For the Tomahawk Leader
TOMAHAWK – The School District of Tomahawk recently introduced more than 20 new educators ahead of the start of the 2024-25 school year.
Emily Bublitz
Position: 3rd Grade Teacher
Hometown: Crivitz, Wis.
Education: Wisconsin Lutheran College: Bachelor of Arts, Elementary Education and Natural Science Education
Interests/Hobbies: Music! I play guitar and piano, as well as other instruments. In the summer, I love swimming and kayaking; in the winter, my family loves to go snowmobiling! I also enjoy knitting, jigsaw puzzles and reading books.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I am very excited to get to know more about the community of Tomahawk and get back into the Northwoods! I am also excited to get to know my students this year, as well as the staff in the district.
Annabelle Dick
Position: Middle School and High School Art Teacher
Hometown: Marshfield, Wis.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Art Education from University of Wisconsin-Stout
Interests/Hobbies: I love going on trips, camping, skiing and engaging in water activities like boating and paddle boarding. I also enjoy playing board and card games, dancing and spending quality time with friends and family.
What are you most excited about in your new role? As a first-year teacher, I’m excited to create a classroom environment that encourages creativity and acceptance. I also plan to introduce diverse cultures, artists, styles and mediums to broaden students’ perspectives and nurture a greater appreciation for different viewpoints.
Morgan Ernst
Position: 2nd Grade Teacher
Hometown: Tomahawk
Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Interests/Hobbies: I love spending time with my family and friends! I enjoy going to coffee shops, reading and traveling!
What are you most excited about in your new role? I am so excited to be back in my home district and make a difference in my students lives!
Hannah Fisher
Position: 3rd Grade Teacher
Hometown: Bird Island, Minn.
Education: UW-Whitewater
Family: Fiancé
Interests/Hobbies: My hobbies are reading, playing video games and fishing. I have a very large collection of books and also love plants!
What are you most excited about in your new role? I am so excited for this new opportunity at a different school district! I am also excited to work with a great team of professionals and grow as an educator.
Jerett Flynn
Position: High School Technology Education Teacher
Hometown: Tomahawk
Education: B.S. in Technology Education at UW-Stout
Interests/Hobbies: I enjoy fishing, hunting, all sports, hiking, skiing and working on projects.
What are you most excited about in your new role? To be giving back to my hometown community that helped me be who I am today.
Renee Heinrich
Position: 3rd Grade Teacher
Hometown: Wausau, Wis.
Education: UW-Eau Claire
Family: Husband Steve and four adult children: Paige (29), Callie (27), Sarah (24), and Matt (22).
Interests/Hobbies: Reading, creating activities for students.
What are you most excited about in your new role? Meeting amazing people in Tomahawk, being able to make a difference in a new city and to be part of an amazing team!
Cayla Kerschbaum
Position: High School Science Teacher
Hometown: Rhinelander, Wis.
Education: UW-Superior
Family: I’m married to my high school sweetheart, Henry! We are blessed right now with the best dog in the world, Kida.
Interests/Hobbies: I’m a competitive water skier in the summer, and during the winter I’m a coach for Rhinelander’s high school/middle school alpine ski team. I grew up water skiing all summer long and alpine skiing all winter long. I love cooking and baking, especially baking sourdough goodies. I’ve grown a new passion for horses and love to trail ride.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I am most excited to be a positive light in students’ lives. The world is crazy, and growing up is hard. I just want to make the world a better place and schools an even better place.
Heather Kurth
Position: High School Special Education Teacher
Hometown: Oshkosh, Wis.
Education: Bemidji State University and University of Phoenix Las Vegas Campus
Family: Husband: Paul; children: Amalie, Samuel, Greta
Interests/Hobbies: Spending quality time with family and friends. I enjoy being outside on the water. My favorite activity…laughing.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I am thrilled to get back into the classroom after substitute teaching in the district for the past nine years. I have spent the last 20-plus years raising three children, two of whom are now young adults, with the third quickly following behind. While being a guest teacher in the classrooms of these amazing educators, I found myself longing to have students and a classroom to call my own. It is my passion and desire to support and educate students in the community that I so love.
Justin Lauber
Position: High School Associate Principal
Hometown: Campbellsport, Wis.
Education: I earned my Bachelor’s degree from UW -Stevens Point and my Master’s from UW-River Falls.
Interests/Hobbies: I enjoy outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, camping and hiking. Additionally, I’m a fan of college sports and spend time watching football, wrestling and baseball.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I’m most excited about the opportunity to work closely with students and staff. I’m also looking forward to getting to know the community better and building connections.
Liz Lavaque
Position: Middle School/High School Band Teacher
Hometown: Carol Stream, Ill.
Education: I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from UW-Stevens Point in 2023.
Family: I grew up living with two of my grandparents, my mom Mary and younger brother Troy. I currently live in Wausau with my fiancé and our cat, Merlin.
Interests/Hobbies: In my free time I enjoy all sorts of crafting, with painting, sewing and knitting as the ones I do most often. I really love spending time in the outdoors with my family, whether it be in northern Wisconsin or in Michigan, where my family lives now.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I am super excited to meet all of my students and to really grow the connection between the band program and our community.
Gina Letempt
Position: 1st Grade Teacher
Hometown: Wheaton, Ill.
Education: Northeastern Illinois University
Family: Husband, daughter, and two cats.
Interests/Hobbies: When I’m not working, I love to fish and be with my family. Some other hobbies and interests include badminton, pickleball, volleyball, swimming, cheerleading, dance, playing the piano, listening to music, being outdoors, baking and self-care time when needed!
