Your Teacher . . . Mr. Payne

 Mr. Payne caught in the act of trying
to convince kindergartners to try reading

the Honors English textbook
over the summer!

I began teaching Honors English in 2000-2001. Ironically, I am one of only a handful of FVL graduates who took Honors English but did not have Mrs. Iris Sackenheim. Over my years at FVL, I have taught a variety of English courses (American Literature, Language/Composition 1, and Literature 1) for the first ten years of my ministry at FVL. I also supervised the FVL's student newspaper The Fox Tales and am currently the advisor of the FVL yearbook, the Cross & Crown.

I also serve as the school's Communications Director. In this capacity, my English skills are used everyday whether in creating publications, editing, layout, presenting, or even taking minutes. At times, this administrative responsibility will mean you get a day off or two from my presence in the classroom.

My schooling goes back to Trinity, Neenah where I had excellent English teachers. My B.A. in liberal arts is from Northwestern College where I was originally preparing to be a pastor, but God had other plans. My master's work in English took place at Mankato State University. Over the years, I have written both poetry and prose - fiction and non-fiction. My work has been published in a variety of publications. Currently, I enjoy writing puppet scripts for our church's Christian puppetry team - Hands 2 God and recently completed a history of the WELS Lutheran High Schools. I have also picked up an interest in story-telling from a summer workshop I attended last July.

If you need to talk to me about class or other issues, you are welcome to visit my office. It is located in the school's administrative wing: Room 2013. You will have to check in with the school office secretaries. If it is "after-hours," you may contact me at home 731-7921 or via e-mail at dpayne@fvlhs.org. I check my e-mail every morning when I arrive at school and most days right before I leave.