I am currently looking forward to my 11th year of teaching at the Classical School. Originally, I taught 5th grade and enjoyed teaching those students and that grade level.  However, when an opportunity arose to teach the same grade level as my friend, Mrs. Campshure, I seized it.  I have never regretted the decision.  Second grade is a time in which children are full of wonder and desire to learn as many facts as possible and it is truly a pleasure to experience their enthusiasm for anything and everything under the sun whether we are studying Greek mythology, life cycles of various animals, the War of 1812, Westward Expansion, the Civil War or magnetism.  Many times I reflect upon how lucky I am to be involved with a staff, a group of parents and a Classical Board and School District that are so dedicated to improving educational practices and providing opportunities for children. I love our school and I am especially grateful to the individual parents who took it upon themselves to research the best educational practices and organize the original charter for our school.

I grew up in the Appleton area in the village of Black Creek. I enjoyed reading and writing in school.  In second grade, my teacher allowed me to check out the “big kids” books because she saw my enthusiasm for reading.  The elementary school in Black Creek was a K-8 school of approximately the same size as the Classical School.  When I graduated from Seymour High School in 1988, I had known approximately 50 other students since kindergarten. I believe that sharing a common K-8 experience enhanced my life academically and socially.  In high school, I was a National Honor Society member, Student Council member, trombone player, and chorus member.

The two teachers who I remember having the greatest positive impact on my life were my 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Audrey Thede, and my high school French teacher, Mr. Lowell Hoeft. The success I achieved in their classrooms was a direct result of their high standards and determination to constantly "raise the bar" of academic excellence.

I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received an undergraduate education degree in the field of special education-emotional disabilities. I taught in the Madison School District while I pursued and subsequently received a Master's Degree in the area of learning disabilities.

My wife, Gwen, and I decided to move closer to our families after the birth of our son, Blake, in April of 1998. I jumped at the opportunity to teach Reading and Spelling using Direct Instruction to an entire class as well as the content-rich curriculum of Core Knowledge. We are enjoying raising our children in the Appleton community and I am very grateful to have the opportunity to be a teacher at the Classical School. Since we moved to Appleton in July of 1999, we have enjoyed meeting and developing relationships with many people in the Fox Valley area.  Our second son, Forrest, was born in October of 2000.  Our daughter Evelyn was born in 2006.

My mother, Janice, and father, Kenneth, live in Appleton.  I am the youngest of four siblings.  My two brothers, Michael and Brian, live in the Madison area.  My sister, Robin, lives in DePere.  We have quite a menagerie of animals at our house. The cats are named Thor and Buttercup and were born in the summer of 2007. Our Border Collie mix is named Skye and our new Australian Shepherd puppy is named Jack. The hamster is named Rusty.  The last pet we have is a rat snake.  My mother was not pleased to learn that we had one.  However, she has been a good sport and still visits us despite “THAT snake!”  Our previous pets included a German Shepherd dog, a tabby cat, guinea pigs, a hamster and a bearded dragon lizard.

I look forward to teaching my students and working at the Classical Elementary School.  Take care.

[Photo:  Mr. Bomann, 2nd Grade]

[Photo:  Mr. Bomann, 2nd Grade]

Trivia about Mr. Bomann
1.  My favorite books as an elementary student were J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
2.  As a second grader, I wanted to have a club house in my garage.  As a fifth grader, I desperately wanted a guinea pig for a pet.
3. My wife’s maiden name was Mann and my paternal name was Boman so when we married we combined surnames Boman + Mann = Bomann
4.  Superman was my favorite comic book character as a child.
5.  I met my wife, Gwen, at Taco John's in Madison – Sept. 9, 1988.
6.  I love laughing and contributing to the laughter of others.
7.  I enjoy hiking and canoeing- although I haven’t done much recently.
8.  I had a job in college cleaning... (ugh!!) mice cages.
9.  I used to wear glasses, but I had laser surgery on my eyes in 2006.  I love it.
10. I have a glaringly obvious weakness for drinking coffee.
 

Feel free to email me at BOMANNTHOMAS@aasd.k12.wi.us
 

 
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