What are you most excited about in your new role? There are so many things that I am excited about. First, getting to know each and every one of my students, my team, the overall community and starting off a new school year in a special place I call home.
Jeff Letempt
Position: 5th Grade Teacher
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
Education: Bachelor’s of Arts in Social Science (National Louis University); Master’s of Elementary Education (Northeastern Illinois University).
Family: Wife and daughter
Interests/Hobbies: Golf, fishing with my wife and daughter, watching the Bears dominate this year. Spending time with friends and family.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I’m most excited about join the wonderful community of Tomahawk. From the first time I visited 13 years ago with my now wife, I felt like I was home. I’m truly excited for my students and their families to come on this journey of exploration and wonder and excitement. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing a student understand a concept they thought was hard or discovering a new passion for a subject that they never thought they would like. I’m very excited and privileged to now call Tomahawk home. I’m looking forward to building relationships with this amazing community. Go Hatchets!
Katie Mackin
Position: 4th Grade Teacher
Hometown: Tomahawk
Education: UW-Stevens Point
Family: My husband Evan is my best friend, and we have two of the best kids, Mia (4) and Liam (2). We also have two dogs, Rhett and Daisy, and 19 chickens!
Interests/Hobbies: I love cooking, reading, camping and running! I just ran my first half marathon!
What are you most excited about in your new role? I can’t wait to meet my kids, make my classroom cozy and show them all the fun things I have planned this year!
Ava Magee
Position: Elementary School Special Education Teacher
Hometown: Oregon, Wis.
Education: Bachelor’s degree from UWSP elementary and special education
Interests/Hobbies: Coaching, lifting, swimming, anything outdoors
What are you most excited about in your new role? Specializing education for students who learn differently and building relationships with my students.
Eric Neve
Position: High School Math Teacher
Hometown: Pittsville, Wis.
Education: UW-Stevens Point
Family: I am the middle child with two brothers. Education runs in my family, since my parents both work in the education field.
Interests/Hobbies: I love all things sports and family-related. During the fall, you’ll find me watching football and baseball, then in the winter it’ll be football and basketball.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I am excited to get to know the students and watch them grow throughout their high school career.
Samantha Perkins
Position: Elementary School Guidance Counselor
Hometown: Stevens Point
Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Communication from UW-Stevens Point; Master’s Degree in School Counseling from UW-Superior.
Family: Fur baby (dog) – Rosie
Interests/Hobbies: Painting, crafts, and watching crime movies/TV shows, getting more into reading.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I am excited to meet new faces and start my first year as a school counselor. The new area is just an added bonus. Tomahawk is beautiful, and I love kayaking, along with being outdoors.
Katie Pritzl
Position: High School ELA Teacher
Hometown: Park Falls
Education: UW Stevens Point
Interests/Hobbies: I very much enjoy reading and writing as my main hobbies, along with being out in nature, whether that takes the form of hiking, swimming, gardening, going for walks, camping, biking, hammocking and/or traveling the world. When I am not outside, you can find me nestled at home with a good book surrounded by my pets.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I look forward to being able to build a supportive classroom community where students feel valued and respected, along with exploring literature that reflects diverse cultures and experiences that can broaden students’ horizons and deepen their empathy and understanding for others.
Matt Schmidt
Position: Elementary School Special Education Teacher
Hometown: Birnamwood, Wis.
Education: UW-Oshkosh
Family: A son and a daughter
Interests/Hobbies: Anything outdoors
What are you most excited about in your new role? Working with a new group of students and getting to know my coworkers.
Karolyn Schrammel
Position: Middle School Special Education Teacher
Hometown: Tomahawk
Education: BS in Horticulture from Texas Tech University; K-12 Cross Categorical Special Education Teaching License from CESA 9’s Excellence in Teaching Program.
Family: My husband, Steve, and I have three amazing kids (Joseph, 7; Natalie, 5; and Emilia, 3) and a dog named Rizzo.
Interests/Hobbies: I love spending time with my whole family. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing or where we are – as long as we’re together, it will be a blast! Being outdoors, especially on the lake, is my happy place.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I’m super pumped to be back at TSD! I’m really looking forward to meeting new students and having the opportunity to help them grow.
Marissa Schumacher
Position: Middle School Special Education Teacher
Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.
Education: I earned my Bachelor’s degree from Butler University and Master’s degree from Minnesota State University-Moorhead.
Family: I have three sons, Toby, Eli and Zach.
Interests/Hobbies: We enjoy the outdoors by camping, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, traveling, exploring, fishing and hunting. In my free time I sew, quilt and scrapbook.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I am excited about working with a new group of teachers, staff and students.
Scott Schumann
Position: Middle School/High School Spanish Teacher
Hometown: Cudahy, Wis.
Education: BA/MA
Family: Wife; daughter, 22, goes to University of Alabama; son, 20, plays baseball at MATC Milwaukee.
Interests/Hobbies: Fishing, playing euchre, watching Brewers, Packers, and Badgers, reffing volleyball (retired from coaching).
What are you most excited about in your new role? New area, new kids/challenge of not knowing my students/prior knowledge before I start my lessons.
Richelle Swan
Position: 5th Grade Teacher
Hometown: Tomahawk
Education: UW-Whitewater
Interests/Hobbies: I enjoy traveling, reading, playing volleyball and doing water sports. I also love to spend time with my family and friends.
What are you most excited about in your new role? I am thrilled to be back in my hometown and have the opportunity to give back to the school district that inspired me to be a teacher.