Retiring staff served district for 258 years

Marba Bertling
Fourth-Grade Teacher
Stony Creek Elementary School

Marba Bertling has been a teacher for Noblesville Schools and Stony Creek Elementary School for 12 years. Marba taught fifth grade the first year she was at Stony Creek and has taught fourth grade since. Her teaching experience also includes a year in second grade in Marion, Indiana, and 3 1/2 years in first grade in Goreville, Illinois.

Marba received her Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.
With her retirement from Noblesville Schools, Marba is returning to Illinois where she hopes to teach again or pursue her love for creative instruction, language, and writing.

"By far my best memories are those that involve the laughs and good times I enjoyed at Stony Creek with staff, students, and parents on a daily basis," she said.

What will she miss most now that she is retiring?
"Emotionally, my surrogate family at Stony Creek. Physically, the new desk I waited eleven years for and the awesome technology to which I have access that I fear will not be replicated anywhere else!"



Sally Borse
FOCUS Teacher
Stony Creek Elementary School

Sally Borse has taught in Noblesville Schools for 14 years. She teaches second, third, and fourth-grade FOCUS students at Stony Creek Elementary School. Prior to teaching FOCUS, she was the second-grade honors and PACE teacher at North and Hinkle Creek. She previously taught in Warren Township in Indianapolis.

"I have enjoyed my years with Noblesville because I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most creative teachers it has been my privilege to know. I especially liked being given the freedom and encouragement to try new things. I loved the mock trials and using Judge Hughes's courtroom. I always looked forward to Twinkle Trek each year," Sally said.

"I will miss watching the children learn to become problem solvers and creative thinkers. I have loved watching them grow and stretch for new horizons."

Sally is planning to continue in the education field by working with Indiana University. She has been developing computer modules to help teachers learn how to use technology in their classrooms.

"I am excited about this because it gives me the opportunity to give back to the profession I have loved for the past 20 years. I hope to travel and see our wonderful world. I plan to stay connected with Noblesville by continuing to help with the Stony Creek NCA process. My retirement will allow me to spend more time with my family too."

Sally extends her thanks to Noblesville Schools and the community for allowing her the opportunity to work with some of the brightest and most creative children around.

"This has truly been a wonderful highlight for my teaching career," she said.



Jim Bray
English Teacher
Noblesville High School

Jim Bray has taught school for 30 years, 28 of those at Noblesville High School. He taught for South Newton Schools for two years before returning to his hometown of Noblesville in 1973. He has taught acting, creative writing, etymology, philosophy, senior composition, research/grammar, senior honors English, and Chinese.

He was named Indiana State University High School Teacher of the Year in 1994. The NHS women's tennis coach from 1980-1995, he was named Conference Coach of the Year in 1994.

Jim was the founding president of the Indiana Chinese Language Association of Secondary Schools. He has been involved with the Hamilton County Theatre Association as a director and actor since 1974. He served two terms as president of the Indiana Tennis Coaches Association and two terms as Indiana president of the United States Professional Tennis Association. He also has served as chairman of the City of Noblesville's Benchmarking Stewardship Steering Committee.

A 1967 graduate of Noblesville High School, Jim started college at DePauw University. He attended the American University of Beirut for a year, and was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from DePauw in 1971. He received his Master of Arts degree from Ball State University in 1978. He studied with the East Asian Summer Language Institute at Indiana University in 1985 and 1987-88.

Jim will be moving this summer to Kapa'a on the island of Kaua'i in Hawai'i where he will be managing editor of a four-magazine group of H&S Publishing Company of Kapa'a. He and his wife Diane were married on 01/01/01 on Kauai.



Sheila Casey
Third-Grade Teacher
North Elementary School
Sheila Casey joined the Noblesville teaching staff 10 years ago. She taught a fifth-grade class at Hazel Dell Elementary School during a teacher's maternity leave and then was hired at North. She has taught both third grade and fourth grade, the last four years as a looping teacher.

Sheila received her Bachelor of Arts degree in science from Alverno College and her Masters Degree in elementary education from Indiana University at Kokomo.

Some of Sheila's best memories of teaching in Noblesville include developing and implementing the Camp Macattack program, working with the fourth-grade teachers at North, and having the opportunity to take her class to Corydon. Those memories also include taking 100-plus students, with the guidance of Karen Goldstein, to the Space Camp Academy in Alabama, and being a looping teacher and enjoying the advantages of working with the same students and parents for two years.

With retirement, Sheila will be returning to Wisconsin to be close to family. She plans to travel, visit her family, and golf. She hopes to continue to work with children.

"Without a doubt, I will miss working with the staff and children of North Elementary," Sheila said. "The collaboration and teamwork found at our school has made this experience for me rewarding both personally and professionally."



Jackie Davis
Cafeteria
Stony Creek Elementary School

Jackie Davis has been with Noblesville Schools for 21 years. She started her career as a school food service worker in 1971 for Westfield Washington Schools. She joined the cafeteria staff at Noblesville High School in 1980 and worked for NHS until the new high school was built. When the high school moved from 17th Street to Cumberland Road, she stayed at the 17th Street building and worked for Noblesville Middle School for three years. For the last two years, Jackie has worked at Stony Creek.

