Introducing...Mr. Buss...The Teacher
What's Up Team Motivation!
Welcome to the team. I am so excited to be your 6th Grade Social Studies and Language Arts teacher. Below you will find out a bit about my journey to being the teacher I am today.
I grew up in the Olathe School District and admired the caring and compassionate teachers I was able to have the pleasure of coming in contact with. When it comes down to it they are the reasons I became the teacher I am today. I attended Black Bob Elementary School for Kindergarten and First Grade. I started my Second Grade year in a brand new school named Brougham Elementary. It was here where I had some of my favorite teachers during my school career; Mrs. Hall, Ms. Demoss, Mrs. Detrick and Mrs. Lafex. I vividly remember the introduction to computers in the classroom and playing one of the first games rolled out on a computer called Oregon Trail. Wow, what memories!
After my famed elementary school days I moved on to what was called a junior high back then. I attended Frontier Trail Junior High School, now known as Frontier Trail Middle School. There I was introduced to many new teachers and a variety of classes that had interesting individuals from several different elementary schools. I remember the warm cookies at lunch and playing Mat Ball in the huge gymnasium. I enjoyed Mr. Brown's math class and struggling through algebra. Science with Ms. Reist was probably the most memorable because of all the cool explosions and chemical reactions I witnessed. Now that I look back on it those were the best Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Grade days of a boy's life.
High school started in 10th Grade, my Sophomore year. I was introduced to harder classes, more flexible teachers and the frustrations of Geometry and Biology. Enjoying lunch and morning break times were some of the highlights that I remember, mainly due to the freedom I had of buying my lunch and snacks with my own money. Along with attending high school at Olathe South High School I was permitted to get my first job at Dillon's grocery store. It was this time in my life where I was able to learn responsibility and the value of a dollar. I worked at Dillon's throughout high school and straight into my college days. This is where I learned to be a loyal employee and friend.
After I graduated from high school most of my friends moved away to attend college but I decided to stay home, work and attend Johnson County Community College while living at home. It was nice to be able to save up money because I was able to attend Pittsburg State University the following year and not have to work. Focusing on living life away from my parents and my studies was priority one when attending Pittsburg State my first year and not having to focus on holding down a job was great. I attended and graduated from Pittsburg State University where I also met the love of my life, Mrs. Buss. During my third year at Pitt I met Heather while working on a PowerPoint presentation in a computer class we were taking at the time.
Upon graduating from Pittsburg State I was given the opportunity to start working as a Sixth Grade teacher at Fairview Elementary School in Olathe. This opportunity was provided by, believe it or not, one of my former teachers in the district, Ms. Demoss. I had a blast during my first year of teaching! So much of a blast that I decided to stick around Fairview and teach Sixth and Fourth Grades in the span of about 7 years. After teaching there, I moved to open a new building with one of the best Principals in the district Dr. Gary Stevenson. I learned that opening a new building requires an extreme amount of work from all who are involved and am proud of the relationships I was able to foster throughout the process.
After spending about four years establishing building blocks at Madison Place Elementary I decided it was time for a new challenge. At that point I interviewed for a teaching position at my current home, Santa Fe Trail Middle School. While working at SFT I have been able to meet many new and great people including my partner this year Mrs. Amy Hillman. We have put together an awesome team of kiddos that work hard and respect one another.
We call this group Team Motivation and I cannot wait to see what good times are ahead of us!
Welcome to the team. I am so excited to be your 6th Grade Social Studies and Language Arts teacher. Below you will find out a bit about my journey to being the teacher I am today.
I grew up in the Olathe School District and admired the caring and compassionate teachers I was able to have the pleasure of coming in contact with. When it comes down to it they are the reasons I became the teacher I am today. I attended Black Bob Elementary School for Kindergarten and First Grade. I started my Second Grade year in a brand new school named Brougham Elementary. It was here where I had some of my favorite teachers during my school career; Mrs. Hall, Ms. Demoss, Mrs. Detrick and Mrs. Lafex. I vividly remember the introduction to computers in the classroom and playing one of the first games rolled out on a computer called Oregon Trail. Wow, what memories!
After my famed elementary school days I moved on to what was called a junior high back then. I attended Frontier Trail Junior High School, now known as Frontier Trail Middle School. There I was introduced to many new teachers and a variety of classes that had interesting individuals from several different elementary schools. I remember the warm cookies at lunch and playing Mat Ball in the huge gymnasium. I enjoyed Mr. Brown's math class and struggling through algebra. Science with Ms. Reist was probably the most memorable because of all the cool explosions and chemical reactions I witnessed. Now that I look back on it those were the best Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Grade days of a boy's life.
High school started in 10th Grade, my Sophomore year. I was introduced to harder classes, more flexible teachers and the frustrations of Geometry and Biology. Enjoying lunch and morning break times were some of the highlights that I remember, mainly due to the freedom I had of buying my lunch and snacks with my own money. Along with attending high school at Olathe South High School I was permitted to get my first job at Dillon's grocery store. It was this time in my life where I was able to learn responsibility and the value of a dollar. I worked at Dillon's throughout high school and straight into my college days. This is where I learned to be a loyal employee and friend.
After I graduated from high school most of my friends moved away to attend college but I decided to stay home, work and attend Johnson County Community College while living at home. It was nice to be able to save up money because I was able to attend Pittsburg State University the following year and not have to work. Focusing on living life away from my parents and my studies was priority one when attending Pittsburg State my first year and not having to focus on holding down a job was great. I attended and graduated from Pittsburg State University where I also met the love of my life, Mrs. Buss. During my third year at Pitt I met Heather while working on a PowerPoint presentation in a computer class we were taking at the time.
Upon graduating from Pittsburg State I was given the opportunity to start working as a Sixth Grade teacher at Fairview Elementary School in Olathe. This opportunity was provided by, believe it or not, one of my former teachers in the district, Ms. Demoss. I had a blast during my first year of teaching! So much of a blast that I decided to stick around Fairview and teach Sixth and Fourth Grades in the span of about 7 years. After teaching there, I moved to open a new building with one of the best Principals in the district Dr. Gary Stevenson. I learned that opening a new building requires an extreme amount of work from all who are involved and am proud of the relationships I was able to foster throughout the process.
After spending about four years establishing building blocks at Madison Place Elementary I decided it was time for a new challenge. At that point I interviewed for a teaching position at my current home, Santa Fe Trail Middle School. While working at SFT I have been able to meet many new and great people including my partner this year Mrs. Amy Hillman. We have put together an awesome team of kiddos that work hard and respect one another.
We call this group Team Motivation and I cannot wait to see what good times are ahead of us!