Amy Seigert has been a teacher at Potosi high school since 2011 and has taken on many programs and responsibilities in addition to teaching middle and high school classes.

For the beginning of school and fall season, Amy does all of her planning in the summer. Amy mentioned that after teaching for a few years, the fall teaching is not easy, but you get used to it. After getting a general plan of what you will be doing with units for kids and the classes you teach, some things stay the same every year. “The day-to-day lessons change, but the overall objectives stay the same, so how you would meet those objectives may change, but your overall objectives don't change,” Amy mentions, adding that helps. Amy also mentioned that she can't take on anything extra in the fall because her extra is assisting her husband, Mark Seigert, with the football season and selling clothes. “I just know that I can't do anything extra like the musical or coaching anything, although I do volleyball refereeing for middle school because they needed somebody, and it's a good way to see my students play.” 

Amy mentions that the winter season has a huge focus around National History Day which she has been putting on for about 10 years now. “You always have to respond to what kids are interested in learning about; that's new and makes it exciting. It’s all the extra things I do that I think help enhance their learning experiences and their goals with reading, writing, and social studies. ” Amy also uses the winter season and her Christmas break to find a spring play script. Another role she picked up last year was directing the spring play.  

When we get to the spring, directing the play is the new main focus. “I try to not overdo it; i have learned from my husband, who has been coaching for 25 years, that an hour and a half is about the maximum amount of attention you are going to get from a student, so I don't like to have long rehearsals either,” Amy mentions. She also explains that as the performance date gets close, rehearsals will become longer. “If you can't get it done within an hour and a half, you are going to lose the student’s attention and energy.” Amy explains she also did a lot of summer theater and school directing at her previous schools so she is coming into this role with over 30 years of experience. 

Also in the spring, Amy feels like she takes on the mom role again with her daughter playing softball, but now that Mark is doing some coaching, that will be another thing added on to Amy. Amy usually also does middle school forensics during this season, but since Covid, the other two schools she does this with and herself have pulled back on this event. “I've pulled back on being a contest and rounding up judges; it's too hard. We picked up middle school track last year, which has made it harder to schedule practices.” Amy still wanted a way for her middle school students to perform that seemed fun and enjoyable. “I'm a writer as a creative outlet, so I took the book The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger and scripted it. It was basically a big reader theater but they acted it out. This way we can give students a bit of stage experience and hopefully go into forensics later on.” Amy invited the other schools to join in and watch for fun, but she didn't get any bites. She says that that's probably what she is going to do again this year.

“FCA is another thing that takes up a lot of time and planning for those weekly meetings. I think we are the most active group in the school determining how often we meet, meeting every Wednesday,” says Siegert. FCA members change from week to week, with a Bible study only having about four to seven kids. Once the Bible study is done, Amy thinks they would have between 17 and 24 members when she holds games that tie a message in at the end. “We also try to do some service, very similar to the other clubs around the school, or are also into serving the community, with the only difference being around Christian faith and Bible study.” Amy says that that is probably the most important group she works with besides being a teacher.

Once summer comes around, Amy’s work is not over. Amy helps run the Vacation Bible Study Camp as she has since 2005. “It will be 19 years now, and that's really cool. Getting the chance to work with the little kids, but also the big kids that come in and help.” 

Amy Siegert does a lot for her school, community, and family, running nonstop year round to make it all work.