Jackie and her husband have three sons and six grandchildren who she is looking forward to spending time with during her retirement years.



Edie Griffin
Second-Grade Teacher
Stony Creek Elementary School

Edie Griffin's career in education started in Seattle, Washington. She taught first grade in Seattle for one year.

"After one year, we moved back to Indiana and I was offered a position as a third-grade teacher at Second Ward Elementary. I took the position for one year and then stayed home to be a full-time wife and mother until my children were in school."

Edie returned to teaching in 1969 when Stony Creek was one year old.

"It has been a blessing to teach second grade here these past 32 years. What a privilege to have had a small part in each child's learning experience," she said. "I loved the excitement most children have about learning. I felt pleasure in seeing children learn skills with which they have been struggling. It has been wonderful to see the growth made by each child in nine month's time. It is always a joy to have students come back to visit me and to share their favorite experiences in second grade. It has been a particular pleasure this year to have had two children of past students."

Edie finds special joy teaching with a past student or a former student teacher. "I have had the privilege of teaching under the leadership of three great principals and teaching with my four best friends for many of these years. They have taught me so much. I cherish each relationship."

Edie received her Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Indiana Central College and her Masters degree from Indiana University.

With retirement, Edie and her husband are looking forward to traveling, spending more time with their twelve grandchildren, working more for their church, not getting up every morning at 5:30, and taking trips on their bicycles.

"God has truly blessed me through the experiences he has given me as a teacher for Noblesville Schools," she said.



Juanita Harger
Seventh-Grade Counselor
Noblesville Middle School

Juanita Harger has taught in Noblesville for a total of 20 years. She was a student teacher at Noblesville High School and then started her teaching career at New Whiteland Junior High School. After a semester in New Whiteland, she returned to NHS and taught English for three years. She "retired" from teaching for about five years when her daughters were born in 1970 and 1971, but returned in 1974 to teach English and composition part-time for two years. She again took time off from her career, but returned to Noblesville Schools in 1985 as a sixth-grade (and later a seventh-grade) counselor. When the middle school moved to 300 North 17th Street, it was the fourth time Juanita had taught there.

Juanita received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Indiana University, her Master of Arts degree in English from Ball State University, and her counseling certification from Butler University.

With her days as a school counselor over, she says she will most miss the people - the students, the parents, and the faculty - and the shared joys of everyone working toward common goals.

Her best memories are of friendships developed with faculty, the support and guidance that she has had an opportunity to provide, and the growth and learning she has witnessed students achieving both personally and academically.

Her plans for retirement? "Walk more beaches and read more books. Beyond that, I am not making a commitment!"



Diane Kautz
Music Teacher
Noblesville Middle School

Diane Kautz has been a music teacher for Noblesville Schools for 21 years. She has taught general music, choir, musical theatre, music careers, and pop music in grades 6, 7, and 8.
A highlight of her career has been working with Dick Clark and taking a group of students to his American Bandstand restaurant in Castleton to meet and talk with America's oldest teenager.

Diane received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Anderson University and her Master of Arts degree from Ball State University. She has taken additional courses at Butler University, Indiana University, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She taught for two years at Daleville Junior High School and eight years at Yorktown Elementary School before joining the Noblesville staff.

Diane's retirement will come with a move to the mountains. She and her husband are building a house in the Great Smokey Mountains. She has returned to school and is studying interior design.

"I've made a lot of good friendships teaching in Noblesville, but mostly, I will miss the kids," she said.



Patty Swank
Family and Consumer Science Teacher
Noblesville High School

Patty Swank, Noblesville's "senior teacher," is a Miller who bleeds black and gold. Patty graduated from Noblesville High School in 1954 only to return four years later to begin a career that would keep her in the classrooms of NHS for another 42 years.

"J.B. Stephens was principal then and he didn't like to hire first-year teachers because he said they weren't prepared and they had too much to learn," Patty said. "He said he wouldn't hire you unless you'd teach more than a year."

Patty obviously took that to heart. She has taught home economics and health classes at Noblesville High School for more than four decades.

"I didn't think I could be anything but a Miller," she said.

Patty received her Bachelor of Science degree and her Masters degree in education from Ball State University. The school's Department of Family and Consumer Sciences honored her with an Alumni Award of Distinction during its Spring Alumni Day in April.

When Patty looks back on her years of teaching, she will remember wonderful friends, from peers to students. She also will remember sponsoring "the greatest cheerblock Noblesville ever had," Future Homemakers of America, and Miller Maids, plus hosting special banquets and events that she created, being in school with her sons, and the proms of the 1960s.

She will most miss the students - "especially the ones where I think I made a difference."

Her plans for retirement? "I am going to rest."






Ruth Bailey
LD Teacher, NIS
13 years
1987-2000


Jerry Grimes
Building Supervisor, Stony Creek
17 years
1984-2001


Jeff Sherrill
Teacher, North
Principal, Forest Hill
28 years
1973-2001