New staff given a Cardinal welcome

WAITSBURG - Waitsburg students will see three new faces when they start school on September 8. Abby Seney, Christopher Kinnaird and Haden Wegner are starting their careers with the Cardinal staff.

Seney will be greeting students at the elementary school as the District/Elementary Administrative Assistant.

Karen Huwe

Abby Seney is the District/Elementary Administrative Assistant.

Before joining the Cardinal staff, Seney worked as a certified medical assistant at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla.

Seney was born and raised in Walla Walla with a love for agriculture and the rural lifestyle. In high school, she was an active member of FFA and took the opportunity to show sheep.

Family is a big part of her life. Seney has two daughters, Brooklynn and McKenna, and is engaged to her soon-to-be husband, Tayven. The family includes two dogs, Sadie and new puppy Scout, and seven goats.

"There's never a dull moment around our place, but I would not have it any other way. We spend a lot of our time together on the farm, and living on Tayven's family's wheat farm is something we absolutely love," said Seney. "I am so excited for this next chapter and can't wait to get to know everyone, make new memories, and be a part of the Waitsburg Cardinals family," said Seney.

This year, Christopher Kinnaird begins his teaching career as the Waitsburg Schools District's music teacher. This is officially Kinnaird's first year of teaching, and he said he could not be more excited.

Kinnaird earned a music degree from Washington State University and a Master of Arts degree from Western Governors University's Master of Elementary Education program. He did his student teaching at Dixie Elementary in William Clancy's classroom. He spent several years in the Walla Walla School District subbing in all grade levels and subjects.

In the summers between student teaching and now, Kinnaird taught at an early learning center for K-5 students. He took students on weekly field trips and did his best to make sure they had a great time during their summer break. They went to the Memorial Pool, the park, the bowling alley, and the library. He also recently participated in this summer's 'Rock Camp' hosted by Rodney Outlaw. He was a teacher and helped two bands form and prepare for a concert. He even sang with one of them. They opened the concert with 'Black Hole Sun' by Soundgarden, and he did his best to emulate Chris Cornell as best he could.

"Teaching music is something I've strived to do my whole life; it's my dream. My biggest expectation for this school year is simply to get students excited about making and learning about music and hopefully, I will learn a lot about how to grow as a music teacher in the process. I believe the heart of education is the education of the heart, and I'm so eager to get to know the students at Waitsburg. My goal is to create a fun, engaging classroom environment that puts the students first, right alongside the music we create. I want students to genuinely love coming to class," said Kinnaird.

In his free time, Kinnaird said he enjoys relaxing at home and watching movies with his lovely wife, Amanda, and their three cats, Peachy, Waffle, and Bubba. His favorite outdoor activity is disc golf. He enjoys playing cards with his friends and going camping during the summer. And of course, he loves writing music, singing, and playing his guitar whenever he can.

Haden Wegner will teach history to middle school and high school students.

Karen Huwe

Hayden Wegner will teach history to middle and high school students.

Wegner is twenty-five years old and grew up on Lewis Peak Ridge in the Blue Mountains. He went to Walla Walla High School, then Western Washington University in Bellingham. He lived twenty minutes north of campus in the little town of Ferndale for five years while he earned a master's in teaching.

This is Wegner's first year teaching and he is excited to be teaching all grades of social studies. He said he is looking forward to reacquainting himself with Waitsburg, its people, and the surrounding area which is information he will include in some of the local history he will cover in his classes.

Wegner's hobbies include photography, hiking, backpacking and camping. Carrying a camera just lends itself to those things he said.