017, I enjoyed that phase of retirement for about 90 days before accepting a full time teaching position at the elementary/middle school nearest my home in Ohio as an intervention specialist. I am quite happy working with students and a professional faculty and staff every day. In June of 2022, after teaching 5 years in Ohio, I just renewed my Ohio teaching license through 2027. I have the sheer joy and privilege of working with enthusiastic third and fourth graders. They’re so much fun to teach!
My oldest son moved his family from Buffalo, NY, to Jacksonville, FL, in April of 2020. He was experiencing shortages of paper goods and diapers, so my friend and I loaded up the truck from top to bottom and front to back with enough supplies to last him quite a while. Traffic was almost nonexistent until we hit Georgia. We had a good turnaround trip and went back again the following year.
My youngest son also changed jobs amping up his salary and is happily able to work from home in the Portland, Maine area. His adorable, intelligent children are 7 and 3. They were able to make a trip to Disney recently and met up with my other son and his family for a memorable vacation.
I am loving my dog, Tex. He is a great companion for me still, after 13 years. He is a big fan of the water and has learned to go tubing on the Ohio River as well as jet-skiing.
When I’m not teaching school full time, I tutor children after school, I also teach private piano lessons, and participate in a community band playing the clarinet. It’s so much fun!
I just celebrated my 34th anniversary living in my house in Ohio. We definitely have four distinct seasons here in the Ohio Valley and they’re all beautiful in their own right.
One hundred years ago, my own father came to America on a ship from Tromso, Norway through Ellis Island in New York with his parents, and his younger sister. He was three and a half years old and my aunt was 21 months old at the time.
My cousins hosted a big “Coming to America” family reunion for the Hansons in northern Minnesota this past July, 2022. It’s important to keep the family connections going.
If you haven't made out your bucket list, get started. Life is too short to sit around and let it pass you by. Wouldn't you rather "live the adventure" than read about it?
Make your own adventure!
I miss hearing from you.
Keep in touch and let me know how you are doing at your end of the world.
I would love to hear from you, really!
Make it a great day wherever you are!
Love to love you,
Kris =)
For those of you who don't know about the career side of me:
I have been teaching both middle and elementary school-aged students since 1979 to children with learning disabilities and/or mild/mental impairments. Currently I am an intervention specialist for 3rd and 4th graders in an elementary school with close to 420 students.
Right out of college (OK-State), I taught middle school science and math on the Gulf coast of Texas (Brazoria County) for eight and a half years. I have completed my 28th year of teaching in (Tyler County) West Virginia K-6 elementary/6-7-8 middle school right here in the Ohio Valley, where I now reside next to the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachians. I just completed 5 years teaching near my home in (Monroe County) Ohio now, and plan to teach five more years as long as I stay in good health. If you love your job, you should keep doing it and keep your joy.
Longer than I have been teaching school, I have been playing the piano professionally (OK, TX, OH, WV, VA. FL) and continue to do so when I am not teaching school. I have worked for two churches professionally in Ohio for 11 years, & West Virgina for 23 years. I also enjoy teaching piano lessons to people who really want to learn the art of piano playing. I have written 17 songs with 3 more in the works, & I am looking to publish them in the near future. I am also looking to record some of them as well.
I hope you have been in good health and are at the happiest place you can be in your life. All the best to you and yours from me in the Ohio Valley.
I hope this has been a memorable year for you so far!
For me, the coming year has a thousand great plans in store.
Keep in touch!
Make it a great day wherever you a...Expand for more
re!
Love to love you,
Kris =)
School
The elementary school teachers who influenced and inspired me most were at Ridgecrest were: Miss Sankey, Mrs. Hibbitts, Mrs. Faust, Mrs. Crooks (remember her Peanut Butter- Corn Flake Cookies?), Mrs. Juanita Enix, Mr. E. Paul Enix, and Mr. Dave Rhoades. Mr. George Lowe was our school principal and raised three daughters.
The junior high teachers from Monroney who inspired me most were Mr. Foster (Geography), Mr. Reuben Gillezeau (Spanish), Mr. Guy Burkhart (Band), Mr. Reed (Band), Mrs. Harvey(Math), Mr. Tidwell (Oklahoma History).
The high school teachers from MCHS who inspired me the most were my favorite band director, Mr. E. Paul Enix; my geography teacher, Mr. Welton; my Algebra 2 teacher, Mr. Charles "Chuck" Imes; my typing teacher, Mrs. Talley; my Biology 2 teacher, Mr. Ambler; and my drama teacher, Mr. Carter.
In college, at OK-State, Professor "Prof" Montemurro, Hiram H. Henry (may he rest in peace), and Deanna Dalrymple were positive and great musical influences on my clarinet and piano "career". I did start out as a piano major, but changed to special education when I pursued Music Therapy at the masters level. (On the side, I teach private piano lessons and play electric keyboard or piano for church services each week.)
Along with my college professors, teachers throughout my formal education, and private piano teacher, Leon Whitesell, made learning fun and worthwhile. Plus, I learned a lot about life's lessons along the way.
In fact, I am still learning about life's lessons to this very day.
If I could do it all over again, I would do some of it differently.
I would be more serious about my school work until I was through with my collegiate studies. Of course I would still do all the crazy and fun stuff we did growing up and much more. Life's too short to miss out on all the fun! You've got to grab the brass ring when it comes around because you may not get a second chance. I would keep the same friends because, to me, my friendships with my friends are for life.
If I could do it over again, I would be more mindful of my health (inside and out), stay in better physical shape, make more healthy food choices, and live life to the fullest.
College
Oklahoma State University turned out to be the best fit for me.
I loved being a clarinetist and pianist (electric piano) in the Oklahoma State University Cowboy Marching Band, a pianist in the jazz band, as well as a clarinetist/ concert pianist in the concert band, even though I did not major in music all four years. My favorite memories were when we went on long band trips we took out of state, getting to know all the band members we spent so much time with in practices and performances, most of the music we learned, the seemingly endless field shows for the football games we memorized, every football game we participated in (both home and away), the pep rallies and parades we participated in enthusiastically, the countless concerts we performed, and all the hours we put in tied us uniquely together like a strange, but fun family.
It was also fun to have many familiar friends from MCHS attending OSU at the same time I was there. The main reason is because they were such a good support system for me; a new freshman living away from home for the first time. I am forever an OSU Cowboy and proud of it! I also happily made lifelong friends in college. I will always hold those friendships close to my heart, always.
I will miss one of my favorite band directors, Hiram H. Henry, who passed away October 2, 2008, at the age of 90. He was a gentle soul who inspired us to love music even more than we thought we could.
He made a positive difference in the lives of many and will be greatly missed.
If you think about it, music is one of the most powerful forces in our lives.
To hear a familiar song can take you back to a time and place,
stir up emotions that you thought were buried, and put you back in time like no other force in the world.
It can help you recall some great memories, or sad ones, lift your mood,
put a spring in your step, keep you humming...Music-it's a GOOD thing!
Workplace
What can I say?
School's my life!
I am in the kid business to promote children and guide them on a path for success both in their lives and in their future careers. I help instill in them good moral values while arming them with the tools they need to potentially be a huge success in life. Kids-gotta love 'em!
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